Duqu raises €1.5Mn in pre-seed round
Amsterdam-based fintech startup, Duqu has raised €1.5 million in a pre-seed round from Curiosity VC and No Such Ventures.
The investment will be used to further grow both parts of the business.
Duqu helps businesses get paid faster. Rather than waiting weeks for an invoice, the company can advance the money upfront in 24 hours. According to Duqu, businesses can then get access to cash they have already earned without waiting for invoices to be paid.
The company has also developed its own AI underwriting engine, which it began building 18 months ago. The engine automates 95% of the credit assessment process and the technology is modular and can also be deployed outside Duqu’s own platform.
Duqu also offers the technology as a white-label solution to banks, lenders and leasing companies.
Duqu assesses outstanding B2B invoices and advances funds against them.
There is no minimum or maximum amount, and businesses pay a fee when they use the advance. No factoring is required in this process.
De Goede co-founded Duqu in 2025 after seeing how long payment terms on outstanding invoices created cash flow challenges for businesses.
It is reported that 47% of B2B invoices in Western Europe are overdue, according to a report by Atradius Payment Practices Barometer, causing money issues within businesses with regards to investments in inventory, marketing and new hires.
Duqu said its short-term advanced technology can solve this.
“Businesses can arrange almost everything instantly today, yet after completing the work they can still wait weeks to get paid,” said De Goede. “That no longer matches the pace at which businesses operate. Growth cannot wait for an invoice to be paid.”
In its first three months since going live, Duqu processed more than €4.5 million in applications and provided over €1 million in advances.
“Small applications are relatively expensive for traditional lenders to assess and process,” said Herman Kienhuis of Curiosity VC. “Duqu has built a fully AI-driven credit assessment and processing stack. As a result, businesses with smaller credit or working capital needs can be better served.”
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