Holmes Raises €1.1M to Launch Autonomous Software Testing Platform

Holmes, a technology company headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, has launched with €1.1 million in pre-seed funding as it seeks to transform software quality assurance through autonomous testing.

The funding round was led by Syndicate One, with participation from notable tech entrepreneurs including Roeland Delrue and Willem Delbare of Aikido, Louis Jonckheere of Showpad, and Thomas Van Overbeke. Several investment firms from the Ghent tech ecosystem, such as NewSchool.vc, RDY Capital, and 100IN, also contributed to the round.

Founded by Robin Praet, Robbrecht Delrue, and Sofie Buyse, Holmes is developing an autonomous quality assurance (QA) platform tailored for software teams operating in the fast-moving AI development landscape. With the adoption of AI-driven coding tools, software production cycles have accelerated, but quality assurance remains largely dependent on manually created and updated tests—often becoming a bottleneck for engineering and product teams.

Holmes' platform takes an AI-based approach, learning the ways in which products function and how users interact with them, rather than relying solely on prewritten test scripts. By continuously generating and updating tests that cover critical user journeys, the platform aims to streamline the QA process as products evolve over time.

"At Henchman, I experienced firsthand how QA often becomes work that everyone knows is essential, but nobody truly owns. Testing frequently ends up on the plate of developers and product managers alongside their existing responsibilities. Holmes was built to automate that process and allow teams to continue shipping products with greater confidence," said Sofie Buyse, Product Manager at Holmes.

Robbrecht Delrue, co-founder of Holmes, highlighted that most software companies do not invest in dedicated QA teams at early stages. However, as teams scale, manual testing can slow down release cycles, a problem Holmes intends to address with automation.

The company is also working closely with industry advisors, including Dieter Wachters, Haroen Vermylen, Jaap Vergote, and Ivo Minjauw, to guide product development.

Proceeds from the funding will be used to advance the Holmes platform's features, expand its product and engineering teams, and support growth beyond its initial cohort of design partners.

For more information, visit the original article on tech.eu.