Holmes, a software infrastructure startup, has raised €1.1 million in pre-seed funding to develop its AI-native quality assurance platform for modern software teams.
The round was led by Syndicate One, with participation from investors and technology founders including Roeland Delrue and Willem Delbare of Aikido, Showpad co-founder Showpad Louis Jonckheere, Thomas Van Overbeke, NewSchool.vc, RDY Capital, and 100IN. Founded in 2026, Holmes is building an autonomous testing platform designed to help software teams manage quality assurance at the pace of AI-driven development.
What The Company Does
Holmes develops an AI-powered software testing platform that automates quality assurance processes without relying on manually written test scripts.
Instead of requiring developers and QA teams to continuously maintain predefined testing scenarios, the platform learns how applications behave and automatically generates, updates, and executes tests as products evolve.
The system is designed to continuously verify application functionality, behaviour, and performance across changing software environments. By understanding workflows directly from the product itself, Holmes aims to reduce the operational burden associated with traditional QA systems, where tests often become outdated or unreliable after frequent product updates.
The company positions its platform as an AI-native alternative to conventional software testing infrastructure, particularly for teams using AI-assisted coding tools that significantly accelerate software production cycles.
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Market Context / Industry Background
The rapid adoption of AI coding assistants and automated development tools is increasing software delivery speed across the technology sector. However, quality assurance workflows have often remained comparatively manual, creating operational bottlenecks as release cycles shorten.
Traditional QA processes typically depend on manually maintained test scripts, which can become difficult to scale in environments where products evolve continuously. As development teams push updates more frequently, maintaining test reliability and coverage becomes increasingly resource-intensive.
This has contributed to growing demand for automated testing systems capable of adapting dynamically to application changes without requiring constant human intervention.
AI-driven QA infrastructure is emerging as a broader category within developer tooling, particularly as software companies seek to balance faster deployment speeds with stability, reliability, and user experience expectations.
These platforms also help engineering teams reduce regression risks, improve release confidence, accelerate debugging, and lower long-term maintenance costs significantly.
Founder / Investor Commentary
Holmes was founded by Robin Praet, Robbrecht Delrue, and Sofie Buyse, who previously experienced the operational challenges associated with software testing in fast-moving product teams.
Product Manager Sofie Buyse noted that quality assurance often becomes a shared responsibility spread across developers and product managers rather than a clearly owned function. According to Buyse, Holmes was created to automate this process and allow teams to release software more confidently without increasing manual workload.
The investor group backing the company also reflects broader interest in developer infrastructure platforms that support AI-accelerated software engineering workflows.
Growth Plans / Use Of Funds
The €1.1 million pre-seed investment will be used to strengthen Holmes’ platform capabilities, expand its engineering and product teams, and move beyond its initial group of design partners.
The company plans to continue developing autonomous testing features designed to improve adaptability and reduce maintenance requirements for software teams operating in rapidly changing environments.
As AI-generated code becomes more widespread, Holmes aims to position itself as a foundational QA layer capable of supporting faster and more automated software development cycles.
About Holmes
Holmes is a Ghent-based software infrastructure startup founded in 2026 that develops AI-native quality assurance systems for software teams. The company’s platform autonomously tests applications by learning product workflows and continuously validating functionality, behaviour, and performance without relying on manually maintained test scripts. Holmes focuses on helping development teams improve software reliability and release products faster in increasingly AI-driven engineering environments.
