*press release*
Lefebvre Sarrut, the European leader in legal and tax expertise, has announced the eight startups participating in the LightSpeed Accelerator program in 2024. These young companies, founded in six European countries, including Sdu in the Netherlands (other countries include Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), are developing innovative technologies to help organizations address legal and regulatory challenges, particularly those related to environmental, social, and governance performance. Many of their solutions are powered by artificial intelligence.
Olivier Campenon, CEO of Lefebvre Sarrut, says: “We are delighted to welcome these eight startups selected for the LightSpeed Accelerator. We are proud to support this new generation of entrepreneurs and help them develop sustainable and high-impact solutions. Our key innovation areas are AI, ESG, and legal solutions for businesses.”
The two participating Dutch startups, which will collaborate with Sdu and Lefebvre Sarrut, are Govin, which focuses on legal matters, and Salacia, which provides an ESG solution.
All eight startups are:
Artificieel (Belgium): Artificieel uses advanced AI to integrate legal and case law expertise to search legal documents and simplify legal processes.
AVA HR (France): AVA HR uses AI to support HR teams with daily tasks, such as ready-made documents, including employment contracts, employee reviews, and skills assessments.
diFacile (Italy): diFacile is an advanced legal tech platform that streamlines both out-of-court and court-ordered outstanding payments through digital automation.
Govin (Netherlands): Govin offers investors, founders, and board members a solution to manage corporate governance effortlessly and transparently, with simple workflows and actionable insights for legal agreements.
Renaiss (Spain): AI-powered Renaiss leverages internal data and documents to improve business operations.
Salacia (Netherlands): Salacia ensures full ESG compliance using an integrated SaaS platform, which offers a fully automated accounting system for ESG reporting.
Suzan AI (France): Suzan AI is an AI governance and security platform for tracking AI assets, managing risks, and aligning systems with global regulations and standards.
Tucan (Germany): tucan.ai is innovating strategic intelligence for knowledge-intensive companies, providing context-specific, actionable AI insights and GDPR assurance for complex workflows, ranging from fully automated legal document analysis to accurate meeting minutes.
Lefebvre Sarrut received 57 applications from Europe for the 2024 LightSpeed Accelerator program.
Kees Kerstens of Salacia Solutions: “What I expect from the program with Lefebvre Sarrut and Sdu in the Netherlands is that we can jointly take on CSRD implementations for clients. And that’s also why we’re participating in this accelerator program: Salacia specializes in the quantitative side of CSRD. By complementing that with the qualitative focus on CSRD from Sdu and Lefebvre Sarrut, we can optimally support all 50,000 clients in Europe who will be carrying out these implementations in the coming years.”
Jesse Grift (CEO) and Tony Nguyen of Govin: “We’re participating in the LightSpeed Accelerator program because we believe Sdu can be a good international partner for us. This is a good time to take this on, as it’s becoming increasingly important internationally. We expect the collaboration with Sdu and the LightSpeed Accelerator program to give us a clearer picture of how attractive it is to go international with Govin. We’re hoping to leverage Sdu’s knowledge and network for the projects, and we’re confident it’s certainly feasible.”
About the LightSpeed Accelerator Program
Since 2021, Lefebvre Sarrut has embraced open innovation and supported startups through its European LightSpeed Accelerator program. Now in its third year, the LightSpeed Accelerator aims to build a strong innovation ecosystem, create connections, foster collaboration, stimulate the adoption of new technologies, and help organizations adapt to changing market needs.
About Lefebvre Sarrut
Lefebvre Sarrut is the European leader in legal, tax, and regulatory expertise. The group’s mission is to enable a fairer, more efficient, and more sustainable society through knowledge. With offices in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the group offers a global service to companies (in human resources, financial, legal, and compliance matters), regulated professions (notaries, chartered accountants, lawyers, etc.), and the public sector in publishing, training, and software. Lefebvre Sarrut achieved a turnover of €542 million in 2022 and employs 2,400 people.
About SDU
As a leading service provider, SDU is committed to companies and professionals in the legal, tax, public, and business sectors. With over 200 years of experience, SDU develops training programs, products, and services in co-creation with its clients, enabling them to innovate and succeed. SDU is part of the internationally renowned family business Lefebvre Sarrut, a leading European provider of legal and tax services.
