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KERNLAB: The R&D laboratory of KERN-IT

The KERNLAB is the Research & Development lab of KERN-IT, a Belgian software company based in Brussels. Products, SaaS, AI agents, prototypes and software experiments are born here with a single logic: turning ideas into concrete solutions.

KERN-IT dedicates around 30% of its time to R&D, supported by Innoviris funding and European programmes.

Discover our projects
  • KERNLAB - KERN-IT's R&D labKernLab · 01KERNLAB: The R&D laboratory of KERN-IT
  • KERNEL analytics dashboard in dark mode with monthly completion bars (01.26, 02.26, 03.26), A.M.A mascot and project information panel.KernLab · 02KERNEL, the digital heart of KERN-IT
  • A.M.A interface, KERN-IT's internal AI agent, showing the mascot, monthly completion progress and a project information panel.KernLab · 03A.M.A, internal AI agent
  • Negosim interface simulating a salary negotiation for a senior developer role, with a 7.4/10 score and the exchange history between the candidate and the AI recruiter.KernLab · 04Negosim, AI-powered negotiation simulator
  • A museum assistant answering questions about opening hours and exhibitions, with the source of each answer shown under the message.KernLab · 05KernChat, assistants on your own knowledge
  • Kenobi telecom client portal dashboard showing monthly data usage, the usage breakdown for a given date and the navigation menu (sites, simpools, devices, packages, Starlink).KernLab · 06Kenobi, intelligent SD-WAN platform with Venn Telecom
  • KernAcademy coach dashboard showing the number of courses, students and upcoming sessions, management shortcuts, AI assistant usage and the next sessions.KernLab · 07KernAcademy, coaching and training in one place
  • AccountMap interactive map showing the distribution of accountants and tax advisors across Belgium, with the filter panel by professional type, province and service.KernLab · 08AccountMap, the directory of Belgian accountants
  • Barnai job-search dashboard showing applications sent, interviews and a matching card with a Walloon company.KernLab · 09Barnai, AI for job search
  • OPTIMAX SEO audit dashboard showing site performance scores, keyword position tracking and internal linking analysis.KernLab · 10OPTIMAX™, the optimisation programme for public sites & apps

Our approach to digital R&D

At KERN-IT, R&D is not a siloed department. It's a daily practice, embedded in how the company operates. Three principles guide every experiment.

  • 01

    Reduce uncertainty

    Test ideas before investing heavily. Every hypothesis is confronted with the field before being industrialised.

  • 02

    Produce learnings

    Every experiment produces knowledge, even when the hypothesis is invalidated. A documented failure is as valuable as a success.

  • 03

    Make informed decisions

    Experiments make it possible to decide whether to invest, pivot or drop a project, with the facts in hand.

Our 3 R&D axes: internal, clients and partnerships

KERNLAB's R&D is organised around three complementary axes: internal R&D, R&D with clients, and R&D in research partnerships.

01

Internal R&D

Continuously strengthen KERN-IT's technological and organisational capabilities.

  • Process improvement: optimising development methods, workflows and technical practices
  • Internal tools and agents: building AI agents and software tools to support teams and structure knowledge
  • Technological experiments: advanced architectures, distributed systems, AI, vibe coding, vibe engineering
  • Continuous learning: exploring new approaches and developing experimental prototypes

Goal: build a solid, mastered and evolving technological foundation.

02

R&D with clients

KERNLAB supports companies, startups and project owners in exploring and validating new digital solutions: SaaS products, platforms, AI solutions, innovative business tools.

The cost of development has shifted. With vibe coding and AI tools, building a v1 has become fast and accessible. Discovery is still useful, but it's no longer a mandatory multi-week phase. The project's maturity is what sets the entry point: a working prototype in a few days, or straight to code if the idea is already clear.

  • Idea to exploreLight discovery, quick scoping and a prototype to test the hypothesis
  • Clear idea, ready to codeWe jump straight into the code and ship a working v1 quickly
  • Proof of ConceptDemonstrate the viability of a technological approach
  • MVPBuild a first usable version of the product
  • Discovery workshops and design sprints
  • Business Model Canvas and interactive prototypes
  • No-code, low-code and rapid software prototyping
  • Advanced vibe coding and vibe engineering

Goal: reduce risk and validate hypotheses quickly before committing to full development.

03

R&D in partnership

Some KERNLAB projects are run as research collaborations with academic, institutional or industrial partners, in Brussels and across Belgium. These projects can be backed by Innoviris, European programmes or local innovation initiatives.

In these projects, KERN-IT does not limit itself to industrialisation. KERNLAB takes an active part in the research work.

  • Exploring new technical approaches
  • Designing experimental architectures
  • Building research prototypes and demonstrators
  • Technical validation of research hypotheses

KERNLAB sits at the interface between academic research and applied software innovation.

Project owners · Startups · SaaS founders

Your SaaS on the market in weeks, not quarters

Got a SaaS idea, a startup to launch, or a digital product to validate? KERNLAB is built for that. We deliver your v1 fast, we frame your Go-to-Market, and we support you on the technical side and on growth hacking. The goal: test the market with real data instead of assumptions.

  1. 01

    Prototype & vibecoding

    Vibecoding, vibe design, vibe engineering, agentic coding: from idea to code in a few days. No 80-page specification, we build to learn and iterate.

  2. 02

    Landing page & pricing

    Clear sales page, testable pricing plans, social proof and analytics. Ready to convert from the very first visitor.

  3. 03

    Stripe integration

    Recurring payments, subscriptions, free trials, webhooks, billing. Clean monetisation from v1.

  4. 04

    Scaling & sustainable stack

    An architecture that holds up when users arrive. No tech debt that blows up at 1,000 customers.

  5. 05

    Go-to-Market

    Positioning, persona, acquisition channels, messaging. We frame the go-to-market before burning any budget on it.

  6. 06

    Growth hacking

    Key metrics, viral loops, A/B tests, activation and retention. We help you measure what matters and iterate fast.

From idea to product: the KERNLAB innovation cycle

The KERNLAB innovation cycle follows 4 stages: Discovery, Prototype & PoC, MVP and Industrialisation. Each stage validates hypotheses before moving on to the next. We move forward on evidence, not assumptions.

  1. 01

    Discovery

    Understand the need, explore the constraints and identify the hypotheses to validate.

  2. 02

    Prototype & PoC

    Build a first version to test a use case or prove the technical viability of an approach.

  3. 03

    MVP

    Build a usable Minimum Viable Product, testable with real users.

  4. 04

    Industrialisation

    Move into production with a solid, scalable, secure architecture ready to grow.

PoC vs MVP Business Model Canvas

KERNLAB products and solutions

Some projects stay as prototypes. Others become products or solutions running in production. Here are the projects born from KERNLAB.

KERNEL analytics dashboard in dark mode with monthly completion bars (01.26, 02.26, 03.26), A.M.A mascot and project information panel.

KERNEL, the digital heart of KERN-IT

KERNEL is a tailor-made internal operating system designed to manage all of KERN IT's operations. Rather than a generic ERP, KERNEL centralizes operational oversight: timesheets, invoicing, dashboard, monthlies, weeklies. Built by and for our needs, KERNEL also serves as an experimentation platform with reusable functional blocks adaptable to other business contexts.

A.M.A interface, KERN-IT's internal AI agent, showing the mascot, monthly completion progress and a project information panel.

A.M.A, internal AI agent

A.M.A (Artificial Management Assistant) is KERN-IT's internal AI agent, born in 2018 and revived with the arrival of LLMs. Built on top of KERNEL, the company's digital core, A.M.A manages timesheets, monitors overall operations, generates reports, analyses operational behaviour and takes part in conversations like any other colleague.

Read the article

PeppolOutbox diagram illustrating the exchange between a client and a supplier through a certified Peppol Access Point operated by KERN-IT.

PeppolOutbox, Peppol e-invoicing

PeppolOutbox is a SaaS for e-invoicing compliant with the Peppol standard, built for the Belgian e-invoicing obligation. Every flow is parsed and transformed through a custom mapping developed for each ERP or accounting software. A single OutBox centralises submissions on the Peppol network via a certified Access Point. Fewer errors, fewer rejections, more compliance.

Read the article

Kenobi telecom client portal dashboard showing monthly data usage, the usage breakdown for a given date and the navigation menu (sites, simpools, devices, packages, Starlink).

Kenobi, intelligent SD-WAN platform with Venn Telecom

Kenobi is an intelligent, vendor-agnostic SD-WAN platform born from an R&D project run with Venn Telecom and co-funded by Innoviris and VLAIO. Built to operate multi-site, multi-carrier and multi-technology networks, Kenobi centralises the supervision of several thousand network points, automates diagnostics, integrates Starlink and uses geographic data via GISWAN to optimise deployments.

Read the article

AI Remembers interface showing a black-and-white archive photograph of a vintage car with an AI-generated description and tag suggestions.

AI Remembers, AI serving historical heritage

AI Remembers is a research project funded by the European Union, run in partnership with the Liberation Route Europe Foundation and the University of Caen Normandie. The project explores how artificial intelligence and Machine Learning can be embedded into the preservation and interpretation of World War II heritage, making historical narratives more interactive and accessible.

Learn more

Barnai job-search dashboard showing applications sent, interviews and a matching card with a Walloon company.

Barnai, AI for job search

Barnai is a LAB project exploring how artificial intelligence can be applied to job search. Smart matching between candidates and offers through semantic understanding of profiles and needs.

Learn more

OPTIMAX SEO audit dashboard showing site performance scores, keyword position tracking and internal linking analysis.

OPTIMAX™, the optimisation programme for public sites & apps

OPTIMAX™ is the KERN-IT advanced optimisation programme for public websites and applications. A two-tier methodology: baseline optimisations then advanced optimisation, to improve performance, perceived speed, SEO & AI visibility and the quality of the public-facing front-end. Starts with a free audit.

Discover OPTIMAX™

Screenshot of the DevSimulator hosted on Magnet, showing cash, burn rate, runway and the available actions to run a tech startup.

Magnet, lead capture platform

Magnet is the KERN-IT platform dedicated to B2B lead generation. It hosts our interactive simulators, downloadable whitepapers, topic landing pages and qualification forms, all lead magnets that turn traffic into a measurable commercial pipeline. All our free tools are available there.

magnet.kern-it.be/tools

Capyly mobile mockup showing two smartphone screens: the 'Every Place is a Conversation' homepage with a map of venues and the 'Lobby' chat room attached to a physical place.

Capyly, chat rooms anchored to physical places

Capyly turns every physical place (café, park, event venue, coworking space) into a real-time chat room. Instead of following profiles, you follow places: you join the conversation of the venue you're in, share recommendations, coordinate meetups, find out what's happening right now. Designed for shops, events and public spaces, Capyly is in pre-launch.

Discover Capyly

Pre-launch

Negosim interface simulating a salary negotiation for a senior developer role, with a 7.4/10 score and the exchange history between the candidate and the AI recruiter.

Negosim, AI-powered negotiation simulator

Negosim is a negotiation simulator where every user faces an AI counterpart in realistic scenarios: B2B sales, salary negotiation, fundraising, supplier procurement, partnerships, contracts. After each exchange, a detailed score measures performance and tracks progress over time. Designed for sales, procurement, HR, legal and consulting teams, Negosim turns negotiation into a skill that can be trained daily, at a fraction of the cost of traditional training.

Discover Negosim

Hand holding a smartphone showing the CarMessenger interface with a licence-plate field and a message area to contact a driver.

CarMessenger, communication between drivers

CarMessenger is an innovative communication platform between drivers. Through licence-plate identification, CarMessenger lets you reach a driver without sharing any phone number. Badly parked car, mechanical issue spotted, unexpected roadworks: a message is sent through the platform and the driver is notified by email.

Discover CarMessenger Read the article

KernImmo dashboard showing the KPIs of a real-estate portfolio (occupancy, collection rate, active rentals) and the AI assistant answering a query about unpaid rents.

KernImmo, property management for Belgian landlords

KernImmo is a SaaS property-management platform designed for Belgian landlords and property managers. Real-time rent tracking, full rental lifecycle (from application to notice), self-service tenant portal with magic-link login, categorised maintenance tickets and an AI assistant that answers natural-language questions about your portfolio. Simple per-unit pricing, 14-day free trial.

Coming soon

View of the Earth from space at night with a network of low Earth orbit satellites connected by glowing links, illustrating the LeoSatNetwork platform.

LeoSatNetwork, the satellite connectivity directory

LeoSatNetwork is a B2B platform dedicated to the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity ecosystem. It lists providers, integrators and resellers of Starlink, OneWeb and Kuiper solutions, aggregates industry news and resources, and generates thematic directories by brand, country and industry. An SEO directory, verified reviews, matchmaking with project owners and a provider portal round out the platform.

Visit the website

A museum assistant answering questions about opening hours and exhibitions, with the source of each answer shown under the message.

KernChat, assistants on your own knowledge

KernChat lets an organisation create several assistants, each with its own mission, knowledge and scope, then publish them on its website or inside its tools. Every answer shows the source it came from, the assistant hands over to a person when it does not know, and unanswered questions become content proposals for an owner to validate. Hosted in Europe.

Discover KernChat

AccountMap interactive map showing the distribution of accountants and tax advisors across Belgium, with the filter panel by professional type, province and service.

AccountMap, the directory of Belgian accountants

AccountMap is an independent directory of chartered accountants, tax advisors, tax accountants and fiduciaries in Belgium. An interactive map and filters by professional type, province, service and sector make it easy to find the right firm nearby. A bilingual FR/NL website, with thematic directories optimised for search engines and for connecting users with firms.

Visit the website

KernAcademy coach dashboard showing the number of courses, students and upcoming sessions, management shortcuts, AI assistant usage and the next sessions.

KernAcademy, coaching and training in one place

KernAcademy is a hybrid SaaS platform that brings training (courses, sessions, attendance, resources) and 1-to-1 coaching together in a single space, for teachers, coaches and training organisations. Multi-organisation with teams, it includes two AI assistants (Sherpa for learners and Copilot for coaches), a CRM to turn prospects into clients, coach-to-client invoicing (PDF and PEPPOL e-invoicing) and ticket-based support. Freemium model.

Coming soon

KernFusion · CEOs Wanted

Take over a lab project, become its CEO

Alone we go fast, together we go far. Let's merge our skills.

KernFusion is KERN-IT's startup studio. KernLab validates more ideas than it can industrialise. Rather than letting already-built projects and products gather dust, we look for operators to turn them into viable spin-offs. You take over a project, we keep pushing it forward technically, you focus on what actually makes a product take off: sales, marketing, traction.

Contact us and apply

  • D+0

    KERN-IT delivers. The product already exists, you take the wheel right away.

  • D+42

    First revenue. You collect your share from the very first sales.

  • Fundraise

    Your revenue share converts into equity. No dilution before traction.
  • 01

    What you get

    • A deployable, already-tested product
    • The business plan, market analysis and initial pricing
    • A technical team that keeps shipping
    • The design system, the brand and the first commercial assets
    • A 12 to 18 month head start over a founder starting from scratch
  • 02

    The profile we're looking for

    • Ex-founder or seasoned sales / BD operator
    • You know the hard part isn't the code, it's distribution
    • You have a network in a vertical and the drive to plant your flag in it
    • You want to move fast, not spend 18 months coding a v1
    • You share our values: we move forward on evidence, not assumptions
  • 03

    Two ways to get on board

    CEO Partner: Revenue Share → EquityStart in revenue sharing, convert to equity at the first fundraise. You drive the commercial strategy and co-pilot the roadmap with our product team.

    Product leasingYou run the company independently, with a fixed + variable royalty, and KERN-IT steps back to the role of tech vendor. For operators who want a clean cap table.

Our technical stack and architecture choices

Every KERNLAB project rests on explicit technical choices. We don't try to stack up technologies, we design systems that are understandable, maintainable and built to evolve.

Open source, well-mastered and durable technologies. No proprietary dependencies, no lock-in.

Discover our services

  • Modular, service-oriented architectures
  • Separation of business core and infrastructure
  • Applied AI (LLM, RAG, agents)
  • Security and resilience
  • PythonBackend, AI, automation
  • Flask · DjangoAPIs and business platforms
  • WagtailCMS for editorial websites
  • React · Next.js · Tailwind CSSCustom interfaces
  • PostgreSQLData, geo, vector
  • Claude · OpenAI · GeminiAI agents and RAG
  • Docker · LinuxHosting under control
  • Raspberry Pi · MQTTIoT and sensors
  • FigmaUX / UI Design

FAQ

What is KERNLAB?

KERNLAB is the research and development division of KERN IT.

It is dedicated to exploring new technologies, developing prototypes and creating first versions of digital products.

KERNLAB allows innovative ideas to be tested quickly before being scaled up in larger projects.

What is an innovation lab like KERNLAB for?

An innovation lab enables new technological ideas to be tested in a flexible environment.

It is used in particular to:

  • Explore new technical approaches
  • Develop prototypes or Proof of Concept
  • Test innovative concepts before a full project
  • Experiment with AI or data use cases

This reduces risks before launching a more structured project.

What is the difference between KERNLAB and a classic development project?

A classic project generally aims to create a final product ready for production use.

KERNLAB, on the other hand, intervenes earlier in the process.

It focuses on:

  • Technological exploration
  • Idea validation
  • Rapid prototyping
  • Initial technical architectures

Once the concept is validated, the project can evolve into a complete platform.

Can you create a prototype or MVP with KERNLAB?

Yes. KERNLAB regularly supports the creation of:

  • MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
  • Functional prototypes
  • Technological Proof of Concept

These first versions allow you to test an idea, convince partners or prepare a more ambitious product.

Does KERNLAB work on artificial intelligence projects?

Yes. KERNLAB explores the integration of artificial intelligence into business tools and operational workflows.

This can include:

  • AI agents integrated into applications
  • Data analysis
  • Task automation
  • Decision support

The goal is to use AI pragmatically in genuinely useful systems.

When should you turn to KERNLAB?

KERNLAB is particularly relevant when:

  • A technological idea needs to be tested quickly
  • A digital product is still at the exploratory stage
  • An innovation needs to be validated before investment
  • A project involves R&D or new technologies

It allows an idea to be transformed into a concrete prototype.

Can KERNLAB be involved in research projects or innovation programmes?

Yes. KERNLAB can participate in projects supported by:

  • Public innovation programmes
  • Research initiatives
  • Technology funding schemes

In these contexts, it contributes to the technical structuring, prototyping and development of the first versions of the solution.

What types of technologies are explored in KERNLAB?

The experiments conducted in KERNLAB can include:

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Process automation
  • Innovative SaaS platforms
  • Mapping Applications
  • Connected objects and IoT
  • Data analysis and transformation

These technologies are then integrated into client projects when they bring real value.

How do you go from a KERNLAB prototype to a complete solution?

Once a prototype or MVP has demonstrated its relevance, it can evolve into a more structured engineering project.

This generally involves:

  • Designing a solid architecture
  • Developing a scalable platform
  • Integration with other systems
  • Deployment to production

This transition allows an experiment to be transformed into a lasting solution.

How do you start a project with KERNLAB?

The first step is to discuss the idea or project.

This exchange allows you to:

  • Clarify the innovation objective
  • Identify technical challenges
  • Determine the best prototyping approach
  • Define the next steps

The goal is to transform an intuition or idea into a concrete prototype.

Starting at €8,000 excl. VAT, depending on the project

Project owner, startup, SaaS founder: let's talk about your idea

Validate an idea. Build a prototype. Launch an MVP. Frame a Go-to-Market. Integrate Stripe and scale. KERNLAB is built for that.

Based in Brussels, we support companies and startups in Belgium and across Europe. 1-hour free audit, no commitment.