Timefold

Timefold is a Belgian software company that delivers a platform for automated planning and scheduling optimization. Founded in early 2023 by CEO Maarten Vandenbroucke and CTO Geoffrey De Smet, the company is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. The firm's technology originates from OptaPlanner, an open-source constraint solver created by De Smet in the mid-2000s and previously maintained by Red Hat. When Red Hat announced it would end support for the project, De Smet, who had dedicated nearly two decades to the technology, forked the OptaPlanner codebase to create Timefold Solver and continue his life's work. Vandenbroucke, a theoretical physicist by training with prior startup experience, was introduced to De Smet and was immediately impressed by the technology's potential impact.

Timefold operates on a commercial open-core business model. The core Timefold Solver is an open-source library available under an Apache License. This AI constraint solver is designed to tackle complex, NP-hard optimization problems that are challenging to solve optimally, such as vehicle routing, employee rostering, and production scheduling. The company’s flagship product, the PlanningAI platform, is built upon this solver and offers enterprise-ready, scalable solutions that can be integrated via API. It allows users to define operational constraints in programming languages like Java and Kotlin to find the best possible solution within a given timeframe. The platform aims to make planning optimization more accessible by removing mathematical complexity and reducing dependency on consultants. The business model includes proprietary extensions and platform services on top of the open-source core.

The company targets enterprise customers, including businesses and government entities that rely on efficient scheduling for their operations. Clients include organizations like Palantir, NEC, ADP, and Deutsche Bahn. Use cases span various industries, including logistics, field services, manufacturing, and public services. For instance, the solver can optimize routes for tens of thousands of vehicles, manage shift schedules for police officers, or plan national train timetables. By optimizing these complex plans, Timefold helps organizations increase productivity, reduce costs, improve employee satisfaction, and lower carbon emissions.

Timefold has secured significant funding to accelerate its growth. In March 2023, it raised a €2 million pre-seed round led by Smartfin. This was followed by a €6 million seed round in September 2024, led by Lakestar with continued participation from Smartfin. The company has grown to a team of approximately 26-30 employees and has onboarded executives from other major software companies.

Keywords: planning optimization, scheduling automation, constraint solver, AI planning, operations research, vehicle routing problem, employee scheduling, logistics optimization, production planning, resource allocation, open-core, Geoffrey De Smet, OptaPlanner fork, Maarten Vandenbroucke, PlanningAI, constraint satisfaction, heuristic algorithms, enterprise software, API integration, task assignment, maintenance scheduling, workforce management