AI Unlocks $1.6M to Free Your Unpaid Invoices

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-24

### Amsterdam Startup Duqu Raises $1.6M to Free Up Cash Stuck in Unpaid Invoices Ever finished a big project, sent the invoice, and then... waited. And waited. Meanwhile, payroll is due, your suppliers want their money, and that new hire can't start soon enough. You've done the work, but the cash is stuck in someone else's inbox. That's the exact problem a young Amsterdam fintech called Duqu is tackling. And they just raised $1.6 million in pre-Seed funding from Curiosity VC and No Such Ventures to scale their solution. ### What Duqu Actually Does Duqu gives businesses instant access to money tied up in outstanding invoices. But here's the twist: unlike traditional factoring, you don't sell your invoices. You keep control of your customer relationships. You just get an advance on the invoice amount, minus a fee, as soon as you issue the invoice. No minimum. No maximum. And you only pay when you actually use an advance. "Businesses can arrange almost everything instantly today, yet after completing the work they can still wait weeks to get paid," says co-founder Maas de Goede. "Growth cannot wait for an invoice to be paid." He's got a point. Nearly half (47%) of B2B invoices in Western Europe are overdue. That's money businesses have already earned, sitting idle while expenses pile up. ### The AI Engine Behind the Magic What makes Duqu interesting isn't just the advance itself. It's the AI underwriting engine they built over the past 18 months. It automates about 95% of the credit assessment process. That means they can profitably process smaller credit applications, which traditional lenders often ignore because the paperwork costs more than the loan is worth. "Small applications are relatively expensive for traditional lenders to assess and process," explains Herman Kienhuis of Curiosity. "Duqu has built a fully AI-driven credit assessment and processing stack. As a result, businesses with smaller credit or working capital needs can be better served." And the tech isn't just for Duqu's own platform. They offer it as a white-label solution to banks, lenders, and leasing companies. Lenders can plug it in and automatically assess applications using their own credit policies. Thijn van Helvoirt of No Such Ventures sees even bigger potential: "The same technology can also be applied to areas such as leasing, mortgages and buy now, pay later. Duqu is building technology that can be applied across a much broader part of the credit market." ### How It Works in Practice Let's say you run a design agency. You finish a $10,000 project and send the invoice. Normally, you'd wait 30, 60, maybe 90 days to get paid. With Duqu, you upload the invoice. Their AI assesses it in seconds. Once approved, the money hits your account within 24 hours, often within an hour. You pay a small fee for the advance. When your client pays, you're settled. No selling invoices. No losing control of the customer relationship. Just faster access to cash you've already earned. ### Traction So Far Duqu launched in October 2025 (yes, that's recent) and already has nearly 1,500 users. They've processed $4.9 million in applications and advanced over $1.3 million. The founding team, Maas de Goede, Victor Brouwer, and Diederik Nassenstein, plan to use the fresh capital to grow both sides of the business: the direct platform for businesses and the white-label tech for lenders. ### Why This Matters For small and medium businesses, cash flow is everything. You can be profitable on paper but still struggle to make payroll if your customers pay late. Duqu's approach could be a lifeline. And for lenders? It's a way to serve smaller clients without drowning in manual underwriting. That's a win-win. The bigger picture: as AI continues to eat into traditional finance, we'll see more tools that make credit faster, cheaper, and more accessible. Duqu is one to watch. ### The Bottom Line If you're tired of waiting weeks or months to get paid, Duqu offers a compelling alternative. No invoice selling, no minimums, and a fee only when you use it. Backed by $1.6 million in fresh funding and an AI engine that automates almost everything, they're aiming to change how businesses manage cash flow. And if they succeed, your unpaid invoices might finally stop being a bottleneck and start being an asset.