Dutch Fintech Duqu Raises $1.6M to Help Startups Get Paid Faster

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-24

Here's a frustrating reality for many European founders: you finish a project, send the invoice, and then... wait. And wait. Meanwhile, payroll, inventory, and marketing bills don't pause. That's the exact problem Duqu, an Amsterdam-based fintech, is tackling. And investors just gave them a fresh $1.6 million (€1.5 million) to scale up. The pre-Seed round came from Curiosity VC and No Such Ventures. But what's really interesting isn't the funding amount—it's the technology behind it. Duqu built an AI underwriting engine that automates 95% of credit assessments. That's not just a nice stat; it's the reason they can process smaller invoices profitably when traditional lenders can't. ### Why Unpaid Invoices Are a Bigger Problem Than You Think Nearly half—47%—of B2B invoices in Western Europe are overdue. Let that sink in. Almost every other invoice you send gets paid late. For a bootstrapped startup or a small business, that's not just annoying. It's a cash flow crisis waiting to happen. Duqu's solution is simple: instead of waiting weeks for a client to pay, you can get a short-term advance on that invoice as soon as you issue it. No selling your invoices. No losing control of your customer relationships. And no minimum or maximum amount—you pay a fee only when you 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." That's the core insight. Speed matters. Once approved, money moves within 24 hours—often within an hour. ### The AI Engine That Makes Small Invoices Profitable Traditional lenders often ignore small credit applications because the cost to assess them outweighs the profit. Duqu flips that. Their AI-driven credit assessment stack means even a $500 invoice can be processed profitably. > "Small applications are relatively expensive for traditional lenders to assess and process. 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," said Herman Kienhuis of Curiosity. And it's not just for their own platform. Duqu offers the engine as a white-label solution to banks, lenders, and leasing companies. That means a bank could use Duqu's tech to automate their own credit decisions while keeping their policies intact. Thijn van Helvoirt of No Such Ventures points out that this technology could extend far beyond invoices—into leasing, mortgages, and buy now, pay later. "Credit assessment is still a labour-intensive process for many providers," he says. "Duqu automates a large part of that process while allowing lenders to retain their own credit policies." ### Traction and What's Next Since launch, Duqu has attracted nearly 1,500 users and processed $4.9 million (€4.6 million) in applications. Of that, more than $1.3 million (€1.2 million) has been advanced. The company, founded in October 2025 by de Goede, Victor Brouwer, and Diederik Nassenstein, plans to use the new capital to grow both sides of the business: the direct platform for businesses and the white-label tech for lenders. For European startups, this is a signal. The fintech infrastructure to smooth out cash flow is getting smarter and faster. And for founders tired of chasing payments, Duqu's approach might just be the bridge between doing the work and getting paid for it—without the wait.