I-Care, a company from Mons that became a tech unicorn at the end of 2025, is broadening its horizons to include the defence sector.
Founded in 2004, I-Care is one of currently nine so-called unicorns in Belgium (companies that are valued at over € 1 billion) according to start-up database Dealroom. In their continued quest for expansion, the Walloon industrial predictive maintenance experts are taking over Amiral Technologies, a French company with similar – but at the same time different – expertise.
Predictive maintenance
Both companies specialise in predictive maintenance, which involves the use of artificial intelligence, data analysis and sensors to predict when machines are likely to fail so they can be repaired before they break down. The technology is increasingly used in factories and in sectors like energy infrastructure and transport networks. The difference is that I-Care uses cloud-based technology where Amiral uses on-premises solutions. That means that the technology runs on a company’s own servers rather than in the Cloud. You can see why that would be useful and indeed necessary when it comes to defence.
Meeting market needs
Now that the Walloon tech unicorn I-Care has access to on-premises know-how, they have access to major industry players like Thales and Airbus, who need I-Care’s solutions but are reluctant to rely on the Cloud.
This kind of move is part of the Hainaut big shots’ plan to keep growing as a company, combining forces with tech players that have adjacent expertise but are struggling to make ends meet.
The future is bright for I-Care.
