Filip Maertens

Filip Maertens (born 1978) is a Belgian tech founder and keynote speaker with a background in cyber-security and artificial intelligence.
Career
Cybersecurity
He was founder of Securax (1999), a Belgium-based cyber-security consulting company (acquired). As a cyber-security researcher in 1999-2001, Maertens published multiple software vulnerabilities on Microsoft and Linux platforms, and was a global trainer on the EY Extreme Hacking courses. He later worked as a computer forensic investigator and cybersecurity consultant.
2012 Hacking Controversy
In 2013, Maertens was tried by the Antwerp courts for the production and supply of hacking tools in 2012, which he claimed to be coerced into manufacturing. He was convicted for the manufacturing of hacking tools and served his sentence in a minimum security prison. He provides lectures on this topic as a cautionary tale for other entrepreneurs.
Artificial Intelligence
After having left the cybersecurity industry, Maertens founded the AI deeptech company Argus Labs (2012) based on his patent on recommender systems and the concept of contextual computing
He co-founded Faktion together with Joeri Van Steen as a venture studio, that spun off Chatlayer (2018, acquired 2020) and Metamaze (2021, acquired 2024). A board and professional management was implemented in 2021. Maertens' contribution to the Antwerp AI industry is recognised by industry experts as having jumpstarted over 300 jobs in the field of AI between 2011 and 2021.
Keynote Speaker
As a public speaker, Filip is regularly invited to talk on subjects, such as Enterpreneurship, Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence, and has been on TEDx, Cannes Lions, LeWeb, TheNextWeb, Strata, DI Summit, SuperNova and more.
Maertens was named Belgium's Top 50 Entrepreneur (2014) and Innovator (2015).

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