It’s the week before Easter, and Luxembourg is eerily quiet. But for Talkwalker founder Christophe Folschette, holidays are the last thing on his mind.
“When Hootsuite acquired Talkwalker in 2024, I needed a little bit of a break. But then I spoke with the co-founders of Nuwacom, and very quickly we got to the point where we said: ‘Here’s an opportunity to do something together,’” Folschette explains.
Having known the Nuwacom founders for over a decade, it didn’t take long before Folschette signed on as co-founder and CEO of the German AI startup.
The opportunity, he says, was too exciting to pass up. Nuwacom develops secure, generative AI-based workflows that enable organisations to get answers from their own data. A case in point: Lufthansa tested the technology during its annual shareholder meeting to manage incoming questions.
“They fed the system with their archive of previous questions, news, and everything related to the Lufthansa brand,” Folschette says. The result? Nuwacom was able to answer “close to 90% of questions” faster and with higher quality than through the standard process.
“[…] people don’t need to be afraid about playing and working with AI or uploading confidential documents to an AI software.”
Christophe Folschette, co-founder and CEO of Nuwacom
Folschette was sold. “This shows what is possible internally in terms of AI,” he says. “Because often people are a little bit afraid of AI. But it’s just a co-worker that makes your life easier so that humans can focus more on work strategy or decision-making.”
As an AI product company, Nuwacom is moving fast—and that means a different growth playbook than the one Folschette followed at Talkwalker. Instead of prioritising organic growth with minimal funding, Nuwacom is actively seeking venture capital to scale quickly.
“We want to have the right financier on our side to support us in this growth,” Folschette says. “And we need to take the risk in order to grow more quickly, because it won’t be enough to grow organically.”
He will lead both the fundraising and international expansion efforts, starting with a focused, market-by-market approach. “Obviously, Europe is an interesting market for us. We understand all of the different language needs of different clients,” he says. “We also understand the AI requirements of the AI Act etc, and it’s even the USP for us—providing a safe, regulation-compliant solution.”
Hosting data in Europe—or even on a client’s own premises—adds to the appeal for European companies. That’s why Nuwacom is currently setting up operations in Luxembourg, which will serve as an international hub to accelerate growth across the continent. Folschette expects the local team—comprising developers, AI engineers, sales and solution engineers, marketing experts, and a head of finance—to grow to 15 people by the end of 2025.
“There are a lot of applications that need a secure data centre and a secure AI layer on top of that.”
Christophe Folschette, co-founder and CEO of Nuwacom
Nuwacom has already begun discussions with mid-sized and large enterprises, as well as state representatives. Interest, says Folschette, has been “extremely high,” as organisations seek efficiency and smarter ways to generate content. But many remain hesitant—held back by concerns around data privacy and AI risks.
“In order to get it going, you need to have a secure layer. And that’s what we provide—so people don’t need to be afraid about playing and working with AI or uploading confidential documents to an AI software,” he explains.
Luxembourg, which launched its AI strategy in 2019 through the broader Digital Luxembourg Initiative, has laid the groundwork to support this kind of innovation. The strategy includes SME-focused programmes and infrastructure investments like MeluXina-AI and the newly announced AI Factory. Expected to be operational in the second half of 2026, the AI Factory will act as a one-stop shop for businesses seeking AI solutions.
Folschette believes Luxembourg is well-positioned to specialise in secure, industry-specific AI—particularly in sectors like financial services and regulation. “There’s just a tremendous opportunity in terms of automation and what you can do with AI within that space,” he says.
Another key area for Luxembourg? Data centres. “There are a lot of applications that need a secure data centre and a secure AI layer on top of that,” he notes.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions with different players because we provide these guardrails. For example, we have some clients running on a private cloud in Germany. So there’s an opportunity to do exactly the same here in Luxembourg—on the government cloud, for example.” Folschette’s move to Luxembourg spells good news for the local tech ecosystem. With his proven track record and deep expertise, the next chapter of his entrepreneurial journey could help shape Luxembourg’s AI future.
Christophe Folschette Joins nuwacom’s Leadership Team To Drive European Expansion
