As AI technology rapidly evolves, enterprises face a critical challenge: keeping up with this change while ensuring the high levels of security and compliance required in their industries.
However, most enterprises lack the internal expertise or resources to do both effectively.
Here’s where GLBNXT, an Amsterdam-based SaaS startup, comes into play!
Launched today after months in stealth mode, GLBNXT provides a platform that uses AI to enhance productivity and simplify decision-making for knowledge workers, allowing organisations to focus on their core expertise without needing extensive technical knowledge.
In this edition of New Kid on the Block, we at Silicon Canals spoke to Co-founder Richard van Anholt on numerous topics. It includes GLBNXT’s origin, challenges, customer feedback, mission, and much more.
Do give it a read!
Origin of GLBNXT
GLBNXT was founded by Jan Saan and Richard van Anholt, long-time colleagues, and close friends who worked together for over nine years at CM.com.
“Our shared experience in building high-performance tech organisations—and seeing firsthand how rapidly technology was evolving—sparked a joint ambition: to create a platform that would help other organisations keep up with this pace of change,” says van Anholt.
The founding duo recognised that while enterprises were accumulating vast amounts of valuable data, most lacked the tools and capabilities to use it effectively, especially when it came to adopting AI.
“GLBNXT was born out of a shared conviction — that technology should serve people, and that every organisation should have access to the full potential of AI, without needing to rebuild their IT landscape or hire a team of data scientists,” reveals van Anholt.
The mission: People-first AI
GLBNXT aims to help organisations stay focused on their core expertise while giving them reliable access to the latest and most advanced AI capabilities, without needing deep technical knowledge.
“We believe that technology should serve people and society’s needs. Our platform is designed to be as accessible as it is powerful, ensuring that every user, regardless of technical skill, can leverage AI to enhance productivity and simplify decision-making,” states van Anholt.
“We are committed to fostering a culture of empowerment, inclusivity, and continuous growth, enabling organisations to reach their full potential through ongoing innovation and collaboration, while also having a positive effect on society and the environment,” he explains.
GLBNXT simplified: Fully European, fully secure
GLBNXT is a European platform that empowers knowledge workers by transforming enterprise data into actionable insights through AI.
Unlike many AI solutions that rely on third-party cloud providers, GLBNXT operates entirely on its infrastructure, fully hosted and managed within the European Union.
“This means that organisations can leverage advanced AI capabilities—such as natural language processing and intelligent search—without compromising on data control or regulatory compliance,” adds van Anholt.
To make it even more understandable, van Anholt simplifies “GLBNXT is a smart computer system that helps people at work find, summarise, and look things up. It connects to all the data a company already has and makes it easier to use. People used to search using single words and then had to click around to find the answer. With GLBNXT, you can just ask a normal question in any language, and it gives a clear answer you can understand. It runs on its computers in Europe. This means no one else can secretly look at the information—it’s locked up and only the company can see it.”
Eliminating traditional complexity
van Anholt believes that there is an assumption that adopting AI in an enterprise setting is always a massive, expensive change management project. They believe it requires major system overhauls, deep technical expertise, and significant internal resources.
“Our platform proves that AI can be 100 per cent private, sovereign, and compliant—running entirely on our infrastructure, with no data leaving European soil. And just as importantly, we’ve designed GLBNXT to eliminate traditional complexity. There’s no need for large internal AI teams or months of preparation,” he adds.
“Instead, we offer a plug-in platform that connects to existing systems, respects how each company already works and allows knowledge workers to start benefiting from AI on day one. It’s a practical, accessible way to get real value from AI—without the disruption,” he reveals.
Challenges: Getting to the right problem
One of the biggest challenges during their pilot projects, according to van Anholt, wasn’t technical at all.
Rather, it was “defining the right problem” to solve.
“AI is incredibly powerful, but only when applied to the right problem in the right context. Once we worked closely with our pilot partners to pinpoint the actual challenge—whether that was reducing time spent searching internal documents or improving decision-making with faster insights—we could gradually build, implement, and refine the right solution. That process of shaping the real question made all the difference,” he adds.
From pilot success to market traction
The Dutch company has already secured strategic sponsorships from prestigious IT vendors, including Dell Technologies, NVIDIA, Zeta-Alpha, and ITQ.
Additionally, the company has demonstrated initial traction through successful pilots with Dutch municipalities, as well as early use cases in the healthcare and education sectors.
“Users were especially impressed by the platform’s ability to handle sensitive data with AI tools, ensuring privacy and a sovereign setup that fostered trust and confidence. This blend of usability and control made a strong impression,” he adds.
van Anholt claims that their early users have praised GLBNXT for its intuitive interface and the immediate value it adds to their operations.
At present, the company focuses on industries where knowledge workers handle vast amounts of data and where regulatory compliance is critical.
“Our focus has been on healthcare, education, and the public sector, as these environments often involve high information complexity and demand trustworthy, compliant AI solutions,” he adds.
van Anholt says that GLBNXT is intentionally designed as a horizontal platform—one that can serve almost any industry.
“We made this strategic choice because it’s difficult to predict which sectors will show the most momentum or appetite for AI at any given moment. Instead of narrowing our scope, we’ve built a solution that’s adaptable by design. We want to be ready when the demand arises—no matter the industry,” he states.
Building lean
According to van Anhold, GLBNXT has secured sufficient funding during its pre-seed stage from angel investors. However, he didn’t disclose either the exact funding amount or the investor’s names.
As of now, GLBNXT consists of two founding partners, supported by external experts and temporary project teams, brought in as needed to accelerate development and execution.
“With the upcoming launch and anticipated growth, we plan to expand our team across various departments, including sales and R&D, to better serve our clients and drive innovation,” he adds.
GLBNXT’s future plans
“For us, Europe is nothing more than a springboard. We are experienced platform builders, and as such, we prepare for global roll-outs from day one. Our infrastructure, compliance setup, and product design are all built with an international scale in mind. Expansion into new markets and industries is not an ambition—it’s a roadmap we’re actively executing. We believe the need for sovereign, intuitive, and human-centric AI is global, and we’re ready to serve it,” he concludes.
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