Niek Hogenboom
| Niek Hogenboom | |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, co-founder of Minimal AI |
|---|---|
| Known for | Co-founding Minimal AI, an AI customer support platform for e-commerce |
Niek Hogenboom is a Dutch entrepreneur and co-founder of Minimal AI, a company that develops artificial intelligence agents for e-commerce customer support. He co-founded the company alongside Titus Ex. Minimal AI is a Y Combinator Summer 2025 batch company.[1]
Career
Hogenboom co-founded Minimal AI, which is headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The company builds AI-powered agents designed to automate e-commerce customer support operations. According to the company, its platform can resolve over 90% of customer support tickets autonomously, integrating with major helpdesk systems including Zendesk, Freshdesk, Gorgias, and Trengo.[2]
In March 2025, Minimal AI publicly launched its Multi Agent System, an AI solution intended to automate nearly all aspects of e-commerce customer service.[3] The company's clients include a number of Dutch e-commerce brands such as XXL Nutrition, Cloudpillo, Dekbed Discounter, and MyWheels, among others.
Minimal AI was accepted into the Y Combinator Summer 2025 batch, and was subsequently listed by Forbes among the most promising startups from that cohort.[4]
In March 2026, the company raised $3.6 million in venture capital funding. According to Dutch media reports, the fundraising round was completed in approximately one week, with an initial $500,000 commitment secured within ten minutes.[5]
A March 2025 profile in the Dutch publication De Ondernemer described Hogenboom as 27 years old at the time, and his co-founder Titus Ex as 30.[6] Earlier news coverage from 2020 connects Hogenboom's name to the Vattenfall Solar Team at Delft University of Technology, a student team that participated in the American Solar Challenge, suggesting a background in engineering at TU Delft.[7]
The company reports that its AI agents can reduce customer support response times to under two minutes and lower cost per ticket by 80%.
References
- ↑ "Minimal AI – Y Combinator". 'Minimal AI}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Minimal AI – Scale E-commerce Customer Support Without Hiring". 'Minimal AI}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Minimal AI lanceert Multi Agent System voor geautomatiseerde klantenservice". 'ICT Magazine}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "The Most Promising Startups To Watch From YC Summer 2025 Batch". 'Forbes}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Minimal AI haalt $3,6 miljoen op in Silicon Valley: 'Binnen tien minuten hadden we een half miljoen'". 'Quote Net}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Niek (27) en Titus (30) maken met AI-agents medewerker klantenservice bijna overbodig". 'De Ondernemer}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ↑ "Vattenfall Solar Team faces multiple hurdles because of Covid-19". 'Vattenfall}'. Retrieved 2026-03-19.