N-SIDE received two awards at the Wallonia International Business Awards, which took place Tuesday evening at La Sucrerie in Wavre. N-SIDE won the Wallonia International Export Business Award as well as the audience award. A great recognition for this company specializing in innovative solutions for the pharmaceutical and energy sectors.

In the early 2000s, Philippe Chevalier decided to launch his company N-SIDE in Louvain-la-Neuve, specializing in artificial intelligence technologies and innovative solutions for the pharmaceutical and energy sectors. Today, 90% of the company’s revenue comes from exports. This success was recognized on Tuesday evening at the Wallonia International Business Awards. N-SIDE won the Wallonia International Export Business Award, which honors a Walloon company that has most significantly improved its performance and position internationally. N-SIDE walked away with two statuettes, having also won the audience award.

Since 1991, the Grand Prix Wallonie à l'Exportation, renamed the Wallonia International Business Awards in 2022, has been held every two years to reward the efforts and successes of Walloon companies expanding into foreign markets, contributing to the visibility of these companies and to the international reputation of Walloon products, services, and expertise.

“This is a great recognition for the team’s work, receiving these two awards. 90% of our revenue comes from exports, and AWEX has always helped us a lot. Since we mainly work internationally, it took us some time to gain recognition in Belgium. That’s why the audience award is very special,” commented Philippe Chevalier, N-SIDE’s director.

The company’s founder started his career in academia. “I used to ask my students to find solutions to help companies with mathematical optimization. But often, businesses would say it was just theory. That’s how I decided to launch my company, wanting to put this theory into practice,” recalls Philippe Chevalier.

Pharmaceutical and Energy Sectors

N-SIDE is primarily active in two sectors: pharmaceutical and energy. “Our solutions help companies make the best decisions and optimize the use of their key resources. How? By combining industrial expertise, applied mathematics, and artificial intelligence to create innovative and easy-to-use software,” explains Chevalier.

“In the pharmaceutical sector, we help companies accelerate the clinical trial process. Today, we can say that one-third of the drugs brought to market have benefited from our solutions. We work with European companies but also in the United States, and we recently opened an office in Japan,” adds Philippe Chevalier.

“In the energy sector, we optimize the management of the electricity grid in Europe to use more renewable energy,” he says.

Looking ahead, Philippe Chevalier has a few goals. “I would like the company to break into the North American energy market. I would also like us to expand in Asia for the pharmaceutical sector. And there are many fields where optimization could have a significant impact. It would be great to add a third area of expertise,” concludes Philippe Chevalier.