Polysense opens Chicago office to transform food manufacturing across the US and Canada

Polysense, a pioneer in AI-native quality control and process optimization for the food manufacturing industry announced the opening of its first office in the United States, in Chicago, Illinois. The new office will serve as Polysense's hub for the US and Canada, following the same industries the company already serves in Europe: potato, bakery, and fruit and vegetable processing.

The move follows Polysense's USD 10.7 million seed round, closed in July 2026, and marks the next step in the company's international expansion. Polysense already counts some of the largest food manufacturers in the world as customers, with deployments that started in Europe and have since expanded to the United States and the Middle East. The Chicago office will let Polysense build directly on that momentum, with a dedicated local team supporting US and Canadian manufacturers.

Chicago is home to some of the largest food manufacturers in the world, and puts Polysense close to the customers it already serves and the ones it wants to reach next.

US tariffs are adding new pressure to an industry that already runs on thin margins, pushing manufacturers, in the US and among European players building factories there, to invest in automation to protect what margin is left.

That pressure is compounded by a persistent labor shortage: experienced operators are retiring, replacements are hard to find and train, and food-safety requirements haven't gotten any easier. US manufacturing could need 3.8 million new workers by 2033, with up to 1.9 million of those roles potentially unfilled. That is exactly where Polysense helps: automating the inspection and adjustment work that used to depend on manual, experienced oversight, so manufacturers can protect margins and hold quality steady even with a shrinking pool of skilled labor.

Yarne De Munck, CEO and Co-founder of Polysense

Yarne De Munck, CEO and Co-founder of Polysense:

"Food manufacturing is global, and we are focused on the biggest companies in the industry. Being close to our customers matters: it means we can see what's happening on their lines and help them act on it immediately, not from another continent. Opening in Chicago lets us do that in the US, and it's the natural next step after this funding round."

Jarne Bogaert, co-founder of Polysense, is relocating to Chicago to lead the new office as US President of Polysense, together with Jonas Lernout, who joins as pre-sales engineer. Polysense is committed to building its US team the same way it built its team in Europe: with people who are close to customers and understand their challenges firsthand. The Chicago team will grow as the business scales.

Jarne Bogaert, US President of Polysense

Jarne Bogaert, US President of Polysense:

"US manufacturers don't just want a vendor on the other end of a phone line, they want a team that understands their lines and can act on what it sees. That's the value we want Chicago to bring: real-time visibility into their lines, and a team close enough to act on it fast."

Over the next six to twelve months, the Chicago team will focus on building the company's US and Canadian market motion: growing the customer base, establishing a repeatable sales and delivery model, and setting up the operational link between US customers and the delivery team in Belgium.

The ambition is simple: give US and Canadian manufacturers the same real-time visibility and control over their lines that manufacturers across Europe already rely on to cut waste and protect yield.