In the last decade, the Netherlands has become one of Europe’s fastest-growing startup ecosystems. Fueled by a competitive talent pool, a complex yet interconnected economy, and a thriving tech sector, the country has seen rapid expansion.
A plethora of accelerators, incubators, co-working spaces, and government incentives further contribute to the flourishing startup scene.
According to The Quarterly Startup Report, a total of almost €1.4B has been invested in Dutch startups so far in 2023. Larger funding rounds across various sectors, beyond cleantech and healthcare, suggest a broadening and more balanced investment landscape.
Today, we bring you the list of Dutch startups that secured the highest funding amounts in 2023. Check them out below.
Note: Certain details of these startups, such as founders’ names and the funding raised, have been sourced from Dealroom.
VectorY Therapeutics
Founder/s: Sander van Deventer, Pavlina Konstantinova, Barbara Sanders
HQ: Amsterdam
Funding round detail: In November, biotech firm VectorY revealed a €129M Series A funding round. EQT Life Sciences and Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund co-led the round, with participation from various investors, including MRL Ventures Fund, Insight Partners, ALS Investment Fund, BioGeneration Ventures, and others.
VectorY aims to enhance the lives of neurodegenerative disease patients through innovative vectorised antibody treatments. Its platform utilises precise therapeutic antibodies and one-time AAV-based delivery to the CNS, with expertise spanning antibodies, AAV vectors, protein degradation, manufacturing, and neuroscience.
The company is dedicated to advancing crucial disease-modifying therapies for conditions like ALS and Huntington’s.
bunq
Founder/s: Ali Niknam
HQ: Amsterdam
Funding round detail: In July, Amsterdam’s neobank, bunq, secured €44.5M in growth funding – bringing its total capital raised for 2023 to almost €100M. Investors in the round included Ali Niknam (Founder of bunq), Pollen Street Capital, and Raymond Kasiman.
Ali Niknam established bunq in 2012, obtaining the first European banking permit in 35 years. As the sole investor until 2021, he injected €98.7M of personal funds, enabling bunq to develop as a user-centric neobank.
The company became the sole self-funded challenger bank to expand into 30 European markets without relying on venture capital funds.
Tagworks Pharmaceuticals
Founder/s: Raffaella Rossin, Marc Robillard
HQ: Nijmegen, Netherlands
Funding round detail: In June, Tagworks, a pioneer in Click-to-Release chemistry for safer therapies, announced a $65M Series A funding round led by Ysios Capital and Gilde Healthcare.
Novartis Venture Fund, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Lightstone Ventures, and existing investors Meneldor and Oost NL also participated.
Tagworks, a precision medicine company, aims to revolutionise patient care for serious illnesses like cancer using its patented technological platform. With facilities in the US and the Netherlands, Tagworks focuses on developing a pipeline of click-cleavable therapies.
The company’s lead program, TGW101, is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting TAG72, a clinically validated pan-carcinoma target.
Tagworks’ technology also allows off-target deactivation of radiopharmaceuticals and on-target activation of immunomodulators, enhancing therapeutic effectiveness and safety.
Kynexis
Founder/s: Kees Been (current CEO)
HQ: Naarden, Netherlands
Funding round detail: In November, biotech firm Kynexis raised €57M from investors including Ysios Capital, Forbion Capital Partners and Sunstone Life Science Ventures.
Kynexis claims to be advancing precision therapeutics for brain diseases, focusing on a biomarker-based approach to address cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS).
Using extensive data analysis to stratify patients based on the disease’s causal biology, Kynexis targets KAT-II, a key enzyme in the kynurenine pathway. The company’s lead candidate, KYN-5356, is a potent and highly selective first-in-class small molecule.
Protix
Founder/s: Kees Aarts
HQ: Dongen, Netherlands
Funding round detail: In October, Protix, an insect ingredients company raised strategic funding and partnership from Tyson Foods. The investment amount remains undisclosed.
The collaboration aims to advance the insect ingredient industry, fostering sustainable proteins and lipids for the global food system and providing a new revenue stream for Tyson while accelerating Protix’s global expansion.
Protix claims to be a pioneering force in the insect-based ingredient industry, offering sustainable solutions for pet food, aquaculture, livestock feed, and organic fertiliser. The company’s mission is to create low-footprint ingredients, addressing challenges in the food system.
Using food industry waste as feed for black soldier flies, Protix extracts valuable nutrients like proteins and lipids from the insects. These nutrients contribute to high-quality feed and food products, while residual insect streams are repurposed as organic fertilisers.
Operating the world’s first industrial insect facility since 2019, Protix manages the entire production chain from breeding to processing. With global expansion underway, the company actively seeks partnerships to unlock the full potential of insect-based ingredients.
Fourthline
Founder/s: Krik Gunning, Chris van Straeten
HQ: Amsterdam
Funding round detail: In April, Fourthline (formerly Safened), a startup offering AI-driven KYC and AML solutions, secured €50M funding led by Finch Capital and other investors.
Fourthline specialises in identity verification for banks and fintechs, assisting in the authentication of thousands of new customers. Their products align with local KYC, AML, and GDPR requirements across Europe and beyond.
Powered by AI, Fourthline’s compliance solutions support businesses in meeting regulatory standards from onboarding to continuous KYC at every stage of growth.
The company collaborates with European fintech leaders like N26, Trade Republic, Qonto, and Scalable Capital, as well as regulated financial institutions including NN, Solaris, and Western Union.
Fairphone
Founder/s: Bas van Abel
HQ: Amsterdam
Funding round detail: In January, Fairphone, known for creating the world’s first ethically designed and produced smartphone, secured €49M in funding.
The investment was made by a consortium of impact investors led by newcomers Invest-NL and ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund, along with existing investor Quadia and its Regenero Impact Fund.
Fairphone aims to inspire responsible practices across the electronics industry. Each phone sold by Fairphone represents the demand for ethical electronics alongside a profitable business strategy.
The company asserts its influence in the market to prompt manufacturers and suppliers to invest in better working conditions, employee satisfaction, sustainable practices, and enhanced opportunities for communities within the supply chain.
Fairphone says it is making a positive impact on nine UN Sustainable Development Goals, addressing issues like poverty, education, gender equality, decent work, innovation, reduced inequalities, responsible consumption, climate action, and partnerships.
Weaviate
Founder/s: Bob van Luijt, Micha Verhagen, Etienne Dilocker
HQ: Amsterdam
Funding round detail: In April, Weaviate, the company behind the open-source vector database of the same name, secured $50M in a Series B round. Index Ventures led the round, with participation from Battery Ventures, and existing investors Erin Price-Wright, Dharmesh Thakker, and Danel Dayan.
Weaviate, formerly SeMI Technologies, is an open-source vector database with low-latency support for various media formats.
Offering features like semantic search, question-answer extraction, and customisable models, it stores both objects and vectors, enabling a blend of vector search with structured filtering. Accessible through GraphQL, REST, and various client-side programming languages, it provides versatile and efficient data retrieval.
Creative Fabrica
Founder/s: Anca Stefan, Roemie Hillenaar
HQ: Amsterdam
Funding round detail: In January, Creative Fabrica, a marketplace for creative assets, raised $61M in funding. The investment was led by Alven and was joined by LionTree and TriplePoint with continued participation from Peak, Felix Capital and FJ Labs.
Creative Fabrica, originating as a digital goods marketplace, has evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem for creatives. With a membership-based model, the platform provides a library of premium content and graphic assets.
Beyond this, Creative Fabrica tailors its offerings with design tools, seminars, and inspirational content, catering to a diverse audience with interests spanning various craft verticals, from popular ones like print-on-demand and logos to more specialised areas like embroidery design, home crafts, and quilting.
Battolyser Systems
Founder/s: Prof. Dr. Fokko Mulder and his research group at TU Delft
HQ: Schiedam, Netherlands
Funding round detail: Battolyser Systems, a climate scale-up, signed €40M financing agreement with the European Investment Bank to support the company and commercialise its Battolyser technology.
Battolyser Systems is developing a dual-function battery that produces hydrogen using excess electricity. The technology is cost-effective, producing hydrogen more efficiently than existing methods, and can also feed surplus electricity back into the grid.
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