Startups are an integral part of the economic success of any country and the Netherlands is no exception. The country is known for its open culture, ease of doing business coupled with a largely English-speaking population, and focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.
As a result, the startup ecosystem in the Netherlands also witnessed a huge boost in the number of opportunities and funding deals. According to a report from DSA, €5.3B was invested in 2021 in Dutch startups, compared to €1.7B in 2020.
We have compiled a list of 12 Dutch startups that have raised funding in April, 2022. Eight of them are hiring as well. If you’re in the Netherlands and looking for job opportunities, check out this list. You can also share this article with friends and family who may be on the lookout.
Certain details of these startups, such as founders’ names, founding year, and the recent funding raised, have been sourced from Dealroom.
Rita Personal Data
Founder(s): John Arts, Guglielmo Schenardi
Founded in: 2020
Latest funding: €1M
According to Rita Personal Data, most people don’t know which companies have their data and are unaware of the information being collected. Rita changes this by offering a safe and easy way for people to learn about their data and take control.
The company aims to make data work for everyone by democratising the data landscape. The startup has built a mobile app, which allows people to view, understand and control their data. The app allows users to track their data in a dashboard showing how much money the data is worth, how companies target them, which ads they have clicked on, and their level of data safety. With the platform, users can ask companies to remove their data by exercising their GDPR rights.
TrueKinetix
Founder(s): Bas van Rens
Founded in: 2018
Latest funding: Undisclosed
TrueKinetix built the first prototype of the TrueBike, a robotic indoor bicycle trainer, in collaboration with TU Delft and TU Eindhoven. In the TrueBike, the company has replaced the flywheel with a ‘high-tech’ power generation platform, which makes indoor training more efficient. The company says it can simulate the right pedal force calculated for body weight and length.
TrueKinetix currently employs 30 people and is looking to expand its team and has various roles available. Check them out here.
Gisou
Founder(s): Negin Mirsalehi, Maurits Stibbe
Founded in: 2015
Latest funding: Undisclosed
Gisou by Negin is born out of a passion for honey bees and haircare. With its bee-centred approach, Gisou aims to offer high-quality and natural beauty products while raising awareness of bees and inspiring new generations of beekeepers.
The company is currently looking for fresh talents. Check out the opportunities here.
STENTiT
Founder(s): Bart Sanders
Founded in: 2017
Latest funding: €1.8M
STENTiT is a medical device spin-off company of the Dutch Eindhoven University of Technology, focusing on the development of regenerative endovascular implants. The company claims to be an emerging player in the field of regenerative medical devices, offering a breakthrough solution for cardiovascular interventions by developing first-of-its-kind endovascular implants with regenerative capacity.
Using a catheter-based approach, these devices provide the ability to restore arteries without the need for invasive surgical intervention. The aim is to ultimately restore the affected blood vessel from the inside out to provide a lifelong solution.
Campspace
Founder(s): Peter Alexander Bosmans, Hugo van Donselaar, Merijn Straathof
Founded in: 2016
Latest funding: €3M
Campspace is a booking platform specialising in ‘unique’ outdoor stays either with a tent, in a campervan, or a cosy treehouse, yurt or cabin. The company claims to have grown at a rate of 300 per cent per year.
Campspace says that the global demand has yet to slow down, with Slovenia recording the highest increase in outdoor stays (76 per cent), followed by Austria (32 per cent) and Belgium (25 per cent). Regions like the Netherlands, Germany and the UK, where camping was already a popular pastime, are also showing an increase in outdoor stays, claims the company.
Flow Money Automation
Founder(s): Daan van Klinken, Niels Mulder, Danny Wilson
Founded in: 2019
Latest funding: €3.5M
Flow Money Automation aims to help freelancers and individuals to better manage their money flows. The company launched an app in 2020 that automatically distributes incoming money flows across budgets, savings accounts and investments based on ‘triggers’ that users set themselves.
The company says, “With the help of ‘smart rules’, it is possible to set up a money system that automatically budgets and prioritises income. This way, money flows directly into ‘jars’ or different accounts, so that users have an overview of all their income and expenditure and it is always clear how much money is still available to spend.”
Flow also has had a PSD2 Open Banking licence since 2020, allowing it to view and initiate financial transactions. The fintech company was one of the first Open Banking companies to receive both an AIS and PIS PSD2 licence from De Nederlandsche Bank, making it possible to connect all European banks. Besides newer Dutch banks, such as bunq and Knab, major players like ING, Rabobank and ABN AMRO are already connected to Flow.
With its recent funding, the company is looking to strengthen its team and currently has various open roles. Check them out here.
Bloqhouse
Founder(s): Tim Rutgers
Founded in: 2016
Latest funding: €2.1M
Bloqhouse is on a mission to make investing accessible to anyone, anywhere. The Dutch platform provides a cloud-based, one-stop-shop funding platform that meets all the current and future needs of fund managers, investment funds, and companies looking to raise capital. By digitalising the funding pipeline, the company makes raising capital more cost-efficient.
Last week, the company raised fresh capital and is looking to hire fresh talents. Apply here.
Fibersail
Founder(s): Pedro Pinto, Hugo Rocha, Vasco Serpa, Carlos Oliveira
Founded in: 2015
Latest funding: €5M
Fibersail is a mission-driven company that is adding intelligence to the way wind turbines are built and operated. The company uses its proprietary shape sensing technology to focus on the shape of the blade rather than root strain, enabling manufacturers and operators to design and operate better-performing wind turbines. The technology enables this by controlling and monitoring the behaviour of their blades, thereby empowering and enabling the EU vision to become climate neutral and energy independent.
Fibersail has offices in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Bogota, Colombia.
SchoolTalent
Founder(s): Florian Zandbergen
Founded in: 2018
Latest funding: €850K
SchoolTalent, a company that operates in the Netherlands under the name Bijles Aan Huis, and as Lernigo in Germany, is on a mission to provide students with ‘high-quality’ one-on-one tutoring.
Using artificial intelligence, the company’s platform makes it easier to find the right (screened) tutor. Once the student and tutor have found each other, the platform supports both the student and tutor with didactic support, practice materials and more. During the pandemic, SchoolTalent made its online tutoring platform available to schools for free, so they could be ready for the switch to online teaching faster.
The company is currently looking to add new members to its team. You can apply here.
Payaut
Founder(s): Ernst van Niekerk
Founded in: 2019
Latest funding: €8M
Payaut is on a mission to enable online platforms to give buyers and sellers the ‘best’ commerce experience possible. The platform provides automated solutions such as reconciliation, balance management, invoicing, seller verification through KYC checks, and split payments.
The API-driven platform enables customers of any size to efficiently and securely manage their payments and finances while also remaining compliant with legislation such as PSD2. The company obtained its licence to provide payment services from De Nederlandsche Bank (Dutch central bank – DNB) in July, 2021.
Payaut acts as an intermediary between sellers and different Payment Service Providers (PSPs). As a result, marketplaces are not dependent on one single PSP but can use multiple providers such as Mollie, Adyen, PayPal, or Stripe at the same time.
With the recent funding, the company is looking to expand its team and has vacancies for various roles. Check them out here.
Eye Security
Founder(s): Piet Kerkhofs, Vincent van de Ven, Job Kuijpers
Founded in: 2020
Latest funding: €4.5M
Eye Security was founded to make ‘high-quality’ security accessible to the most vulnerable companies. The company is on a mission to use its expertise to protect SMEs in Europe. It offers solutions combined with cyber insurance, making cyber threats in SMEs manageable. To remove the risks of cybercrime from the balance sheet, the Dutch company will soon insure the residual risk for its customers.
Currently, Eye Security comprises a team of 50 people with a shared passion for combating digital injustice and is looking to further expand the team. Apply here.
The Fabricant
Founder(s): Kerry Murphy, Amber Slooten and Adriana Hoppenbrouwer
Founded in: 2018
Latest funding: €12.8M
The Fabricant creates digital couture NFT collectibles in collaboration with fashion and entertainment brands to bring them into the 3D digital fashion space. The company says that it has created a space where a savvy 12-year old can create a metaverse-native brand that can compete on the same terms as a heritage fashion label.
The Fabricant estimates that by 2025, 100M people will be metaverse-ready by wearing digital garments which are minted in their studio. The company has partnered with Adidas, Under Armour, Off-White, Napapijri, Puma, Peak Performance, World of Women, and gaming platforms like Epic Games and The Sandbox.
The company is currently looking for a product owner, you can apply here.
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