In the fast-paced world of startups, Amsterdam continues to be a thriving hub of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.
As we delve into the second quarter of 2023, it’s time to spotlight the top milestones achieved by the city’s dynamic startup ecosystem.
According to the Quarterly Startup Report, Dutch startups raised approximately €525M in VC funding in the second quarter of 2023. This marks an increase compared to the first quarter of the year (€420M) and a decrease compared to the second quarter of 2022 (€710M).
We will explore the startups that made waves in Amsterdam during this period.
Finst launches first-of-its-kind ‘Crypto Bundles’
Amsterdam-based Finst, a cryptocurrency exchange platform founded by the ex-core team of European online stock broker DEGIRO, has launched a new product named ‘Crypto Bundles’.
Crypto Bundles will help users acquire many cryptocurrencies at once in a ‘basket’, much like conventional stocks. Bundles resemble ETFs, which have gained popularity among ordinary investors.
However, investors in Crypto Bundles will be able to own cryptocurrencies directly, unlike ETFs.
STX Group raises €150M credit facility
Amsterdam-based STX Group, a global environmental commodity trader and climate solutions provider, raised an innovative credit facility of up to €150M from environmental commodities.
The credit facility, which was oversubscribed, is expected to fuel the company’s rapid expansion.
STX Group offers a range of innovative solutions to help businesses and organisations transition to a sustainable future.
Bundleboon acquired by Little Cigogne
Amsterdam-based Bundleboon, an online curated shopping service that filed for bankruptcy in February, has been acquired by Paris-based Little Cigogne, a company that is already an established player in the personal shopping industry.
Founded in 2013 by Mathieu Waltzer, Little Cigogne is the European leader in curated children’s fashion. The French platform revolutionises the shopping experience with unique and personalised looks, creating a surprise event for the whole family.
Aegon Asset Management backs Factris with €50M
Amsterdam-based Factris, a fintech company that provides quick, low-cost working capital to European SMEs, secured €50M in funding from Aegon Asset Management.
Weaviate.io secures €45.6M
Amsterdam-based Weaviate, raised $50M (approximately €45.65M) in a Series B round of funding.
Founded in 2019 by Bob van Luijt, Micha Verhagen, and Etienne Dilocker, Weaviate (previously SeMI Technologies) is an open-source vector database.
It is a low-latency vector database that supports many media formats (text, graphics, etc.). It includes features like Semantic Search, Question-Answer Extraction, Classification, and Customisable Models (PyTorch/TensorFlow/Keras).
Convent Capital commits €100M to its AgriFood Growth Fund
Convent Capital, an Amsterdam-based investment firm, announced the second closing of its AgriFood Growth Fund, which reached €100M.
Convent Capital, founded in 2011, is an independent asset manager with two funds focused on growth and buyout opportunities in Europe.
Fourthline raises €50M to fight financial crime using AI
Amsterdam’s Fourthline, a startup that provides AI-powered compliant KYC and AML solutions, raised €50M from Finch Capital and other investors.
Founded by Krik Gunning and Chris van Straeten in 2018, Fourthline helps banks and fintechs verify thousands of new customers.
The company provides a complete suite of proprietary tech products that adhere to local KYC, AML, and GDPR requirements in Europe and beyond.
bunq to launch in the US
Amsterdam-based bunq announced in April that it has applied for a US banking licence after serving European users for almost a decade.
Niknam says bunq was the first company in 35 years to acquire a European banking licence.
It was also the first bank to implement a sustainable development strategy based on a service-oriented business model, and as such, pioneered numerous industry-first inventions that altered how millions of people spend, save, and invest their money.
Seenons raises €10M to bring circularity to waste management in Europe
Amsterdam-based Seenons raised €10M in a recent investment round.
Founded by Joost Kamermans, Jorn Eiting van Liempt, and Martin Kayser in 2019, Seenons has built a circular waste management platform. This is to ensure that residual waste does not end up in a landfill or the ocean, or is burned.
Dayrize raises €4M to help assess environmental & social effects of consumer goods
Amsterdam-based Dayrize secured £3.5M (approximately €4.02M) in funding led by Gresham House Ventures’ Thomas Makey and Matt Jones.
Founded in 2020 by Austin Simms and Bart Nollen, Dayrize brings product life cycle assessment transparency to the consumer market. This allows companies to confirm sustainability claims and cut expenses, create new income, and increase brand value.
The company’s software platform and methodology combine a variety of data sources to produce a single, comprehensive product-level sustainability score.
Amsterdam’s Tradesnest unveils AI/ML system
Tradesnest, an Amsterdam-based B2B tech startup launched its AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning) system to revolutionise the consumer electronics industry.
With this new system, brands can identify the most suitable distribution partners in different regions. This reduces the time and costs involved in finding the right partner.
The AI/machine learning system uses a comprehensive set of data points to analyse market trends, consumer behaviour, and competitor activities on a global scale. This provides brands with the insights they need to make informed decisions.
Amsterdam’s Quinky aims to be the “Duolingo for sex”
Amsterdam-based Quinky is a new startup that aims to make sex education fun and accessible to everyone through the app.
Quinky, which aims to be “the Duolingo” for sex for Gen Z over 18 years old, becomes the first European sex tech startup to secure funding from Antler. It raised €100k in its first round in February 2023.
ASIF Ventures invests in Linear Logic and VaVersa
ASIF Ventures, a student-centric venture capital fund backed by the UvA invested in Linear Logic, a data platform for building and deploying AI systems.
The student-centric VC also invested an undisclosed amount in VaVersa, which produces indoor gardens called MIA, enabling chefs to grow over 80 different microgreens and herbs on-site, providing hyperlocal and ultra-fresh ingredients for their dishes.
Techleap.nl’s budget reduced in half
The Dutch government, through the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK), has decided to allocate less funding to Techleap.nl with the subsidy dropping to €15M for the next three years, nearly half of its previous budget of €35M for the initial four-year period.
Techleap.nl, a non-profit organisation, launched the Pledge campaign. This initiative aims to invite individuals with relevant expertise, funding capabilities, and valuable connections to actively participate in shaping the future of Techleap and the Dutch tech landscape.
ThreatFabric gets €11.5M to battle complexity of online fraud
ThreatFabric, an Amsterdam-based cyber fraud startup raised €11.5M in a Seed round of funding co-led by ABN AMRO Ventures, Motive Ventures, with participation from 10xFounders and 14Peaks capital.
Founded by Han Sahin and Yorick Koster, the company focused on extending its Fraud Risk Suite product, co-developed with ABN AMRO Bank, to create ThreatFabric.
ThreatFabric provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution to the financial services sector, enabling banks and financial institutions to gain comprehensive fraud visibility across web and mobile channels.
Lepaya acquires Dutch training provider Krauthammer
Lepaya, a soft skill scale-up, has acquired Krauthammer, a Dutch-based company that provides training sessions for individuals and companies.
By acquiring Krauthammer, Lepaya says it has solidified its position as the leading upskilling and transformation firm catering to the needs of corporate entities and providing leadership training to their senior management.
Adyen launches Payout Services
Amsterdam-based fintech unicorn Adyen launched Payout Services, which enables Adyen’s customers to pay out acquired funds in the preferred method of their affiliated users or partners with increased velocity.
By eliminating unnecessary delays and third parties from the funds’ movement process, Adyen can free up millions in daily cash flow for customers. This will enable greater operational efficiency and accelerate businesses’ pursuit of their goals.
Adyen also announced that it has partnered with Shopify to strengthen ecommerce capabilities, simplify the customer journey and solve payment complexity for enterprise merchants.
Dragon’s Den star Pieter Schoen invests €1M in Mama’s Meals
Dragon Pieter Schoen, the owner of Shoe Investments invested €1M in Mama’s Meals, marking the largest investment ever made in the popular television programme, Dragon’s Den.
Mama’s Meals, a brainchild of Serdar Tolenaar, Rick Hageman, and Henk Brussaard, offers freshly prepared meals, salads, and poké bowls.
Cargoroo secures €1.1M in crowdfunding
Cargoroo, a shared electric cargo bikes provider, has secured €1.1M in a crowdfunding campaign on the Oneplanetcrowd platform from 543 funders.
Cargoroo says it will use the funds to expand and grow to new German and Belgian cities.
Founded by Jaron Borensztajn, Erik de Winter, and Jelle Maije, Cargoroo offers e-cargo sharing bikes that are safe, affordable, environmentally friendly, and convenient.
We Are Eves bags €2.5M
We Are Eves, a platform for independent user-generated beauty product reviews, raised €2.5M in an investment round led by new investor Airbridge Equity Partners.
Founded in 2019 by Esther Leloux, We Are Eves claims to be the first beauty platform that allows real people to review beauty products that work or don’t work for them.
Through its platform, the company aims to help women globally find the right beauty products based on honest reviews.
Source.ag reaps an additional €3.7M
Source.ag, an agtech startup that claims to accelerate access to fresh fruit and vegetables with AI-powered greenhouses, secured an additional $4M (approximately €3.73M) in its Series A extension round of funding.
The company aims to develop technology to democratise access to sufficient fruit and vegetables through AI-powered greenhouses.
Insify gets €10M to simplify insurance for European SMEs
Insify, a modern insurtech for SMEs raised an additional €10M in a Series A extension round of funding.
Founded by former Bloomon and Rocket Internet executive Koen Thijssen in 2020, Insify aims to transform business insurance by making it simpler, faster, and more affordable for entrepreneurs and SMEs.
The platform allows SMEs to receive a business insurance quote in minutes rather than weeks or months.
Smiler bags €7.9M; launches new photography marketplace
Smiler, a startup that connects photographers with visitors at popular tourist locations and hotspots, has secured an additional $8.5M.
Founded in 2021 by Kasper Middelkoop, Martine Rooth and Rob Hulleman, Smiler believes that valuable memories deserve to be captured in high-quality.
It is an on-the-spot photography marketplace for freelance, professional, and enthusiast photographers. The platform enables photographers to offer spontaneous on-the-spot photoshoots at memorable locations and venues.
Fastned secures €24M
Fastned, a provider of a fast-charging network for electric vehicles, has secured €21.9M in funding with the issue of new bonds.
Founded in 2012 by Michiel Langezaal and Bart Lubbers, Fastned aims to accelerate the transition to electric mobility by giving freedom to electric drivers. The company develops a fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles across Europe.
Hiber restarts operations
IoT Spacetech startup Hiber announced its restart following its acquisition by FC Space, a subsidiary of Finch Capital.
The acquisition has led to Hiber’s renewed focus on Hiber Hilo, which provides IoT remote sensor products and software for the energy industry.
Amsterdam’s Fairphone CEO Eva Gouwens to step down
Fairphone’s CEO, Eva Gouwens announced her decision to step down from her post on LinkedIn.
During the transition period, the management team comprising Noud Tillemans, Monique Lempers, Xavier Blanvillain, and Corné le Clercq will oversee Fairphone’s operations.
They will also select and appoint Gouwens’ successor. The company’s Supervisory Board and new shareholders have already initiated the CEO search process.
NLC announces initial close of €100M Health Impact Fund
Amsterdam-based NLC, a European healthtech VC, completed the initial close of the NLC Health Impact Fund against a €100M target.
NLC says it will deploy the capital to 40 enterprises of varying maturity levels, providing both initial and follow-on finance.
The NLC Health Impact Fund provides investors with access to a diverse portfolio of enterprises in biotech, medtech, green health, and digital health.
01
Empowering Ukrainian Startups: Highlights from the PowerUp Ukraine 2024 Conference