Most active quarter since the end of 2023: Dutch startup funding surges significantly in Q2 2025, reveals report 

In Q2 2025, approximately €716M was invested in Dutch startups. Based on unpublished estimates, the actual amount is around €747M. 

This represents a 67 per cent increase compared to the same quarter a year earlier (Q2 2024: €429M), and also a 67 per cent increase compared to Q1 2025.

The Quarterly Startup Report is a collaborative effort by Golden Egg Check, Dealroom, KPMG NL Emerging Giants, the Regionale Ontwikkelingsmaatschappijen (ROMs), NVP, Techleap, Invest-NL, and the Dutch Startup Association.

“We’re seeing two positive exceptions simultaneously that we don’t see every quarter: a few very large rounds and an increase in the number of deals, both early and late stage. There may be a bit more confidence and capital is starting to flow again, but do two swallows make a summer? That would be a significant step. At the same time, it’s still far from sufficient in the global competitive landscape,” says Lucien Burm, chairman, Dutch Startup Association.

Most active quarter to date in Dutch ecosystem

A total of 101 investments were recorded in Q2, compared to 79 in Q1 and 88 in Q2 of last year. 

This makes it the joint eighth-most active quarter to date, along with Q4 2022, when looking at the past few years.

“These figures show that the Dutch startup ecosystem is in full swing, and it seems the market has become accustomed to the uncertainty. Compared to the same period last year, the market has doubled in both numbers and investment volume. We’re seeing more funding for scale-ups, but fortunately, also more pre-seed and seed rounds for early-stage startups. However, it takes a long time to bring these rounds to closing. The exit market is still lagging, which is a symptom of the uncertainty in the market,” says Freek Welling, the Capital Director of OOSTNL, on behalf of the ROMs

67% increase in pre-seed investment

The increase in pre-seed investments (under €1 million) is striking: from 12 in Q1 to 20 in Q2, also a 67 per cent increase.

Seed investments (between €1 and €4M) remain the largest category, accounting for 38 per cent of all deals.

This percentage is slightly lower than in Q2 2024 (47 per cent). It is mainly due to the increase in later-stage investments, says the report.

“It is encouraging that pre-seed investments are picking up again. The previous decline was worrying: without a healthy inflow of startups, the pool of future scale-ups and global players will dry up. Initiatives such as Project Europe, in which more than 120 European founders join forces, give the European tech ecosystem exactly the boost it needs,” says Myrthe Hooijman, director of ecosystem change and governmental affairs, Techleap.

Series B+ nearly doubles in volume and number.

There were 12 Series B+ rounds (investments of more than €15M), compared to 7 in the previous quarter.

The total amount invested in this category increased significantly, with an increase of 81 per cent compared to Q1.

Q2, 2025 saw two investments of over €100M:

• Azafaros (€147M)  
• FINOM (€115M).

This marks the first time in 2025 that these mega-rounds have appeared in the overview.

Top 10 largest investments in Q2, 2025:

• Azafaros – $147M
• FINOM – €115M
• Salvia BioElectronics – €60M
• Avidicure – €50M
• Tebi – €30M
• Gradyent – ​​€28M
• Iwell – €27M
• AMT Medical – €22M
• EFFECT Photonics – €24M
• AppSignal – $22M

You can also check out the top ten largest funding rounds in the Netherlands for H1 2025 here. 

Focus on late-stage, software and medtech

According to the report, growth in the second quarter was mainly driven by larger investments in later financing rounds, especially in the medtech and software sectors.

Deeptech also had a strong presence, while cleantech continued to develop as in previous quarters.

This growth is partly due to older startups now raising follow-up funding, adds the report.

However, investments over €100M can be unpredictable. At the same time, geopolitical uncertainties seem to have stabilised, creating a “new normal.”

This shift, along with updated company valuations, might have led venture capital funds to use more of their available cash. Many of these funds have raised a lot of money in recent years, but have invested very little.

“There seems to be an interesting new phase dawning in this market, in which tech companies can attract larger investments again. This may be due to a combination of funds that are coming to the end of their investment period and have done relatively few deals in recent years, and more entrepreneurs who, after an earlier investment, with or without additional financing, can now demonstrate that they have been able to survive and find a sustainable growth model, and are now choosing to raise money again,” says Thomas Mensink, CEO, Golden Egg Check.