Amsterdam, a city known for its picturesque canals, historic architecture, and a rich cultural heritage, has also established itself as a thriving hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
According to the 2023 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), the Amsterdam region is home to approximately 4,000 startups that employ 196,000 people, and the last few years have seen an overflow of funding into the ecosystem.
The report also revealed that Amsterdam has become the most popular location for VC-backed startups in the Netherlands, with 45 per cent of all Dutch-funded ventures having their HQ in the city.
August, in particular, proved to be a significant month for the Amsterdam startup scene, as several promising companies secured funding to fuel their growth ambitions.
Besides raising capital, they are actively expanding their teams and seeking talent to fuel their expansion and innovation efforts.
Here’s the list of Amsterdam startups that raised funding in August. Some of them are hiring too.
Sumthing
Founder/s: Gijs Schuringa, Guido de Rooij, and Mike Odenhoven
Fund raised in August 2023: €500K
Hiring status: No
Sumthing is a social enterprise offering a curated set of restoration projects lined up to the priorities set out by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The Amsterdam platform allows users to make a variety of positive impacts from one place, ranging from ocean-bound plastic salvation and coral restoration to soil revitalisation and reforestation.
Each project uses the platform to provide near real-time feedback on the impact created, whether it’s a tree planted or the amount of plastic salvaged. This way anyone can follow the impact their donation is making.
The nature tech platform raised €500K with the principles of steward-ownership applied.
Trustoo
Founder/s: Lars Freriks and Pieter Westerhuis
Fund raised in August 2023: Undisclosed
Hiring status: Yes | Apply here
Trustoo links high-quality local businesses with potential customers by presenting over 80,000 businesses with clear details and contact information. It streamlines the process of finding local services for visitors, benefiting both consumers and local players.
In August, the Amsterdam company raised fresh funding from existing investor No Such Ventures. The funding amount has not been disclosed.
Matrixian Group
Founder/s: Luke Liplijn
Fund raised in August 2023: €3.5M
Hiring status: Yes | Apply here
Matrixian Group is a group of companies that leverages data and AI for automated property valuation and real estate insights, including digital twins and sustainability opportunities.
The platform’s Homematrix Desktop Valuation service allows consumers to receive automated property valuation reports within 4 hours without any physical assessments.
Last month, the Amsterdam company raised €3.5M in a fresh round of funding from Pride Capital Partners to enhance its products and services, and to explore new markets.
Zhero
Founder/s: Marco Alverà, Paddy Padmanathan, Alessandra Pasini, and Enrico Vitali
Fund raised in August 2023: Undisclosed
Hiring status: No
Zhero is developing and will operate green energy production and infrastructure projects in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Zhero Europe, the European subsidiary of Zhero, was founded with a vision that large integrated projects, including generation from high-quality wind and solar resources, and captive long-distance exports, would be the most effective way to accelerate the energy transition in high-demand areas.
Zhero is working towards a target of bringing 5GW of projects by 2026.
Last month, the company raised undisclosed funding from investors such as TotalEnergies, Baker Hughes, Technip Energies, Azimut (through the fund Azimut ELTIF – Infrastructure & Real Assets ESG), and others.
The Good Roll
Founder/s: Sander de Klerk and Melle Schellekens
Fund raised in August 2023: €300K
Hiring status: No
The Good Roll aims to make sustainable sanitary facilities accessible to everyone.
The Amsterdam company does it by disrupting the toilet paper market by manufacturing toilet paper from bamboo instead of wood pulp.
The company carefully selects small farmers with bamboo on their land and trains them to handle their land and bamboo carefully and wisely.
The company’s local teams then cut and harvest the bamboo so that it grows back to a level where it can be cut again within 12-24 months without any damage.
In August, The Good Roll raised €300K in a new funding round to further expand its operations in the UK as well as the Netherlands and Germany, increase production capacity, and potentially explore new markets.
Ringo
Founder/s: Marcel Alexander Wiebenga and Nicholas van den Doel
Fund raised in August 2023: €350K
Hiring status: No
Ringo is a B2B music-for-media platform that streamlines safe and stress-free licensing of existing music for commercials, movies, series, social media, and games.
The platform automates music licensing with a purchasing funnel, providing on-demand information for track feasibility, budget, and timing. Users can securely close licences on the platform.
Last month, the company raised €350K in a pre-seed round of funding led by Innovation Fund North-Holland and supported by a group of individuals, including advertising agency owners, film producers, and former employees of Sizzer and MassiveMusic.
