While the whole world is collectively fighting against the evil coronavirus, the Netherlands is not behind. The Dutch tech startup ecosystem is taking every step and using every single opportunity to find ways to combat the atrocities coming in the way due to the pandemic.
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Recently, the Dutch tech companies came up with the ‘Tech against Corona’ initiative — powered by Techleap.nl, a non-profit publicly funded organisation helping to quantify and accelerate the tech ecosystem of the Netherlands — to lend their hand to support in the fight against coronavirus.
In an online meeting between various tech companies and civil servants including the members of Parliament, the companies discussed how they can contribute to the combat against the pandemic with their products and services. In unison, their intention is to let hospitals, aid workers, care providers, and governments use their skills, knowledge, and algorithms for free. To sum up what the Dutch are doing, let’s take a look at some of the country’s notable tech startups offering honest help during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Castor EDC
Founder: Derk Arts
Founded year: 2012
Funding: €6.4 million
Castor EDC is a health-tech company that lets medical researchers to capture standardised data to support data driven medical decision making. In time of the coronavirus outbreak, the company has announced that it will provide free access to its data capture system to all research projects related to COVID-19. This move will ensure researchers capture standardised data on the company’s clinical data platform from around the world and speed up the process of understanding about the virus and disease.
TYMLEZ
Founder: Reinier van der Drift
Founded year: 2016
Funding: NA
TYMLEZ is one of the leading Netherlands-based blockchain startups that is among the many distributed ledger technology (DLT) focused firms. The company has announced that it will provide its services to the government for free. Its DLT-enabled platform aims to bring transparency into the medical supply chain so that it can be used to model the medical goods ecosystem and help match both supply and demand. Also, TYMLEZ’s platform will prevent manipulative and harmful activities such as price gouging during the pandemic outbreak.
Traxion
Founded year: 2000
Funding: NA
Founder/s: NA
Traxion is the independent specialist and market leader within the Benelux in the field of identity & access management as part of our information security portfolio. Traxion is one of the Dutch tech companies that guide customers towards robust, flexible solutions with strategic, tactical and operational advice and services. Traxion wants to help organisations during the COVID-19 outbreak by providing its resources.
Cybersprint
Founder/s: Pieter Jansen
Founded year: 2015
Funding: €2.7 million
Cybersprint is a Dutch cybersecurity company that protects organisations from cyber threats with real-time and continuous insights into the entire digital attack surface and online risks. It has a unique Digital Risk Protection platform, which works as an automated ethical hacker. The platform continuously searches the vulnerabilities on social media, web, mobile apps, IoT devices, netblocks, and the dark web.
In an attempt to curb the pandemic related sufferings, Cybersprint investigated fake RIVM websites and COVID-19 malware attacks against hospitals along with investigative journalist Huib Modderkolk. It also offered to protect hospitals during the coronavirus outbreak.
Compumatica
Founder/s: Petra van Schayik
Founded year: 1991
Funding: NA
Compumatica is an independent Dutch cybersecurity manufacturer in the field of encryption and network security/segmentation. It develops, produces, and implements solutions with a high-security grade without backdoors. Now, the company has announced that it will improve the security of the internet connections of homeworkers who work in crucial professions during the coronavirus outbreak.
Y The Wait
Founder/s: Simranjit Singh Grewal
Founded year: 2019
Funding: €4.53 million
The Dutch hospitality service experience app ‘Y the Wait’ announced that it will suspend service fee on its platform for restaurateurs until March 31, 2020. The company has come up with such a move to ease the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on establishments that use the app’s services. Given that there will be no service fee until May, the same could be extended further if needed. Furthermore, Y the Wait is enabling an option where restaurants donate a small percentage of the service fee that they save to organisations that help those affected by COVID-19.
3D Hubs
Founder/s: Brian Garret, Bram de Zwart
Founded year: 2013
Funding: €26.8 million
3D Hubs is a global leader in the sector of distributed manufacturing. On the company’s 3D Hubs platform, engineers can easily upload their design, instantly receive a quote, and start production at the click of a button. During the coronavirus outbreak, there is a shortage of essential components and this is where the global online manufacturing platform wants to play a role with its COVID-19 Manufacturing Fund. 3D Hubs’ COVID-19 Manufacturing Fund is aimed at raising capital to fight against coronavirus by financially helping such initiatives.
Siilo
Founder/s: Arvind Rao, Jan-Joost Rueb, Joost Bruggeman, Onno Bakker
Founded year: 2015
Funding: €6.5 million
The Dutch medtech startup Siilo offers an instant messaging app that is aimed to help with the current situation. The Siilo app is designed just like WhatsApp, but it is aimed at healthcare professionals. The Amsterdam-based startup has now announced that it is offering free access to its crisis management functionality on the app, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s features have been incorporated by healthcare organisations in many countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Germany, and Italy.
Let us know if you’re also a Dutch company trying to make an impact during the ongoing pandemic. We would love to write about you. Also, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Stock photo from Vitaliip/Shutterstock
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