The last quarter of 2023 ended as the best quarter of the year for the Netherlands in terms of deals and total amount invested, with Q4 contributing €576M to the €1.5B total. Now, the Netherlands is closing Q1 2024 on a high note.
Consistently ranking within the top 10 national startup ecosystems for venture capital investment in Europe, the Netherlands now secures a place within the top 20 countries for annual VC investment.
With its business-friendly environment, the country is home to over 25 unicorn startups with over 5,000 funded ventures.
Transitioning into Q2, Dutch businesses continue to make waves across diverse sectors, with several companies securing significant support for their ventures. Let’s explore some of the funding rounds that have shaped the Netherlands’ Q1.
Picnic
Founder(s): Bas Verheijen, Daniel Gebler, Frederik Nieuwenhuys, Joris Beckers, Michiel Muller
Founded in: 2015
Funding: €1.3B
Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here
Founded in 2015, Amsterdam-based online supermarket Picnic enables customers to get their groceries delivered at home. The company became a household name in the Netherlands shortly after its founding.
Orders through the Picnic app will be delivered from distribution centres via electric vans. Almost all processes in Picnic are handled in-house, from warehouses, and electric vehicles, to their internal and customer applications.
In January, Picnic announced that it has raised €355M in funding from Germany’s largest supermarket Edeka and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, among others.
The company will leverage the funds to further expand its business in France and Germany, as well as finance its robotisation and automation efforts.
Mews
Founder(s): Richard Valtr
Founded in: 2012
Funding: $342.2M (€315.4M)
Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here
In 2012, former hotelier Richard Valtr invented Mews, a cloud-based property management system (PMS). Inspired by his personal experience running a hotel in Prague, Valtr aimed to update hotel management processes.
Mews, currently led by CEO Matthijs Welle, manages more than 350,000 hospitality spaces and serves over 5,000 global clients. One of Mew’s superiorities is that its system connects easily with a variety of other software solutions.
In March, the company announced securing $110M (€101.39M) in fundraising led by Kinnevik, with participation from Revaia, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Notion Capital, and LGVP.
With this funding round, Mews becomes a unicorn, with a valuation of $1.2B (€1.1B). The funds will support Mews’s plans to expand internationally as well as finance its R&D projects and acquisitions.
DataSnipper
Founder(s): Jonas Ruyter, Kai Bakker, Maarten Alblas
Founded in: 2017
Funding: $100M
Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here
Intelligent automation platform DataSnipper automates repetitive auditing tasks to increase efficiency and productivity. With DataSnipper, auditors can focus on more complex problems with their work while reducing the risk of errors.
According to CEO Vidya Peters, DataSnipper’s tool can automate up to 90 per cent of menial tasks, therefore cutting costs in half. Now, the company serves over 400,000 clients in 125 countries, with Deloitte, Siemens, Frontier Airlines, Hilton, and Ernst & Young among its clientele.
DataSnipper announced that it has raised $100M (€92.53M) in a Series B round in January led by London-based venture capital firm Index Ventures. With a valuation exceeding $100M, the round crowns the software startup as a unicorn.
DataSnipper plans to use the funding to expand its offering by adding internal audit, tax advisory, and forensic accounting services.
Avantium
Founder(s): Claude Stoufs
Founded in: 2000
Funding: $275.8M
Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here
Avantium, founded in Amsterdam by Claude Stoufs, specialises in advanced research and development for the energy, chemicals and pharmaceutical industries
The company invents renewable polymers using the YXY technology, which converts plant-based sugars into furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). FDCA is a key component to create the 100 per cent recyclable plastic polyethylene furanoate (PEF).
Avantium is currently building the world’s first commercial FDCA plant, scheduled to start PEF production in 2024.
The company announced in February that it has secured €70M in funding, including €50.5M fully underwritten rights offering and a €19.5M institutional upsize offering. According to CEO Tom van Aken, the capital raise exceeded the initial €50M target.
Avantium plans to use the capital to create more renewable polymers in the FDCA flagship plant, fulfil day-to-day management, and fund other projects.
Vico Therapeutics
Founder(s): Gail Mandel, Josh Mandel-Brehm, Judith van Deutekom, Luc Dochez
Founded in: 2019
Funding: $90.2M
Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here
Clinical-stage genetic medicines company Vico Therapeutics develops antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) RNA-modulating therapies targeting patients with severe neurological diseases.
Vico Therapeutics’ product, VO659, is currently in Phase 1/2a clinical development. According to the company, it is the only ASO in the clinic that targets the underlying cause of polyglutamine diseases.
The company announced in January that it secured $60M (€54M) Series B financing led by Ackermans & van Haaren. The round was co-led by existing investors Droia Ventures, EQT Life Sciences and Kurma Partners, along with prior investors Polaris Partners, Pureos Bioventures and Eurazeo.
According to CEO Micah Mackison, the company will use the fund to further advance VO659, along with carrying out other company operations.
EFFECT Photonics
Founder(s): Boudewijn Docter, Tim Koene
Founded in: 2010
Funding: €76.1M
Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here
Based in Eindhoven, EFFECT Photonics is on a mission to transform the current photonic technology from bulky and expensive to be more affordable and easy to use.
Founded in 2010, the company is a spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology. It produces optical communication products based on dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical System-on-Chip technology combined with affordable packaging.
According to CEO James Reagan, EFFECT Photonics’ products address the need for low cost DWDM solutions and the high bandwidth required in next generation metro access networks and data center interconnect technology.
In March, EFFECT Photonics announced that it has secured $38M (€34.95M) in Series D funding led by Innovation Industries Strategic Partners Fund. The company believes that the capital will be helpful in advancing their photonic solutions in order to meet the increasing demand for bandwidth.
FINOM
Founder(s): Alena Valovaya, Andrew Petrov, Andrey Varikov, Iakov Novikov, Ivo Dimitrov, Konstantin Stiskin, Oleg Laguta, Sergey Petrov
Founded in: 2019
Funding: €66.8M
Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here
Launched in 2020, the fintech FINOM offers digital banking solutions and products. Serving more than 85,000 customers in Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy, the company has grown to become one of Europe’s leading financial platforms for SMEs.
With an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license obtained in the Netherlands, FINOM developed a banking system that includes rapid account creation, online banking, payment processing, invoicing, foreign exchange and money management.
FINOM announced that it has raised €50M in a Series B funding co-led by General Catalyst and new investor Northzone in February. Other investors include Cogito Capital, Ouverture Capital, FJLabs, s16vc and Target Global, all of which have been FINOM’s existing supporters.
The newly raised funding will be used to improve the company’s existing offerings, finance its marketing strategies, and develop its accounting services.
Eye Security
Founder(s): Job Kuijpers, Piet Kerkhofs, Vincent van de Ven
Founded in: 2020
Funding: €57.5M
Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here
Founded in 2020, insurtech company Eye Security provides cyber insurance, incident response, and MXDR solutions in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The company serves SMEs operating across Europe’s supply chain.
Through its cybersecurity measures, Eye Security carries out a mission to make security available and affordable. It protects organisations from threats by providing digital security knowledge and expertise available 24/7.
Based in The Hague, the company raised €36M through a Series B funding round led by JP Morgan Growth Equity Partners, with participation from other existing investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners and TIN Capital.
The company will leverage the capital to increase its presence in existing markets while also expanding to selected European markets.
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