Dutch tech in 2024: year in review

According to Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024, the Dutch ecosystem is now Ranked 13th First in the world – ahead of Paris and Berlin. In 2023, Dutch startups raised $2.2 billion.

Although there are already fewer start up According to the Dutch Entrepreneurship Association, overall investment in deals increased this year. 2024 is indeed a landmark year for some startups and scale-ups.

Picnic raises Europe’s largest funding round

Dutch online supermarket Picnic, which will grow its business by 40% in 2023 after expanding internationally in France and Germany, announced it is kicking off the new year in style A €355 million financing round January. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation participated in the round, bringing the company’s total funding to €1.3 billion.

Founded in 2015, Picnic’s fully automated distribution centers and delivery algorithms have overcome the massive collapse of online grocery delivery startups such as Getir and Flink after the outbreak. In 2018, a year before the number of Dutch shoppers hit 1 million, the company’s chief technology officer Daniel Gebler spoke at a TNW conference science and technology This is disrupting the “commerce everywhere” space.

Gabler also ended the year with a bang, being named CxO of the Year by Computable.nl.

DataSnipper reaches unicorn status

Amsterdam-based auditing platform DataSnipper completed a $100 million Series B round of financing in February, valuing it at $1 billion and reaching mythical unicorn status.

The funding, led by Index Ventures, is helping DataSnipper, which counts Hilton, Siemens and Frontier Airlines as clients, expand into more verticals, including forensic accountants and tax advisors.

DataSnipper was founded in 2017 by Maarten Alblas, Jonas Ruyter and Kai Bakker.

Peters previously served as chief operating officer of payments solutions provider Marqeta, helping the company go public in 2021. She sees DataSnipper’s long-term goal of connecting unstructured data across industries and believes there are huge opportunities for growth and expansion globally.

Mews becomes unicorn with €100 million investment from Carbon Equity

March is a month of celebration for current and former TNW Spaces member startups. Hotel management software provider Mews valuation reaches 1.1 billion euros After a €101 million financing led by Swedish investment firm Kinnevik.

The good news doesn’t stop there for Mews, which was founded in 2012 by former hotelier Richard Valter. In September, the company received another €90 million in funding from Vista Credit Partners.

Mews has already acquired nine other startups in the industry, and the funds will allow Mews to continue its acquisition spree, cementing its position as a market leader and redefining the hospitality industry through its cloud-based products.

Meanwhile, leading climate fund investment startup Carbon Equity raised €100 million for its Climate Technology Portfolio Fund II, exceeding its initial target of €75 million and more than doubling the size of its first fund in 2022.

In October, Wired called it “carbon equity” One of Amsterdam’s hottest new startupsAt the beginning of December, co-founder Jacqueline van den Ende was awarded the title of “Changemaker of the Year” by Change Inc, bringing a successful end to this important year. Let’s hope climate technology investment continues to thrive in 2025.

The first science and technology fund of the Dutch Ministry of Defense

It may be an unfortunate sign of the times we live in, but it’s undeniable that defense tech startups— Ukrainian drone developers to german Artificial intelligence darling Helsing ——It’s going well. In October, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced the establishment of a 100 million euro fund to provide early financing for new start-ups, large-scale enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises in the country that meet specific innovation needs.

The fund will invest up to €5 million per company. It will focus on dual-use technologies, i.e. technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. It’s expected to open in 2025, so keep an eye out for the first investments.

We can’t wait to see when Amsterdam celebrates its 750th anniversary in 2025, TNW Conference Returned to NDSM Island in June. Join us as we bring the entire Dutch tech ecosystem together to explore what the future of tech really is!