Stalling growth in the Dutch tech sector has sparked urgent calls for fresh funding streams.
New data released today reveals the number of new startups in the Netherlands is declining.
The country is also suffering from a severe lack of local investors.
The report raises concerns about the nations funding landscape.
In 2024, only 104startupsraised over 100,000 a 23% decline over the previous year.
The number of deals, meanwhile, dropped by 20%.
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We need startups to build scaleups that can grow to unicorns, Hooijman told TNW.
The decline potentially weakens our future potential.
Dutch techs funding fortunes
Amid the gloom, the report also exposed positive signs for Dutch tech.
Collectively, the sector raised 3.1bn in venture capital during the past year a 47% increase over 2023.
The countrys VC market remains the fourth-largest in Europe, behind the UK, Germany, and France.
Dutch deep tech has been a big target for the funding.
The sector attracted 1.1bn last year and now accounts for 35% of the ecosystem.
Techleap credits the success to government initiatives such asBrainport Eindhoven.
The Netherlands also raised two new unicorns in 2024: Mews and DataSnipper.
The companys CEO will share her story at this yearsTNW Conference.
Mews, a hospitality management scaleup based atTNW City, passed the landmark a month later.
The company hit a valuation of$1.2bn(1.1bn) after securing $110mn (101mn).
Overall, the Dutch scaleup ratio has risen from 13% to 21.5% over the past five years.
Dutch investors have also slowed down.
In 2024, domestic investment plummeted from 61% to just 15%.
Hooijman urged them to expand their spending in growth phases.
We need to continue our work to unlock the late-stage capital through institutional investors, she said.
Alongside new funding streams, Techleap is pushing for improved access to tech talent.
The non-profit has also called for greater European collaboration through a startup entity that covers the entire continent.
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Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
