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Netherlands in top of EU markets for technology investment

European Innovation Council, Eurostars and BOM Brabant Ventures head the list of Dutch tech investors.

Published on January 25, 2025

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The Netherlands ranks fourth within the European Union regarding technological investments with public and private funding, according to research by the European Patent Office (EPO). The country also ranks fifth in Europe regarding the number of transactions by the most active tech investors. According to the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), this shows that technology startups have significant potential to drive innovation and progress.

Some 5903 transactions by 1154 investors took place in the Netherlands in the period 2000-2023 with total funding of €21.7 billion. Dutch and other European startups still face challenges, especially with late-stage financing. This type of financing is crucial for scaling up innovations. The report highlights the vital role of investors in commercializing breakthrough inventions. It shows that in Europe it is mainly the large government programs and specialized private investors that invest in the technology. This exposes a funding gap between European startups and those in the US.

BOM, EIC and Eurostars

In the top 3 of Dutch technology investors are the European programs European Innovation Council (EIC) and the SME program Eurostars, both supported by RVO. At number 3 is BOM Brabant Ventures. These three investors, together with other Dutch innovation institutions, contribute significantly to the growing role of the Netherlands as a technological investment center in Europe.

“This is great recognition for BOM as an investor and driver of innovation,” said CEO Brigit van Dijk - van de Reijt. “This strengthens our drive to support impactful tech startups and bring breakthrough innovations to market faster.”

The study introduces a new measurement method, the Technology Investor Score (TIS). This method measures the percentage of companies in an investor's portfolio that have filed patent applications. Designed to determine which investors specialize in technology, the method reveals that 88% of European investors have portfolios of companies with patents. In addition, 8% of investors have portfolios where more than half of the companies have patents. This shows a firm investor commitment to patenting start-ups, according to RVO.