Strong foundations are not enough: Dutch tech struggles to scale

The Dutch tech ecosystem shows growth signals, yet this progress has not yet translated into international expansion, according to the State of Dutch Tech 2026 report. The research, jointly published by the government investment arm Invest NL, the research institution TNO, and the innovation agency Techleap, calls on the ecosystem to collaborate on new solutions.

The report analyzes the Dutch tech ecosystem using data on investments, talent, scaleup development, and sector dynamics. It examines trends from 2019-2025, offering a comprehensive overview of the Dutch tech landscape and benchmarks it against other countries. By identifying key challenges, it also proposes recommendations to bolster the Netherlands' position in the global tech arena.

Dutch tech funding dynamics

In 2025, the Dutch tech ecosystem saw €2.64 billion in venture capital (VC) deployed across 265 deals. While this represents an 11.5% increase in capital deployed compared to 2024, the number of deals actually decreased by 14.5%, indicating that larger sums of capital are flowing to fewer, later-stage ventures.

This trend makes it more challenging for early-stage startups to secure funding. Rinke Zonneveld, CEO of Invest-NL, noted that capital is entering later and later. "For technologies with long development times and high capital needs, there is still too little suitable financing available during the growth phase. Without patient capital, the development of strategically important technologies will stall,” he stated.

Large funding rounds, those exceeding €50 million, increasingly rely on international capital, with US investors participating in 40% of breakout deals in 2025, a significant jump from 14% in 2024.

The ever-present challenge of scaling up companies

The Dutch scaleup ratio, which measures the percentage of startups raising over €10 million, was 21.6% in 2025. While this is an improvement from 13% in 2019, it still lags behind the European average of 24.1% and is significantly lower than the US, which boasts a 52.2% scaleup ratio.

Germany, for example, has a scaleup ratio nearly double that of the Netherlands, at 39.2%. "Six years of State of Dutch Tech reports show a picture of stagnation and limited growth, which we can no longer afford,” says Constantijn van Oranje, Special Envoy at Techleap.

An example of the issues in scaling up companies comes from the AI sector. While the Netherlands can count on the highest AI talent density in Europe, 10.9 AI professionals per 10,000 inhabitants, this expertise abundance has not yet translated into commercial success.

Only 21.2% of Dutch AI startups scale up, well below the European average of 31.1% and substantially lower than the US average of 80.9%. This discrepancy highlights a challenge in scaling AI companies, primarily due to a shortage of growth-stage funding. The report also notes that 89% of Dutch AI startups are developing vertical solutions on U.S. foundation models rather than developing proprietary technology.

Deeptech: A bright spot

Deeptech companies represent a significant portion of the Dutch tech ecosystem, comprising 12% of all tech companies but accounting for 40% of scaleups. These are companies that have passed the startup stage and are experiencing solid growth in revenue and headcount.

These firms also attract 41% of all VC money in the Netherlands. The scaleup ratio for deeptech companies is notably higher, at 39%, more than double the 17% ratio in non-deeptech sectors. This suggests that deeptech companies, characterized by proprietary technology and rigorous development processes, have a distinct advantage in scaling.

Spin-offs and knowledge valorization

The number of spin-offs from Dutch knowledge and innovation organizations has been rising, with 405 since 2022. This represents a 1.6-fold increase relative to the 2012-2015 period. Technical universities account for more than half of all academic spin-offs in the Netherlands, reflecting their strong emphasis on applied research and well-established technology transfer infrastructure.

“The Netherlands is a world champion in knowledge, with gold in smart collaborations. But to truly capitalize on our lead, we must push forward: only when lab breakthroughs grow into large-scale applications, and these innovations develop into real unicorns, will we create the impact and economic flywheel that the Netherlands needs,” says Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi, CEO of TNO.

Regional disparities

VC is heavily concentrated in the Randstad region, specifically in North and South Holland, which together account for over 70% of total investment. North Holland, with Amsterdam as its hub, has 3,473 tech companies and €970.6 million in VC funding. South Holland accounted for the largest share of VC funding in 2025, at €1.09 billion.

Other regions, such as Noord Brabant, Overijssel and Limburg, have developed specialized tech hubs, with Noord Brabant leveraging collaborations between corporations like ASML, Philips and VDL with startups and research institutions.

Recommendations for the future

The State of Dutch Tech 2026 report offers its recommendations to address the existing challenges:

• Close the pre-seed and seed gap: Introduce targeted tax incentives or guarantee schemes to attract private capital for early-stage deeptech investments.
• Build a stronger European growth capital engine: Help Dutch scaleups raise larger, later-stage rounds.
• Fix the science-to-market valley of death: Translate research output into more scalable spin-offs.
• Address talent shortages: Implement an ecosystem-wide talent approach to tackle shortages in specialized roles and experienced scaling leadership.
• Update labor regulations to reflect startup volatility and mitigate disproportionate downside risk for founders.
• Turn AI talent into commercial scale: Coordinate talent, capital, and infrastructure to scale AI.