Techleap and TNO warn "it’s a new ballgame" for Dutch deeptech

Where the Netherlands stands in deeptech computing: Strong ecosystem, rising companies, critical bottlenecks. In Future of Compute, the new 53-page deep dive commissioned by Techleap and TNO, former ASML CEO Peter Wennink sets the tone immediately: the Netherlands has everything it needs to become a compute powerhouse - if it chooses to act. On the eve of his own big report (due this Friday), Wennink's view was used as the report's introduction.

“Building a company is much like building a thriving community … I firmly believe we have what it takes to become a true global compute powerhouse, drawing not only on the legacy of ASML, but also on a new generation of companies that can win market share by setting the standard for excellence,” he says in the opening pages of the report.

The message is clear: the Netherlands is punching above its weight in advanced computing. But the window to secure global leadership is narrow and closing fast.

Pole position

The report outlines five strengths that put the Dutch in “pole position” for the next compute wave: a world-leading semicon industry (ASML, NXP, ASM, BESI), top-tier universities, surging startup activity, significant public investments (PhotonDelta, Quantum Delta NL, Beethoven), and deep industrial-academic collaboration. The numbers back it up:

65 Future of Compute (FoC) startups and scale-ups now operate in the Netherlands.
They attract 28% of all Dutch deeptech investment, yet account for less than 5% of Dutch companies.
The Netherlands captured 30% of all European FoC VC investment in 2024, up from 3% in 2019.
Companies like Nearfield Instruments, Axelera AI, SMART Photonics, EFFECT Photonics, and Quantware are gaining visibility well beyond Europe.

As Techleap’s Special Envoy Constantijn van Oranje puts it: “With Future of Compute, the Netherlands holds something truly unique… The fact that our FoC cohort is scaling fast to almost 30% of our deeptech sector is a positive wakeup call.” But the same data reveals a stark reality: to keep momentum, Dutch scale-ups will collectively require over €4 billion in the next five years, mostly in gigantic Series C+ rounds that are nearly nonexistent in Europe. Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi (TNO): “Europe is losing ground in the global innovation race. To capture the promise of new computing paradigms, we must act now."

The “Up or Out” Moment

Techleap and TNO do not sugarcoat it: the next phase of growth is a new ballgame for the Netherlands. To produce 9 unicorns from the current cohort of 18 scale-ups, the ecosystem must mobilize unprecedented late-stage growth capital. Without it, founders risk “down rounds, buy-outs, or even bankruptcy,” the report warns. Rinke Zonneveld of Invest-NL frames it as a national opportunity, and a national responsibility: “If we close the scale-up funding gap… we won’t just fuel innovation, we will strengthen our economy, safeguard our strategic autonomy, and power the technologies needed to tackle major societal challenges.

”Today, only 15% of late-stage rounds in the Netherlands are led by Dutch investors. Large Series C, D, and E rounds are rare across Europe, and nearly absent in the Netherlands. The risk? Europe, and especially the Netherlands, becomes a farm system for American acquirers.

Five challenges Dutch founders face, and why they matter now

Techleap distilled hundreds of interviews, data points, and founder surveys into five critical barriers. Five main challenges pop up.

1. Securing growth capital & exit routes: 60% of founders cannot find a lead investor with domain expertise, European round sizes are 6x smaller than in the US, and Dutch founders face uncertainty from the VIFO Act, which complicates foreign investment and acquisitions. As Delft Circuits puts it: “There’s a limited number of (international) lead investors for large rounds, with the right expertise, size and mindset.”

2. Attracting leadership & technical talent: 57% of founders struggle to hire experienced C-level operators, competition for chip designers, architects, and system engineers is global and fierce, and the Netherlands’ strong semicon employers (ASML, NXP) deepen scarcity by absorbing most available talent. Qualinx puts the challenge bluntly: “The class of expertise we need is not easily found locally, or even within the European network.”

3. Breaking into markets & securing corporate partnerships: 75% of founders struggle to partner with corporates, labs, certification bodies, or OEMs, and supply chains remain fragile and dependent on non-European suppliers. One founder summarized the frustration: “It is a challenge to get in touch with the right people in corporates, research centers, VCs, fabs, and government.”

4. Scaling operations & industrializing technology: European fabrication capacity is opaque and insufficient, and prototype-to-production transitions are capital-heavy and risky. QphoX highlights the pain point: “Outsourcing options are limited and expensive, and establishing the right team is highly complex.”

5. Navigating Regulatory & Policy Environments: Startups face overlapping export controls, IP frameworks, VIFO reviews, and fragmented public support, and hardware founders find existing subsidy schemes slow, complex, and designed for large consortia. Nearfield Instruments is explicit: “Subsidies need to be much more practical. Lump-sum milestone payments should be the standard.”

Future of Compute © IO+

A call to action: Four system-level interventions

The report concludes with a clear roadmap: urgent, actionable, and unapologetically ambitious.

1. Crowd in capital

Combine EU programs, national guarantees, and private investors.
De-risk hardware manufacturing.
Create European exit paths for Dutch compute scale-ups.

2. Founder support

Train venture teams in next-level leadership.
Provide sector-specific market intelligence and international access.
Support founders in overcoming certification, supply chain, and regulatory hurdles.

3. Talent sourcing program

Attract senior international executives and deeptech specialists.
Expand “Choose Europe for Science” to business leadership.
Build joint talent programs with corporates.

4. Ecosystem development

Organize around the needs of scaling companies.
Position the Netherlands globally as the hub where compute, semicon, and academia converge.
Strengthen ties in The Hague and Brussels for strategic alignment.

As co-author Helen Kardan of TNO writes: “The breakthroughs we achieve now… will serve as the bedrock of the Dutch economy for generations to come.” And Techleap’s Freeke Heijman adds a warning: “To avoid our scale-ups being bought, we need to offer alternatives for them to scale and exit and get out of our local bubble.”

The bottom line: A moment of truth

The Netherlands is closer than ever to shaping the future of compute: photonic, quantum, neuromorphic, and advanced semiconductor architectures. The building blocks are world-class. The founders are exceptional. The momentum is real. But without decisive intervention, much of this potential may leave Dutch soil. Techleap’s report is not just an analysis. It is an urgent, strategic call, backed by data, to ensure that the next era of computing is built in the Netherlands, scaled in the Netherlands, and owned by the Netherlands.