The Netherlands aims to lead brain-inspired computing development
With its new Neuromorphic Computing Roadmap, the Netherlands positions itself as a global frontrunner in brain-inspired computing.
Published on October 10, 2025
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When a human brain performs complex reasoning, it does so using only about 20 watts of power, roughly the energy needed to keep a dim lightbulb on. A supercomputer performing equivalent tasks would require millions of times more energy. This staggering contrast lies at the heart of a technological revolution now taking shape in the Netherlands: neuromorphic computing, a field that designs chips and algorithms inspired by the way our brains process information.
A new Neuromorphic Computing Roadmap 2025, commissioned by Topsector ICT and coordinated with input from academia, industry, and government, sets out how the Netherlands can turn its early lead into global leadership. “The Netherlands has all the building blocks to take the next step,” says Frits Grotenhuis, director of Topsector ICT. “By applying brain-inspired principles, we can make AI more sustainable, efficient, and applicable in fields such as defense, manufacturing, energy, and telecom.”
A unique ecosystem
The roadmap, prepared by Birch Consultants, highlights the Netherlands’ rare completeness across the neuromorphic value chain: from materials research to software, algorithms, and applications. It names strong academic centers like CogniGron, NL-ECO, and Mission 10-X, as well as startups such as Innatera, Axelera AI, and Hoursec, among the emerging ecosystem’s core players. Together they form, as the roadmap states, “a community that already covers almost the entire neuromorphic stack.”
That depth is unusual. “In most countries, neuromorphic research is either purely academic or purely industrial,” the roadmap observes. “In the Netherlands, both exist and interact - creating the expertise and momentum to advance the field.”
The document also underscores the strategic importance of neuromorphic computing to the National Technology Strategy (NTS), noting that it connects directly with five of the ten Dutch priority key technologies: AI & Data, Semiconductors, Quantum Technologies, Cybersecurity, and Integrated Photonics.
Neuromorphic Computing and our Watt Matters in AI conference
With its newly published Neuromorphic Computing Roadmap, the Netherlands positions itself as a global frontrunner in brain-inspired computing — a key to solving AI’s growing energy problem and a central theme at the upcoming Watt Matters in AI conference.
Why it matters
The roadmap leaves little doubt about the urgency. “The fundamental performance limits of conventional systems, especially regarding energy consumption, are becoming increasingly restrictive,” it warns. Global AI workloads are exploding, and even the world’s most efficient data centers, like Amazon’s new 2.2-gigawatt AI hub, are pushing power grids to their limits.
Neuromorphic architectures, in contrast, promise orders-of-magnitude gains in efficiency by combining memory and processing in the same physical location, reducing data transport and heat generation. In practice, this means the same AI task could run not in megawatts, but in watts, a theme that will resonate deeply at Watt Matters in AI, the international conference in Eindhoven later this year, focused on radical energy efficiency in artificial intelligence.
As Hans Hilgenkamp (University of Twente) noted in announcing the Watt Matters program, “If we want AI to scale responsibly, neuromorphic computing is one of the few realistic ways forward.”
Building the future brain of computing
The roadmap calls for immediate investment in shared facilities for benchmarking and prototyping, estimated at around €30 million over five years. These facilities, akin to national testbeds, would allow researchers and companies to co-design hardware and algorithms, accelerating innovation and derisking industry adoption.
In the short term, the focus will be on applying neuromorphic principles to existing hardware, such as spiking neural networks and in-memory computing, while developing new materials and devices over the longer term. “Mixing analog and digital computation is not only possible but necessary,” the document notes, signaling a pragmatic, evolutionary approach.
Beyond infrastructure, the roadmap envisions a coordinated national structure that links academia, startups, corporations, and ministries. A steering group under Topsector ICT will guide strategy, while initiatives like the Future of Compute mission to the UK (November 2025) aim to strengthen international collaboration.
From labs to leadership
The Netherlands’ ambition, as phrased in the roadmap, is nothing short of a moonshot: “To compute as efficiently and functionally as the human brain.”
This ambition aligns closely with Europe’s broader goals for technological sovereignty and sustainability. Neuromorphic computing could play a decisive role in reducing AI’s energy footprint, increasing digital autonomy, and securing industrial competitiveness, all key themes that will converge at Watt Matters in AI on November 26, 2025, in Eindhoven.
For more information on the Watt Matters in AI conference and its focus on neuromorphic and energy-efficient computing, visit wattmattersinai.eu.
Watt Matters in AI
Watt Matters in AI is a conference that aims to explore the potential of AI with significantly improved energy efficiency. In the run-up to the conference, IO+ publishes a series of articles that describe the current situation and potential solutions. Tickets to the conference can be found at wattmattersinai.eu.