Growth is back in Dutch startup investments

Amsterdam - April 10, 2024

This year is off to a strong start with investments in Dutch startups totaling 1.05 billion euros. This is the largest amount obtained within a quarter in the past two years. Among other things, these investments have resulted in two new “unicorns” - which are defined as companies with a valuation of 1 billion euro or more. However, the number of investments has decreased slightly, which is evidenced by the Quarterly Startup Report, a quarterly data analysis from Dealroom.co, Golden Egg Check, KPMG, the Regional Development Companies, the Dutch Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (NVP), TechLeaP, Invest-NL and Dutch Startup Association (dSa).

Quarter of strong growth

The investments worth 1.05 billion euros in the first quarter means more than doubling (+150%) compared to the same quarter last year, which amounted to 422 million euros. Compared to the previous quarter in which 576 million euros were invested, this is an increase of 83%. The number of deals has decreased by 19% compared to the same quarter last year, mainly caused by a lower number of investments in the very early phase (pre-seed), from 21 to 14. The number of deals in a later phase actually increased. There were more deals above 15 million euros (Series B+): 14, compared to 6, a year ago. Three of these, Picnic, Mews, and DataSnipper, were even above 100 million dollars. With the valuation of this investment, the latter are officially the new Unicorns in the Netherlands.

The 10 largest deals of the past quarter (in millions*):

Picnic € 355

Mews $ 110

DataSnipper $ 100

Vico Therapeutics $ 60

FINOM € 50

Eye Security € 36

EFFECT Photonics $ 38

TheyDo $ 34

Soly € 30

Onera € 30

*) = invested amounts represented in original currency

Structural growth and more investment from abroad
Even when the very large deals from around and above 100 million euros are not included, the past quarter still shows growth as compared to the previous quarter. This seems to be the start of a growth phase. The presence of more stability and the reduction of interest rates, along with expectations around exhibitions and strategic acquisitions, and the large amount of available funds for investments that the ecosystem knows how to absorb, could have facilitated this result. The investments are, yet again, widely distributed over sectors, with ‘deep tech’ as a recurring theme. It is striking to see that the percentage of investment from American investors has doubled. Where it fluctuated around 13% in the past quarters, it is now above 28%. The same image was visible in the record year of 2021.

“It is a good signal that investments have increased so much. However, a large part of the growth comes from the United States, just like before in peak years. ”, says Lucien Burm of the Dutch Startup Association. "To ensure that more growth generated from the Netherlands becomes available and the return flows back here, more institutional money will have to flow directly or indirectly to funds, for example from pension funds and the national growth fund."

“This strong increase in investments is an important part of a good startup climate for the Netherlands. This shows that in the Netherlands we still have the potential for a good climate to make investments in the companies of the future. We have to use this potential.”, says Maarten Cleeren of Techleap. “However, there are still many elements that play a crucial role that have been under pressure lately, such as the 30% scheme for scarce talent or the uncertainty around National Groeifonds. For current social transitions, it is very important that we maintain a stimulating business climate. ”

Thomas Mensink, analyst from Golden Egg Check says,"The number of investments is significantly lower in the past quarter than in previous years. This is mainly due to a decrease in deals in the earliest phase, to 1 million euros. That is a point of attention.” "The pipeline of startups is ideally filled to have a healthy ecosystem in the long term."

View the list of all investments in Q1 2024 here.

For more information about the investments in the first quarter, see the overview at Dealroom.co here.

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(Figures include unpublished investments and estimates and are, therefore, higher)

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Media contacts:

dSa: Lucien Burm, lucien@dutchstartupassociation.nl - 0615077510

Techleap: Mark van Gemeren, mark@lubbersdejong.nl - 0654921042

Golden Egg Check: Thomas Mensink, thomas@goldeneggcheck.com - 0652108818 (data)

About Quarterly Startup Report - to ensure that the structural view of Dutch startup investments is consistent, complete and transparent, dealroom.co, the Dutch Startup Association (DSA), Golden Egg Check, KPMG, NVP, the Regional Development companies (ROMs) and Techleap.nl has collected all investment data, synchronized it, and made it available in an insightful quarterly report.

About the Dealroom.co - dealroom.co is The foremost data provider on startups, growth companies and tech ecosystems in Europe and around the globe. Founded in Amsterdam in 2013, they work with many of the world's most prominent investors, entrepreneurs, and government organizations to provide transparency, analysis, and insights on venture capital activity.

About Dutch Startup Association - Dutch Startup Association is the representative for startups and scaleups in the Netherlands and is committed to startups as the engine of tomorrow's economy. "DSA was founded in 2017 by a group of Dutch startup founders who sought to join forces to be the voice for the needs and concerns of startups in the Dutch ecosystem through gaining a foothold in the political lobby". In the meantime, DSA has a permanent place at the table with relevant ministries to ensure that innovation is not hindered in the Netherlands.

About Golden Egg Check - Golden Egg Check supports tech companies and brings them into contact with Venture Capital Investors and Corporate Innovators in the Netherlands and worldwide. Golden Egg Check has been collecting and analyzing data about startups and venture Capital investments since 2017 and has one of the most extensive Venture Capital databases in the Netherlands.

About NVP - NVP is the Dutch Private Equity & Venture Capital Association. The NVP was founded in 1984 and represents 90% of the assets managed by participation companies in the Netherlands. The NVP is a partner in the European Data Cooperative (EDC), a project of the NVP and European sister associations. From the EDC, the NVP publishes on a half -year basis how much has been invested in the Dutch market by private equity and venture capital. This figure differs from the total amount that Start and ScaleUps collect in capital.The NVP publishes its figures for the whole of 2023 by the end of April

About KPMG Nederland - Since 1917, KPMG has been offering high quality services in the field of accountancy and business strategic advice. We support organizations in making thorough decisions and in excelling in the world of today and tomorrow. KPMG does this from the concept that progress only pays off if that is good for people and society. "People-Driven Progress' is our view of progress and the way in which we add value for customers with our services. At KPMG in the Netherlands, there are 3600 professionals working from twelve offices. Our head office is located in Amstelveen. KPMG Nederland is part of an international network of independent KPMG offices that is led from Canada

About the regional development companies - the Netherlands has a total of eight ROMs. They have the task of investing in starting and innovative SMEs and to attract new business. Every year the regional development companies (ROM) help create thousands of new jobs and billions in investments in the regional economy. By innovating, investing and internationalizing, the ROMs are therefore the regional drivers of innovation and competitiveness.

About techleap.nl - Techleap.nl is a not-for-profit organization, financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. Techleap.nl helps quantify and accelerate the tech ecosystem of the Netherlands. Techleap.nl creates an optimal climate for technology companies to scale with programs and initiatives that improve access to capital, market and talent. Constantijn van Oranje is the Special Envoy from Techleap.nl

About Invest-NL - Invest-NL is a national finance and development agency. As impact investors, it is their mission to make financeable what seems unfinanceable, with the aim of accelerating the important social transitions that the Netherlands is facing. These include: the transition to a sustainable and circular economy, promoting affordable and accessible healthcare, and stimulating technological innovations. They do this through investments, market development, financial product development and proposition guidance, and by working together with various stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, investors, and specialists from both the public and private sectors.