The 2023 Atomico’s State of European Tech Report revealed Netherlands to be a standout success, cementing its place as a star participant within the startup ecosystem. When it comes to capital invested in its non-public tech firms, for example, it’s risen again into the highest 5 international locations with a projected $2.1 billion. And whereas the UK has seen the share of its European capital invested drop by virtually 3 % inside the previous three years, the Netherlands comes out high, capturing the largest good points in Europe at virtually 2 %. The hub of the Netherlands’ startup ecosystem is Amsterdam, which hosts round 4,000 startups, together with unicorns like Mollie, Mambu, and Backbase. Identified for its worldwide focus, collaborative ecosystem, and numerous and expert workforce, it’s additionally devoted to tackling pressing societal points.
“Profitable innovation in Amsterdam is pushed by international challenges, such because the power transition or the growing old inhabitants,” explains Joël Dori of StartupAmsterdam, which works to carry the private and non-private sectors collectively to assist startups, scale-ups, entrepreneurs, and different gamers within the native ecosystem. “It is what founders and the general public in Amsterdam care about.” Dori notes, nonetheless, that points inside the metropolis, such because the tight housing market and worries from founders about startup-related insurance policies, have to be tackled with the intention to appeal to and retain the capital’s high-caliber expertise.
Overstory
Vegetation is the single best issue behind energy outages brought on by {the electrical} grid as a result of timber falling on energy strains or by sparking wildfires—and the issue is just worsening as a result of altering local weather and extra frequent storms. “Utilizing pictures from satellites and airplanes, we use laptop imaginative and prescient to seek out timber and estimate their top, well being and species,” says Indra den Bakker, who cofounded Overstory with Anniek Schouten in 2018. This enables electrical utility firms to direct their tree-pruning efforts to areas the place the probability that timber will are available in contact with energy strains is larger. Elevating $25 million so far, with assist from Pale Blue Dot, B Capital, CapitalT, Moxxie Ventures, Overstory’s purchasers already embrace 4 of the highest 10 American utilities. One investor-owned utility, for example, has saved greater than $3 million in vegetation prices. overstory.com
Coolgradient
By 2030, information facilities might use 3.2 % of worldwide electrical energy consumption. Nevertheless, few information middle operators can successfully management their power and water utilization, which is a looming catastrophe for the local weather. Enter Coolgradient, based by Jasper de Vries and René Gompel in 2023, with the purpose of lowering 1 % of the worldwide power consumption by cooling information facilities. Offering detailed visibility into the efficiency of all middle property, from the roof to the room, its machine studying fashions analyze information from current information middle property resembling cooling methods and energy distribution items. It then identifies inefficiencies and affords options for steady optimization, saving as much as 40 % in utilities utilization. In Might, it accomplished an undisclosed funding spherical from the early-stage affect investor 4impact. coolgradient.com
Monumental
Greater than half of European international locations are grappling with a scarcity of bricklayers, as 82 million Europeans are vulnerable to homelessness as a result of missing reasonably priced housing. Monumental is tackling these two issues with small autonomous floor automobiles, that are a less expensive, extra accessible supply of labor on building websites. As soon as loaded with supplies by people, a trio of its robots, set with tower-style cranes, work as a staff: One lays the mortar, one provides the bricks and one does the precise constructing, driving alongside the wall till it is completed. Since Salar al Khafaji and Sebastiaan Visser launched it in 2021, Monumental robots has constructed a number of initiatives for high contractors within the Netherlands, together with the facades of free-standing villas, social housing items, industrial buildings, and quay partitions. The corporate has raised $25 million so far, from Plural, Hummingbird, and Northzone. New merchandise within the pipeline embrace robots specializing in concrete blocks, plus entry into new markets resembling Germany and the UK. “We’re working towards a future the place lovely, tailored buildings are constructed inside a single day, with minimal labor,” says al Khafaji. monumental.co
Weaviate
An open supply database that shops and manages the vector information that’s integral to many AI purposes, Weaviate makes it simpler for builders to create and develop AI purposes, which vary from custom-made search and advice methods to ChatGPT plugins. Based by Bob van Luijt and Etienne Dilocker in 2019, its cloud service provides builders the total energy of the Weaviate database with none of the operational overhead. It has had greater than 1,000,000 month-to-month OSS downloads and 10,000 stars on GitHub (TripAdvisor for builders), and has a hand in growing new product concepts via its proprietary incubation hub. Traders resembling Index Ventures, NEA, Battery, Zetta, and Cortical have contributed some $67.6 million (€60.7 million) in funding. weaviate.io
Cradle
In keeping with European Bioplastics information, substituting the annual international demand for fossil-based polyethylene (PE) with bio-based PE would save greater than 73 million metric tons of CO2. Nevertheless, designing proteins is an arduous, time-consuming, costly trial-and-error process. Cradle’s AI platform, launched in 2021, permits biologists to add a protein sequence they need optimized, resembling needing extra stability at larger temperatures. Out of a variety of variations generated by the mannequin, it might probably discover essentially the most promising to check within the lab. It reduces experimental rounds by as much as 12 occasions, and makes use of 10 occasions fewer assets than standard strategies. This vastly boosts the prospect for fulfillment. For instance, one US biotech discovered novel, high-performing mutations that conventional strategies hadn’t recognized. Cradle, based by Elise de Reus and Stef van Grieken, has raised $34 million (€30 million) in funding led by Index Ventures and Kindred Capital. cradle.bio
Carbon Fairness
Lara Koole, Jeff Gomez, Liza Rubinstein and Jacqueline van den Ende based Carbon Fairness in 2021, based mostly on two observations: “We’d like billions of {dollars} to fund local weather expertise options, and mass prosperous and high-net-worth people maintain trillions of {dollars} however haven’t any entry to personal markets,” says van den Ende, Carbon Fairness’s CEO. The corporate grants traders distinctive entry to a diversified portfolio of main local weather enterprise capital and progress fairness funds. Since launching, almost 1000 traders have invested greater than €250 million ($278 million) via the platform, serving to scale greater than 120 nonlisted local weather tech firms, starting from CO2-free cement (Elegant Methods) to long-duration power storage (Kind Power), and inexperienced metal (H2 Inexperienced Metal). Carbon Fairness has raised €9 million ($10 million), with lead traders together with the French fintech fund Blackfin Capital Companions and Netherlands-based VC fund 4Impact. Carbon Fairness will quickly open a global workplace in Berlin and provide its purchasers a brand new local weather infrastructure fund and decrease funding minimums. carbonequity.com
Bloom & Wolf
With heavy use of water, pesticides, greenhouses, and refrigerated transportation, the reduce flower trade is disastrous for the surroundings. Premium silk flower service Bloom & Wolf affords another that’s 4 occasions cheaper than a typical contemporary subscription, and reduces carbon emissions by 85 occasions. The corporate’s flowers are manufactured in Asia, shipped abroad to a European wholesaler, then made into bouquets by the startup in Amsterdam. When the patron is completed—often altering their bouquet each season—it’s collected, refurbished and reused. Supplying a spread of shoppers since launching in 2023, the agency’s round mannequin gained important traction within the premium workplace and lodge trade, with purchasers together with NH Resort Group and Bilderberg. Founder Gwen Van de Pas has her sights set on Europe and the US, aided by a €1.4 million seed spherical, led by CapitalT. bloomandwolf.com
Solvimon
Launched in 2022 by Kim Verkooijen and Etienne Gerts, who reduce their tooth on the Dutch fintech unicorn Adyen, Solvimon’s all-in-one billing and monetization platform is designed for fintech and SaaS companies with advanced billing wants. With fast-growing startups such TrueLayer, Yapily, Yuno, Hawk, and SurePay in its present consumer base, Solvimon’s imaginative and prescient is to make billing a software that drives new enterprise, moderately than hinders it. The startup permits scaling-up of income operations throughout a number of international locations and currencies, a discount in guide billing efforts and enhanced monetary administration. Solvimon raised €9 million ($10 million) in a seed spherical led by Northzone in late 2023, and has set its sights on rising its modest staff of eight. solvimon.com
10X
Because the battle for expertise intensifies, fractional work—the apply of hiring consultants within the discipline for part-time or contractual roles—is more and more ticking the field for each employer and worker. To attach firms with completed fractional CxOs, professionals, and consultants, serial entrepreneur Angelique Schouten launched the subscription-based AI-supported platform 10X (pronounced “1 zero X”) in 2023. With greater than 500 fractional professionals providing their experience, it’s already united firms resembling Mobility Idea, ParkBee and Talk360 with former leaders from Schiphol Airport, Knab and Meta. In Might, 10X raised €1 million ($1.1 million) in seed funding from angel traders. This will likely be used to launch a brand new model of the platform, which is able to characteristic AI-based evaluation of candidate’s movies and randomly chosen references from earlier employers. 1zerox.com
Haaven
Haaven, based by Thomas Leeson, Davide Cardu, Sacha Bloem, and Dédé Kruisman in 2023, is a one-stop store for constructing tiny homes—that’s any area smaller than 50 sq. meters, which makes them straightforward to move as a single module or flat-pack on a truck. Customers choose a design from the gathering, personalize it, and inside 15 weeks, they’ve a brand new, carbon-neutral area courtesy of a community of engineers and prefab building firms. Costs vary from €1,500 ($1,100) per sq. meters for a completed exterior solely, whereas one together with flooring, lighting, a kitchen and furnishings runs as much as €5,000 ($5,500) per sq. meters. All quotes are remaining, so there’s no mission creep as with conventional building. The agency works with starchitect companies resembling Sigurd Larsen and Park + Associates, has constructed 30 areas so far, and raised €1.1 million ($1.2 million) in pre-seed funding, led by Speedinvest, Golden Egg Test, and angel traders like Quintin Schevernels and Erik Nieuwenhuis. haaven.com
This text first appeared within the November/December 2024 version of WIRED UK.
