In 2020, the Netherlands’ tech ecosystem was valued at €232 billion, making it the third-largest such ecosystem in Europe. Today, the country continues to display impressive tech innovation, adoption, and growth. In this article, we’ll highlight 12 of the most exciting and fast-growing companies that are leading the way in the Netherlands’ tech sector. Keep reading to find out which Dutch businesses made our list and why they’re worth looking out for in 2023!
1. QuandaGo
- Established: 2019
- Headquarters: Rotterdam
- Follow QuandaGo on LinkedIn
Founded by Arthur Nederlof and Arnoud Munneke, QuandaGo is a cloud contact center that helps businesses automate workflows, streamline knowledge management, and manage all of their customer interactions from a single point seamlessly.
In just three years, the company has achieved impressive success, which speaks to their quality of leadership and client-first service delivery. They recently made Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 list of nominees for the third time in a row. Additionally, Nigroeit also recognized them as one of the Netherlands’ Top 250 Growth Companies.
QuandaGo is one of the subsidiaries of VANAD Group—a leading multinational business with over 1,500 employees worldwide, including Belgium, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
2. Visualfabriq
- Established: 2013
- Headquarters: Maarssen
- Follow Visualfabriq on LinkedIn
Over the course of their long and successful careers in the consumer goods industry, Carst Vaartjes and Jaco Brussé realized that the CPG industry had a huge problem: lack of access to big data.
So, they set out to fix this problem. The result was Visualfabriq—the go-to platform for transforming relevant data into instant, meaningful insights.
In just over eight years, Visualfabriq has become the leading AI-driven revenue growth management platform for some of the world’s largest consumer goods companies like L’Oréal, Heineken, and Arla.
In 2020, the company won five POI “Best-in-Class” awards for the third year in a row.
3. StuDocu
- Established: 2013
- Headquarters: Amsterdam
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StuDocu was founded by four students who wanted a simple and collaborative way to study together, exchange learning materials, and earn better grades.
Today, more than 15 million people from over 11,000 universities worldwide rely on the platform to access high-quality educational resources. In May 2021, the company raised $50 million from Partech—a French venture capital company.
Speaking to TechCrunch on their decision to fund StuDocu, Bruno Crémel, a general partner at Partech, said, “When we met the team at StuDocu, we were wildly impressed with their data-driven culture and by how much students really love using their services. StuDocu is a platform already helping millions of students worldwide, and we’re excited to partner with this talented team in their mission to make education more accessible to all.”
4. Fourthline
- Established: 2017
- Headquarters: Amsterdam
- Follow Fourthline on LinkedIn
Every year, the world loses 2–5% of its GDP to money laundering, amounting to anywhere between $800 billion and a whopping $2 trillion.
Companies like Fourthline are helping financial institutions like traditional banks and modern fintech companies prevent fraud and achieve all-in-one compliance with ease.
Fourthline uses top-quality KYC technology to monitor and screen users throughout the customer lifecycle. This limits incidents of identity theft and other illicit financial activities.
The company has raised a total of $20.3 million in funding from investors like Rudolf Booker and Finch Capital. In their 2022 quarterly Global Market Reports, GP Bullhound singled out Fourthline as one of the leading companies transforming the fintech scene.
5. new10
- Established: 2017
- Headquarters: Amsterdam
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Applying for a business loan is typically a hassle. You have to deal with tons of complicated paperwork and documentation back-and-forth, then wait for days, if not weeks, for a loan approval decision. New10 is changing all that for Dutch-based businesses.
New10 is a digital lending platform that enables small- and medium-sized businesses to access loans fast and easily. After the application process, you’ll get an update on your application status in just 15 minutes—gone are the long wait times!
New10 is a subsidiary of ABN AMRO Bank, N.V., which is the third-largest bank in the Netherlands.
6. Smiler
- Established: 2020
- Headquarters: Amsterdam
- Follow Smiler on LinkedIn
Smiler is a photography marketplace that connects over 9,000 professional photographers with people in touristy locations and memorable venues.
Users can go on the platform and book a professional photographer to help them with random, on-the-spot photoshoots for a fee.
Smiler stands out from the competition because they offer higher earning opportunities for photographers than other popular marketplaces like Fiverr or Upwork. Plus, it’s a niche platform that guarantees a high level of professionalism for potential customers.
In 2021, Smiler was the exclusive photography partner for the Tower of London. That same year, the company secured an $8 million seed round of funding led by Mosaic Ventures.
7. Amberscript
- Established: 2017
- Headquarters: Amsterdam
- Connect with Amberscript on LinkedIn
Founded by Peter-Paul de Leeuw, Thomas Dieste, and Timo Behrens, Amberscript is an easy-to-use professional transcription service that allows users to convert audio and video to text easily. The company’s mission is to make all audio accessible to everyone.
So far, the company has raised two rounds of funding. In November 2021, they secured €8.7 million in Series A funding from Endeit Capital to further develop their technology and expand their operations.
In 2022, Amberscript was nominated for the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 competition. They also qualified for the finals of the Young Business Award—the largest startup competition in the Netherlands.
8. Aidence
- Established: 2015
- Headquarters: Amsterdam
- Follow Aidence on LinkedIn
For more than six years, Aidence has been committed to improving medical diagnostics, especially lung cancer, through artificial intelligence. Their mission is “to provide intelligent software that empowers healthcare and pharmaceutical professionals to deliver faster, more precise diagnostics and treatments.”
Aidence partners with some of the largest global organizations to improve disease prevention, management, and treatment. For example, in 2021, it was the preferred partner for the NHS England Targeted Lung Health Checks (a lung cancer screening program). Their other partners include AstraZeneca, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, and Quantib.
In 2020, Aidence won the National Institute for Health Research AI in Health and Care award. Before that, in 2019, the company was a finalist for the UCSF Digital Health Awards, recognizing them as the “Best digital health product or service for enabling better mental & behavioral health and wellness.”
9. Bynder
- Established: 2013
- Headquarters: Amsterdam
- Follow Bynder on LinkedIn
In 2013, Chris Hall needed a better way to share digital assets between his agency, Label A, and his clients. That’s why he created Bynder—a digital asset management platform that allows content teams to organize and share creative assets seamlessly.
Today, Bynder is one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies, with over 1.7 million users worldwide and nearly 4,000 customers.
The company bootstrapped its way to $10 million in Annual Recurring Revenue from 2013 to 2016. Also in 2016, they secured a $22 million Series A funding led by Insight Ventures Partners.
10. Relive
- Established: 2016
- Headquarters: Rotterdam
- Follow Relive on LinkedIn
Relive started during a cycling holiday in Tenerife in 2016. Their founders—Joris van Kruijssen, Lex Daniels, and Yousef El-Dardiry—wanted a way to capture the beautiful moments of the day, and the idea for Relive was born. Today, that idea has become a community of more than 9 million users sharing unique outdoor experiences.
Relive allows you to create personalized 3D video stories using GPS and satellite imaging data collected during outdoor activities like cycling and hiking. So far, the company has raised about €1.2 million in funding.
11. EclecticIQ
- Established: 2014
- Headquarters: Amsterdam
- Follow EclecticIQ on LinkedIn
Founded by Joep Gommers and Raymon van der Velde, EclecticIQ is a global threat intelligence platform for some of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies like Flashpoint and Splunk.
The company has had an impressive run so far. They secured €5.5 million in Series A funding and €14 million in Series B funding in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Later on, in 2020, they raised €20 million in Series C funding led by Ace Capital Partners. They have also received additional funding from The European Investment Bank and Dutch Security TechFund.
EclecticIQ acquired PolyLogyx—a leading endpoint detection and response technology provider—in May 2020 to enhance their technology and service offerings.
12. Samotics
- Established: 2015
- Headquarters: Leiden
- Follow Samotics on LinkedIn
Formerly known as Semiotic Labs, Samotics is an AI-driven predictive maintenance system with a mission to eliminate unplanned downtimes in AC motors and rotating equipment. Their technology is used by Nobian, Anglian Water, and other industry leaders.
According to Crunchbase, Samotics has raised a total of $32.6 million in funding from investors like ABB and 83North. Their latest funding was raised on September 22, 2022, from a corporate round.
Final thoughts on the top 12 tech companies in the Netherlands to watch in 2023
The Dutch tech industry is only starting to pick up the pace. There are still lots of opportunities for growth, innovation, and exciting product launches that are certainly bound to happen in the Netherlands in the near future.
That’s precisely why we’ll be keeping a close eye on the companies above as well as further developments in the country’s tech ecosystem overall—and we think you should do the same!
We appreciate you reading through our list. Here are a few other resources you might find useful if you enjoyed this article:
- Top 19 Fintech and Insurtech Companies in the UK
- What Specific Challenges Are Fintech CTOs Worried About in 2022?
- 9 Most Innovative UK Fintech Startups to Look Out For in 2022
- What Do Experts Say About the Future of Machine Learning (and Python)?
- Top 16 Fintech and SaaS Companies in the Nordics
At STX Next, we work with fast-growing tech companies to help them unlock previously unreachable levels of growth. Feel free to take a look at what we can do for you, then go ahead and reach out to us if you wish to take your business to brand-new heights!
