The Dutch government wants to make more efforts to encourage tech startups and attract venture capital, after research by tech ecosystem Techleap shows the sector is stagnating.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof emphasized the importance of taking action to keep up with the United States and China during Techleap’s annual meeting in The Hague. Accordingly, the government seeks ways to help Dutch tech startups and attract venture capital.
Techleap’s annual survey shows that fewer and fewer small companies can secure significant funding. In 2024, only 104 Dutch companies received more than 100,000 euros funding, a sharp drop from 172 companies in 2023.
Government bets on AI and reducing regulatory burden
Schoof indicates that the government wants to invest more in artificial intelligence. Exact details about this he does not share at this time. Previous projects and steps do show progress on AI. For example, Economic Affairs Minister Dirk Beljaarts recently agreed with Nvidia to build an AI facility, but more is coming.
On the other hand, Schoof promises to start reducing the regulatory burden. Startups are also currently running into problems in that area. Prince Constantijn van Oranje of Techleap stated at the presentation of the report that companies are suffering under the regulatory burden.
Despite the declining trend in the number of startups receiving funding, there is also good news. Total venture capital for Dutch companies rose 47 percent to 3.1 billion euros. This puts the Netherlands in fourth place in Europe, after the United Kingdom, Germany and France.