State of Dutch Tech 2026: The Netherlands must dare to scale at a global level

The Dutch tech ecosystem is showing solid growth. With 11,301 active tech companies and €2.64 billion in venture capital in 2025, the Netherlands is amongst Europe's frontrunners. However, the State of Dutch Tech 2026 report by Techleap shows that this strong foundation is not yet sufficiently translating into growth towards international scale.

“In brief: six years of State of Dutch Tech reveals a picture of stagnation and limited growth, which we can no longer afford,” says Constantijn van Oranje, Special Envoy at Techleap. “Over the past six years, we've shown progress in this report, but we also see that structural bottlenecks persist. The development of AI and the geopolitical situation is changing everything. We can no longer coast along as before. The entire ecosystem of entrepreneurs, investors, business, universities and government must work together on concrete solutions. Everyone can play a role in this.”

Scaleup ratio growing, but could be faster

The Dutch scaleup ratio - the percentage of startups that raise more than €10 million - stands at 21.6% in 2025. An increase compared to 2019 (13%), but still lagging behind the European average of 24.1%. In the United States, 52.2% of startups achieve scaleup status: more than double that of the Netherlands.

'In the Netherlands we're world champions in knowledge, we have gold in our hands with smart collaborations. But to truly capitalise on our advantage, we must press ahead now: only when breakthroughs at lab scale grow into large-scale applications and we allow these innovations to develop into real unicorns do we create the impact and the economic flywheel that the Netherlands needs,' says Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi, CEO of TNO.

The increase in spin-offs underlines both the potential and the challenge: since 2022, 405 new spin-offs have emerged from Dutch universities and knowledge institutes, an increase of 1.6x compared to the period 2012-2015. This means we have only one university in Europe's top 20 and are below the European average.

'We're performing far below our level. A clear change of course is needed around valorisation,' says Van Oranje. 'The good news: we know where the opportunities lie and can focus on them specifically.'

Investments growing, early stage crumbling

Dutch tech companies raised 11.5% more investment compared to 2024. The number of deals fell by 14.5%, primarily because capital is increasingly flowing to larger, later rounds and therefore safer ones. Rounds under €15 million are occurring less frequently, which affects early-stage startups that consequently find it harder to secure investment.

The Netherlands has everything it takes to compete on a world scale, but the ecosystem is primarily set up for rapid growth of digital services, not for capital-intensive and strategic technology. As long as that doesn't change, scaling up lags behind: regardless of ambition or talent.

“The fact that more capital is being invested in Dutch tech companies is positive. At the same time, the report shows that this capital is entering increasingly late,” says Rinke Zonneveld, CEO of Invest-NL. “For technologies with long development times and high capital requirements, there is still too little suitable financing available precisely in the growth phase. Without that patient capital, the development of technologies that are strategically important for the Netherlands stalls.”

In breakout rounds (€50-100 million), participation by American investors in Dutch companies tripled from 14% to 40%, whilst European involvement fell from 55% to 21%. Dutch companies are therefore increasingly dependent on foreign capital for scaling up.

AI paradox: highest talent density, lowest conversion

With 10.9 AI professionals per 10,000 inhabitants, the Netherlands has Europe's highest AI talent density, a unique starting position. The next step is to better connect this talent to scalable companies. Dutch AI startups convert to scaleup status at 21.2%, below the European average (31.1%) and a quarter of the American percentage (80.9%).

AI attracts 27% of Dutch VC investments. In 2025, 75% of AI investments in Dutch startups came from foreign investors, which shows both the international appeal and the opportunity for more domestic capital.

Deeptech is a Dutch strength. This sector comprises 12% of the ecosystem but delivers 41% of all scaleups, with a scaleup ratio of 39%. This is well over twice as high as non-deeptech (17%). Deeptech attracted 41% of all venture capital in 2025, far above the European average.

Female founders: growth, but still far from equality

Scaleups led by women are growing by 22% year-on-year, but represent only 8% of all Dutch scaleups. The United Kingdom (13%) and Germany (11%) score significantly higher. In Series A and subsequent rounds, all-male teams have twice the chance of securing funding as mixed or female teams.

International talent: strong in attracting and retaining

The Netherlands scores excellently in retaining international talent: 53.4% of international graduates stay, almost double the EU average (15-30%). The ecosystem employs approximately 135,000 people in the Netherlands and more than 213,000 worldwide, with much potential for further growth towards the 300,000 additional technicians and IT specialists that the Netherlands needs by 2030 according to the Wennink report.

From analysis to action: State of Dutch Tech 2026

For the sixth consecutive year, Techleap is publishing the State of Dutch Tech report. The presentation at the State of Dutch Tech event is this year in collaboration with TNO and Invest-NL, Techleap’s Alliance Partners. The progress is visible and encouraging. To fully exploit the potential of the Dutch ecosystem, they're doing things differently this year.

“We've proven we can grow. Now we're going to ensure we do it faster and smarter,” says Van Oranje. “This year's State of Dutch Tech event isn't a presentation, but a working session. We're bringing the entire ecosystem together to formulate and execute concrete actions.”

“Everyone can contribute to progress. Whether you're an investor willing to take on early-stage deals, a corporate wanting to collaborate with startups, a university wanting to better facilitate spin-offs, or a policymaker who can remove obstacles. This ecosystem has what it takes to compete internationally at the top level, but then we must address all aspects.”