Benelux 2022
It’s not all Tintin and tulips
Last updated: 15 Sep 2022
Market 101
Come for the moules frites, the bitterballen, the potato fritters… stay for the tech? The Benelux region — long a magnet for people who love Tintin, tulips and European regulation — is starting to come into its own for startups. Initially late to the party, these countries’ tech scenes are now among the fastest growing in Europe, drawing on the strength of their research centres and diverse, multilingual populations (and in Luxembourg at least, the odd canny tax loophole).
Still, challenges persist. Funding at later stages remains a hurdle to creating both startups and scaleups — and that’s only once enough ideas have made it out of the region’s many university labs and onto the market. Belgium and Luxembourg in particular are also lacking the so-called flywheel effects of past success stories accelerating ecosystems with their expertise and expenditure. These countries may be small and punchy, but they’ve still got a way to go.
Early stage market map
Key facts
3.2
% of GDP spent on R&D in Belgium (compared to an EU27 average of 2.1)1
$136k
Luxembourg’s GDP per capita, the third highest in the world2
2.6x
How many more startups per 1m people the Netherlands has than Europe’s average3
Trends to watch
Tech’s new Dutch masters
→ Home to the best tech scene among the Benelux trio, the Netherlands has spawned notable successes in fintech and SaaS — now the next wave of startups has its sight set further afield.
→ While Amsterdam reigns supreme for startup creation, other cities are pursuing particular focal points, like Wageningen for foodtech or Eindhoven and Delft for deeptech.
Belgium: still more Tintin than tech?
→ With R&D spending among the highest in Europe, Belgian startups have been doing particularly well in biotech and healthtech, followed by B2B software and fintech.
→ Beyond Brussels, cities like Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven are emerging as notable startup hubs.
Luxembourg: from tax to tech haven?
→ Despite being one of the world’s most economically stable places with a wealthy, international population, the Grand Duchy’s fledgling tech scene is still getting off the ground, helped primarily by government initiatives.
→ The country’s reliance on its banking sector may offer opportunities for fintech startups in particular, while the government is also keen to support initiatives in ICT and spacetech.
Startups tracked by Sifted
Sifted take
The Dutch have been the most successful at showing that small can equal mighty, with Belgium catching up and Luxembourg just getting started. Now with the first startup success stories in these countries coming into their own, recycling their knowledge and starting a virtuous cycle of more startup creation will be crucial.
Rising stars
Founded by serial entrepreneur Paul Veugen, Detail provides one app for users to record, stream and edit their videos using their cameras. It’s secured backing from the likes of Point Nine and angels including Sten Tamkivi and Taavet Hinrikus.
Round
Seed
Date
2021
Size
€4.3m
Backed by the likes of Seedcamp and Kima Ventures, Vespucci applies mathematical and AI models to uncover key drivers behind user behaviour and engagement.
Round
Pre-seed
Date
2021
Size
€800k
Cofounded by two former lawyers, STOKR is an investment platform for alternative assets. Its investors include Borderless Capital and G1 Ventures.
Round
Seed
Date
2021
Size
€3.9m
Early stage startups to watch
Autonomous Knight
Autonomous vehicles
Sensors & other hardware
€600k
€500k
-
Awell
Healthcare operations
Collaboration & communication
€2m
-
-
Axelera AI
Semiconductors
AI chips
€17.1m
€10.9m
-
AZIOBOT
Industrial robots
€1.5m
€500k
-
BIOND Solutions (BI/OND)
Nanotech
Drug diagnostics & therapeutics
€3.9m
€2.5m
-
Breeze
Dating
€550k
€300k
-
BRXS
Real estate investing
€1m
€1m
-
Carbon Equity
Impact investing
€3m
€1.8m
-
Change
Trading and investment platform
Fiat <> crypto
€18.3m
€3.7m
-
Circularise
Carbon accounting
Scope 3 emissions
€1.5m
€1.5m
-
Cooper Pet Care
Pet health
Telehealth & appointments
€900k
€800k
€4.9m
Dayrize
Carbon accounting
Product analysis & labelling
€4.9m
€4.9m
-
Detail
Creator economy
Backend tool
€6.1m
€4.3m
-
E-magy
Nanotech
Advanced battery materials
€7m
€5m
-
Earth Resonance
Psychedelics & medical cannabis
€200k
-
-
ePay BV (dba TrustableBridge)
Digital lending
Credit scoring
€190k
€100k
-
EV Biotech
Crop management & enhancement
Biotechnology
€2.3m
€500k
€20m
Fluidensity
Tokenisation
Art & luxury items
€40k
€40k
-
Greencast
Carbon accounting
€400k
€400k
-
Healix BV
Upcycling
€10m
€10.5m
-
Hello Mentor
Edtech
€125k
€125k
-
Henchman
Legal tech
€3m
€2m
-
Husense B.V.
Smart cities
Cross-industry data analytics
€90k
€90k
-
Influo
Creator marketplace & management
€2.1m
€580k
-
Innatera Nanosystems
Chips & processors
€5m
€5m
-
Inuka Coaching
Care gateway
Coaching
€1.2m
€800k
€1.8m
JetCamp
Travel tech
Booking platform
€600k
€400k
-
Joonze
Travel tech
Booking platform
€250k
€250k
-
Kazidomi
Online grocery
Next day(s) delivery
€7m
€5m
-
KIMO
Edtech
Digital content platform
€4.3m
€3m
€23m
kodehyve
Construction tech
Reporting and monitoring
€3.6m
€2.6m
-
Live the World
Travel assistants & trip planners
€450k
€150k
-
Localie
Travel tech
Booking platform
€285k
€5k
€1.8m
Longhouse Water150
Tokenisation
€500k
€1.3m
€100k
Loop Robots
Healthcare robots
€1.8m
€1.8m
-
Mobypark
Mobility
Parking
€1.5m
€165k
€3m
Mr. Chadd
Edtech
Live video platform & tutoring
€2m
€920k
€4.6m
NEXT.exchange
Trading and investment platform
Fiat <> crypto
€730k
€730k
€3.2m
NGRAVE
Crypto security & compliance
€8m
€5m
-
NOOSA
Alternative materials
€500k
€500k
€1m
Odd.Bot
Crop management & enhancement
Weed control
€2m
€826k
€6m
Onramper
Trading and investment platform
B2B services
€5.5m
€5.5m
-
OOPKOP
Care gateway
Marketplace
€750k
€750k
€5m
OTIV
Remote & self-driving solutions
€1m
€860k
-
Overstory
Spacetech
Data analytics
€5m
€3.4m
-
Packaly
Last mile
Point to point delivery
€3.3m
€2.5m
-
Pepper
Dating
€790k
€60k
€375k
Petbnb.nl
Pet services & networks
€200k
€200k
-
Qblox
Quantum computing
Components & materials
€9m
€5m
-
QDI Systems
Semiconductors
Lasers, imaging & sensors
€1.6m
€1.3m
€6.5m
QphoX
Semiconductors
Quantum internet
€2m
€2m
€10m
QuantWare
Quantum computing
Components & materials
€1.1m
€1.1m
-
Quodari
Privacy-first tools
Alternative social network
€435k
€300k
€2m
QustomDot
Nanotech
Quantum dots
€3m
€3m
-
Satelligence
Spacetech
Data analytics
€2.3m
€2.3m
-
ScanWorld
Satellite imagery analysis
€700k
€500k
€2m
Scorechain
Crypto security & compliance
€2.5m
€2m
-
Seenons
Waste collection
€7.8m
€6m
-
Sentinels
BaaS
Compliance
€9.3m
€6.9m
€28m
Silatha
Care provider
Wellbeing & mindfulness
€250k
€500k
-
Soil Capital
Regenerative farming
€2m
€1.6m
-
Soulpicks
Travel assistants & trip planners
€1.6m
€600k
-
Sprinque
E-commerce payments
€1.8m
€1.7m
-
STOKR
Wealthtech
Alternative assets
€6.9m
€3.9m
-
Syntho
Data anonymisation
Synthetic data
€1m
€1m
€5m
Tally
No code
User engagement tool
-
-
-
Tapio
Carbon accounting
€1m
€500k
-
THX Network
Crypto
B2B services
€390k
€120k
€3m
time to momo online bv
Travel assistants & trip planners
€900k
€320k
-
Touchy-Feely Tech
Sexual wellness
Sex toys
-
-
-
TRANSFERZ
Travel tech
Booking platform
€5m
€3.5m
-
Uni-Life
Edtech
€650k
€280k
-
Vespucci
Low code analytics
€800k
€800k
-
Vive
B2C investment platform
€3m
€700k
€8.3m
VRee
Game developer tools
€650k
€350k
€3m
We Are Eves
Beauty
Online marketplace
€5.5m
€4m
-
Winc Academy
Skilling & job-related solutions
€3m
€2.7m
-
WLPayments
Payment orchestration
€1m
€1m
-
Europe’s success stories
Who early stage startups are up against
(Pre-)Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D+
IPO/Exit
- Payments company that lets businesses accept online and point-of-sale payments
- Went public in 2018 at a market cap of €7bn, which has since risen to €46bn
(Pre-)Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D+
IPO/Exit
- Offers a host of integrated business management systems including CRM, accounting and ecommerce tools that were used by more than 5m customers in 2021
(Pre-)Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D+
IPO/Exit
- The world’s largest manufacturer of graphene nanotubes, which can be used to improve batteries, textiles and materials like glass, aluminium and silicon
Sources
Research reports
1 The State of Flanders’ Startup Ecosystem 2022 | April 2022 | Dealroom.co
3 The future's orange? How the Netherlands can become a tech master | February 2022 | Sifted
News articles
Investors say Belgium’s startups are poised for international expansion | February 2021 | TechCrunch
Benelux is set to become a unicorn factory, founders and investors best take note | April 2022 | The Next Web
Bytes and Beers: Belgium's burgeoning tech scene | April 2022 | Tech.eu
European tech: What startups can expect in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg | July 2020 | The Next Web
Your feedback
How would you rate this briefing?