The small but mighty Benelux region (comprising Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) has recently emerged as one Europe’s most strategic startup ecosystems.
Its sectoral diversity, tech-driven institutions and network of international talent have led to the birth of more than 15k startups over the past decade, with both the Netherlands and Belgium above average when it comes to the most startups per 1m population.
Amongst ever evolving developments, we’ve listed 100 startups to watch across the three countries — a mix of new faces, established scaleups and under-the-radar innovators spanning all major tech sectors. Find out who joins the likes of Dott, Otrium, Lightyear and Mosa Meat.
Note: all featured companies were launched in 2015 or later and have raised at least once in the past two years.
For in-depth early-stage analysis of all sectors and ecosystems, check out our Pro briefings.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Series B
€127.3m
€167.3m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Series B
€31.8m
€159.1m
Helmond, Netherlands
2016
Late VC
-
€138.3m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015
Series C
€105m
€135m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Series C
€72.7m
€133.7m
Ghent, Belgium
2017
Series B
€36.8m
€125.1m
Brussels, Belgium
2017
Late VC
€2.7m
€115.7m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Series A
€100m
€100m
Maastricht, Netherlands
2016
Angel
-
€91.8m
Leiden, Netherlands
2016
Grant
€17.5m
€75.8m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Debt
€18.2m
€75.6m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Series A
€63.6m
€73.8m
Nieuwegein, Netherlands
2019
Growth Equity VC
€50m
€60m
Delft, Netherlands
2018
Series A
€42.7m
€57.1m
Leuven, Belgium
2015
Debt
€20m
€53.7m
Naarden, Netherlands
2015
Series C
€40.9m
€52.2m
Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium
2018
Series B
€40m
€51m
Eindhoven, Netherlands
2018
Series B
€40.5m
€50.6m
Rotterdam, Netherlands
2016
Series B
€12m
€50.5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Late VC
€45m
€47.5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Series B
€30m
€46.5m
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2021
Debt
€136.4m
€45.5m
Ghent, Belgium
2017
Series B
€18m
€45.3m
Brussels, Belgium
2016
Series B
€25m
€43m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Series B
€36.4m
€42.8m
Utrecht, Netherlands
2018
Series A
€39m
€40.4m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Series A
€20.6m
€40m
Kortrijk, Belgium
2015
Early VC
€20m
€36.5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Series A
€28m
€34.5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015
Late VC
€22m
€31.2m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Seed
€31m
€31m
Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
2015
Series A
€30m
€30m
Brussels, Belgium
2016
Series B
€45.5m
€29.5m
Rotterdam, Netherlands
2016
Series A
€18.5m
€27.2m
Leiden, Netherlands
2016
Early VC
€22m
€26.3m
Aalst, Belgium
2016
Series B
€21.1m
€25.3m
Belgium
2017
Early VC
€24.7m
€24.7m
Nieuwegein, Netherlands
2015
Series B
€15m
€24.5m
Luxembourg
2017
Series B
-
€24.4m
Antwerp, Belgium
2018
Series A
€21m
€24.2m
Mamer, Luxembourg
2018
Series A
€17.3m
€23.4m
Leiden, Netherlands
2020
Seed
€21.8m
€21.8m
Eindhoven, Netherlands
2017
Series B
€10.5m
€21.4m
Charleroi, Belgium
2021
Series A
€20m
€20m
Amersfoort, Netherlands
2021
Early VC
€15m
€19.3m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Series A
€15m
€19m
Steenokkerzeel, Belgium
2015
Series C
€12m
€19m
Ans, Belgium
2020
Series A
€18.3m
€18.3m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Early VC
€10m
€17.9m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Series A
€10.9m
€17.4m
Brussels, Belgium
2017
Series A
€10m
€17.4m
Eindhoven, Netherlands
2021
Seed
€10.9m
€17.1m
Brussels, Belgium
2018
Series A
€11.5m
€16m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Series A
€15.1m
€15.1m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€14.6m
€14.6m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Series A
€11.6m
€13.7m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€13.6m
€13.6m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2021
Seed
€10.5m
€13m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Series B
€6.2m
€12.8m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Series A
€12.7m
€12.7m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Early VC
€12.5m
€12.5m
Ghent, Belgium
2018
Series A
€10m
€12m
Antwerp, Belgium
2018
Series A
€11m
€12m
Rotterdam, Netherlands
2018
Series A
€10m
€11.9m
Leuven, Belgium
2019
Early VC
€7m
€11.5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€7.8m
€11.4m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Early VC
€11.4m
€11.4m
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
2017
Early VC
€5m
€10m
Livange, Luxembourg
2018
Early VC
€10m
€10m
Maastricht, Netherlands
2021
Seed
€10m
€10m
Amstelveen, Netherlands
2019
Series A
€7.3m
€9.1m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Seed
€9.1m
€9.1m
Mertert, Luxembourg
2015
Early VC
€8.9m
€8.9m
Zwevegem, Belgium
2016
Series A
€6.6m
€8.6m
Meise, Belgium
2020
Seed
€8.2m
€8.2m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Series A
€7.9m
€7.9m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€6m
€7.8m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Series A
€7.5m
€7.5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Series A
€4.8m
€7.3m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Seed
€7.3m
€7.3m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
Series A
€6.1m
€7.1m
Broek op Langedijk, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€5m
€7m
Leuven, Belgium
2022
Seed
€7m
€7m
Luxembourg
2019
Early VC
€5m
€7m
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2018
Seed
€3.9m
€6.9m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2016
Series A
€6.4m
€6.9m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015
Seed
€5.2m
€6.5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€6.4m
€6.4m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
Seed
€4.3m
€6.1m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Seed
€4m
€5.5m
Enschede, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€5.5m
€5.5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€5.5m
€5.5m
Hasselt, Belgium
2020
Seed
€5.5m
€5.5m
Zaandam, Netherlands
2020
Seed
€5m
€5m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€4.9m
€4.9m
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019
Seed
€4.5m
€4.5m
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2018
-
€3m
€4.1m
Delft, Netherlands
2021
Seed
€2m
€2m