With a pool of top talent, a market with plenty of opportunities, and affordable living and working spaces, it’s easy to see why Amsterdam is a great place to start a tech company. Recently, startup funding sources have grown alongside Amsterdam's tech industry, creating a symbiotic relationship. In Q2 of 2018 alone, Amsterdam startups raised €206m in funding, with a large percentage of that coming from local sources.
These new funding opportunities are one of the best reasons to build a startup in Amsterdam. So, we decided to compile all of those sources into a list below. If you’re looking for investment for your startup in Amsterdam, then check out our list of some of the most important funding sources, which details funding options for both brand new companies all the way through Series A+ investors.
The Founder Institute is currently enrolling in Amsterdam. Apply today to build a startup with Amsterdam's top entrepreneurs and investors!
Early Stage Funding in Amsterdam
Notable Seed Accelerators in Amsterdam
A "seed accelerator" is a cohort-based program that typically accepts teams (not solo-founders) with a product (functional prototype or live product) and some form of traction (for example, user, revenue, or team growth). If accepted to a seed-accelerator, a company typically receives a small investment ($15,000-$150,000) in exchange for equity (6-10%). The goal of a seed-accelerator is to help companies accelerate their product or user growth during the program (typically 3-6 months) in order to raise a proper Angel or Seed Round of funding at the "Demo Day" that concludes the program.
- 512 Concepts
- Accelerate Impact Hub Amsterdam
- Booking Booster
- Business Accelerator
- Collider
- Fashion for Good - Plug and Play Accelerator
- HealthInc
- ING Innovation Studio
- Investment Ready Program
- Marriott TestBED
- Million Monkeys
- NEXT Amsterdam
- Open-House
- Present Your Startup
- Rockstart Accelerator
- Rotterdam Internet Valley
- Startupbootcamp Commerce Amsterdam
- Startupbootcamp FinTech & CyberSecurity Amsterdam
- Startupbootcamp Smart City & IoT Amsterdam
- Startup in Residence
- Startup Launch Class
- Techstars Arcadis City of 2030 Accelerator
- The Main Ingredient
- Twente47
- VR Base
Notable Angel Investors in Amsterdam
Angel investors are people that typically invest their personal capital in early-stage startups or entrepreneurs, and generally provide only a small one-time investment to help the business grow. They generally provide more favorable terms compared to other types of investors, since they usually invest in the earliest stages of a business, and are more focused on helping startups build a product instead of generating a profit. Angel investors sometimes go by other names, including “informal investors”, “angel funders”, “private investors”, “seed investors”, and “business angels”. Many angel investors are also professional investors and run more advanced venture funds.
- Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten
- Chang Ng
- Cok Mudde
- Dag Ainsoo
- Ernstjan Albers
- Floris RvT
- Ian Zein
- Johan van Mil
- Koen Bok
- Michael Kinsbergen
- Patrick de Laive
- Patrick de Zeeuw
- Raymond Spanjar
- Ray Quintana
- Robert Verwaayen
- Rune Theill
- Ruud Hendriks
- Sander van der Blonk
- Steven van Houwelingen
- Thijs Gitmans
- Willem-Jan Schutte
- Wouter Gort
- Wouter Kneepkens
- Yuri Warczynski
Notable Angel Investor Groups and Events in Amsterdam
Angel investor groups are networks, or syndicates, of angel investors who pool their resources together to invest more money than would typically be issued with a private angel investment. Most angel networks focus their efforts on sectors or verticals in which members have experience or knowledge, although they are usually open to investments in other areas. In general, investors in groups contribute funds to the group, and a professional syndicate management team chooses the investments. The resources below are both formal angel investor groups, and also events and networks that informally gather many angel investors.
- Access Silicon Valley Amsterdam
- Amsterdam Capital Week 2018
- Amsterdam Investor Forum 2018
- Business Angels Netwerk Nederland
- Capital Tour XXL
- Innovation Holland
- Leapfunder
- Netherlands Investment Network
- Startup Angels
Growth Stage Funding
Notable Venture Capital Firms in Amsterdam
Venture Capital ("VC") firms provide startup or growth equity capital and/or loan capital to promising ventures for returns that are higher than market interest rates, and typically focus on later stage companies. VC firms only invest in companies that have long-term growth potential of at least 10X their investment, and that already have considerable traction (very fast revenue or user growth), a strong team, and a viable product or service. Because of these high standards, generally less than .1% of businesses are funded by venture capital.
There are also many different types of VC firms. The first (and lowest) funding level for VCs is typically called a "Seed Round", which is appropriate for smaller companies that have just recently generated traction and need capital to fuel the fire of growth. After that, rounds of subsequent funding are categorized by letter ("Series-A", "Series-B", "Series-C", and so on), with the investment amount (and maturity of the business receiving funding) getting larger as the letters progress down the alphabet. Some firms invest across many (or all) of these types of rounds, but most specifically focus on one or two of these stages.
- ACT Venture Partners
- Aescap Ventures
- Amsterdam Venture Partners
- Anterra Capital
- Avedon Capital Partners
- Clever Clover
- Endeit Capital
- EQT Ventures
- EVO Venture Partners
- Finch Capital
- henQ
- Holland Venture
- HPE Growth Capital
- Inkef Capital
- Keen Venture Partners
- Life Science Partners
- Merck Ventures
- Peak Capital
- Prime Ventures
- Sequoia Amsterdam
- SET Ventures
- VOC Capital Partners
- Volta Ventures
- Vortex Capital Partners
Are you a solo-founder, or is your company or idea too early for these funding options?
The Founder Institute is an idea-stage accelerator that works with solo-entrepreneurs, and teams, during the earliest stages of building a business. Through an intensive 3.5 month program, FI participants build their business through a proven structured process, and receive feedback and assistance from over 30+ successful entrepreneurs and investors in Amsterdam. Upon completing the program, Graduates join a global network of entrepreneurs and receive ongoing help to get funding and build their business. FI Graduates have raised over $1.85BN in funding, and are building some of the world's fastest growing companies.
Learn more about the Founder Institute at FI.co, join a free startup event in Amsterdam, or apply to build a startup in Amsterdam today.
