Silicon Valley remains at the top of the list of best-performing startup ecosystems, followed by New York City and London (tied for second place). London is the only European ecosystem to outperform the Netherlands, which ranks ahead of Paris (14th place) and Berlin (15th place). This means that Europe has only one ecosystem in the top 10, which is an alarming signal. Globally, Miami is the most notable climber, moving up seven places to 16th position.

The economic impact of Dutch startups increases

According to the report, the Dutch ecosystem generated $96 billion in value during the measured period of a year and a half (July 2021 – December 2023). This represents a significant 32% growth compared to the previous period (July 2019 – December 2021).

The Dutch ecosystem scores high in performance areas such as funding, talent, and experience, placing it in the global top 15. It ranks among the top 20 ecosystems worldwide when considering research and patents. Factors like the Startup Visa and residence permits for startup staff are key reasons for relocating a startup to the Netherlands.

Life Sciences, Agrifood, and Semiconductors

The report confirms the Netherlands’ high performance in life sciences, agrifood, and semiconductors as is evidenced in talent density, supportive resources, and startup activities in these fields. For example, the 30% percent scheme plays a prominent role in attracting talent from abroad.

“The Netherlands has managed to maintain its strong position as a tech ecosystem. It shows that we are still an attractive country for tech talent and that we are moving in the right direction with a focus on deep tech, encouraging more investments, and fostering a strong entrepreneurial community,” said Constantijn van Oranje, special envoy of Techleap. “At the same time, we are not blinded by this relative success, because we see that we are falling behind in a number of crucial value chains due to a lack of money, people, electricity, and focus. In order to compete on a European and global scale and make a greater social and economic impact, our tech companies will have to grow faster.”

Investments in Deep Tech and AI are on the rise globally

In 2023, there were fewer investments globally, though the deeptech industry saw an increase in the share of investments. Additionally, there was a surge in investments in generative AI, which tripled to nearly $200 billion over the past year.

“Startup Genome is pleased to collaborate with Techleap in promoting economic growth and entrepreneurial capacity in the Netherlands,” said Marc Penzel, Founder and President of Startup Genome. “The Netherlands demonstrates tremendous strength and resilience with its growing community of scaling entrepreneurs, and everyone around them who creates the conditions for a globally leading ecosystem.”

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