Amsterdam may be a smaller city by population than London or Paris, but its startups have produced outsized value given the size of the ecosystem. According to Dealroom, between 2010 and the first quarter of 2021, the total enterprise value of tech companies created in the Amsterdam region increased from $10 billion to $100 billion, making the ecosystem one of the fastest-growing in Europe. 

The Dutch capital is also open, dynamic, and community minded. Rockstart and Startupbootcamp, two of Europe’s best-performing accelerators, were founded in Amsterdam. Holland in the Valley is an initiative to strengthen ties between the Netherlands and the Bay Area at multiple levels. ScaleNL helps Dutch tech entrepreneurs scale to the US via a network, platform, programs, and funding. Techleap is leading the Global Entrepreneur Initiative to connect successful Dutch founders living abroad to founders in the Netherlands who want to expand. 

Amsterdam’s Cleantech startups had a particularly strong 2021. In September, Picnic raised €600 million ($650 million) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further its ambition of building the most sustainable European grocery delivery company. Urban e-bike company VanMoof raised a $128 million Series C the same month. 

In July 2021, neobank Bunq announced the largest ever Series A round raised by a European Fintech. The €193 million ($209 million) deal took the company’s value to approximately €1.6 billion ($1.73 billion). Other notable funding news in the ecosystem include online fashion outlet Otrium’s $120 million Series C in March 2021, and mobility Fintech company Moove’s August 2021 $100 million deal.