Amsterdam – Europe’s #3 tech ecosystem

Amsterdam’s tech ecosystem has ballooned to €73 billion in combined value, compared to €10 billion in 2015, thanks primarily to Adyen and Takeaway.com. This makes Amsterdam Europe’s #3 ranked tech ecosystem by total value of tech companies founded since 2000. 

Report - Startups and venture capital in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is punching above its weight

Dealroom and Startup Amsterdam’s regular check in of the Amsterdam startup funding landscape shows Amsterdam punches well above its weight in terms of startup performance, ranking behind just London and Berlin for tech ecosystem value in Europe, and home to two of Europe’s top 5 most valuable tech companies. However, Amsterdam’s ecosystem is more concentrated than it is in cities like Berlin or Paris.

A city of entrepreneurship

Amsterdam does have a high density of startups, but low investment and lack of future unicorns remain challenges for continued success. Amsterdam has a strong startup pipeline, with over 2.7K startups at different stages and a high startup per capita density.

Attracting international capital

Amsterdam still struggles when attracting investment, particularly in later rounds, resulting in a lower pipeline of potential future unicorns. Amsterdam has strong support from local investors, but still has work to do in attracting the same level of interest from international investors as other major tech hubs like London, Tel-Aviv, and Stockholm. This provides a big opportunity to unlock future growth potential.

Resilience in 2020

Amsterdam Venture Capital investment is holding up well in 2020, performing in line with previous years despite the pandemic. Amsterdam’s record year of 2019 was largely driven by Picnic’s €250M mega round late in the year, but in 2020, Health and EdTech in particular are on the rise.

With more than 1.1 startups per 1,000 inhabitants, and two decacorns, Amsterdam is a city that punches well above its weight on the international tech stage. If the city’s startups can start unlocking serious late-stage and international capital, the fundamentals for continued growth are in place.

Report - Startups and venture capital in Amsterdam