10 Dutch startups to watch in 2018

The Netherlands has a thriving entrepreneurial scene and is one of the frontrunners when it comes to the startup industry in Europe. Adyen, Bynder, Booking.com, Catawiki, Travelbird – just to name a few of the many heavyweight Internet companies that were created in the Netherlands. The country’s geography might be flat, but the number of promising Dutch startups seems to be growing to new heights every year. With Amsterdam, the Netherlands is also home to one of the biggest startup hubs in Europe.

This week we took a closer look at the Dutch startup scene, with the goal to provide you with a list of 10 exceptionally promising startups to keep an eye on. Here they are:

Gaiku – Founded in 2016, this Amsterdam-based startup wants to make business meetings and day to day communication, remote or local, effective, smart and simple, by combining video, chat, agenda & minutes. Gaiku can plan and structure your meetings, suggest follow-ups and allow team voting to keep you on track towards your goals. Their app is a mix of a conversation, meeting and collaboration tool, and is being backed by a €1 million investment by private investors.

Picnic – Founded in 2015, Picnic is rethinking how people buy food. It is a pure online grocery market that enables its users to find and order grocery items through their mobile phone. Free to customers, it works directly with suppliers to deliver fresh goods to homes using energy-efficient, custom-designed electric vehicles. After just 1.5 years in existence, the Dutch grocery delivery received a €100 million financing round to expand their operations all over Netherlands and abroad.

Plugify – Plugify is the online marketplace for viewing, listening to and booking live music. Established in 2015, the Amsterdam-based startup set on a mission to make the booking of live music accessible, for every occasion and for every wallet. So far more than 3000 users have used the platform for booking shows for weddings, birthday parties, living room concerts, staff parties and pub evenings. Covering all genres and price segments, Plugify aims to drastically modernize the live music industry. So far, they raised about €750K in venture capital.

Shleep – Founded in 2016, Shleep is a digital sleep coaching company which coaches businesses and leaders on how to improve effectiveness, health and engagement through better sleep management. Their app-based sleep coaching platform enables people and organizations reap the benefits of better sleep through online sleep assessments, live workshops, online webinars, and personal coaching. Companies like Spotify, Nivea, Deloitte, The Huffington Post are already sleeping better because of them.

Volareo – Rotterdam-based Volareo is the world’s 1st blockchain music streaming speaker, allowing users to listen to a lifetime of free music while providing instant compensation to musicians. Powered by Musicoin, the customizable speaker will be controlled via an app or voice controls and promises  a new music experience wherever you are for the listener and the artist. Debuted at SXSW Austin in 2018, Volareo was already featured in some of the most influential international and dutch media outlets. The official launch is scheduled for the end of 2018.

Wonderkind – Founded in 2016, Wonderkind developed a job advertising technology that reaches both active and passive job seekers on media channels they use daily, like social media, websites and apps, helping corporates and staffing agencies to create and execute the perfect recruitment marketing campaign and attract high quality and happy talent. In 2017 they raised its first investment of €2 Million to further develop its innovative technology based on AI and accelerate its national and international growth.

Eurekite – Founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the University of Twente, Eurekite developed Flexiramics, a flexible purely ceramic nanofiber mat. The paper-like material is fireproof and non-conducting, able to provide higher performance. The winners of the “Best Startup prize for the best industrial innovation in nanotechnology and new materials” at the MECSPE fair in 2017 has already received two rounds of funding from Cottonwood Technology Fund and EU Horizon2020 program.

Envision – The Delft-based startup was established in 2017 with the aim to empower people with visual impairment to live more independently and inclusively in the society through their AI-powered camera. Envision is a visual recognition platform that uses AI to make visual information accessible to visually impaired and as such, it can read texts in multiple languages, recognise faces and objects and describe scenes around a person. The only thing you need is a smartphone and a subscription to the app of €5 per month.

Quicargo – Quicargo is an innovative marketplace connecting trucks with empty space to shippers who need transportation, with the aim of reducing empty journeys, CO2 emissions, time and energy. Their platform monitors available trucks with empty space from multiple sources, analyses it in real-time, detects shippers needs and sends the relevant info. Founded in 2015, the startup was part of the Startupbootcamp Smart City & Living accelerator programme in 2016 and recently received its second round of financing in a total of €900k.

Somnox – Alumni of the YesDelft! Incubator, Somnox was established in 2016 to help people get a good night sleep. Their product, Somnox Smart Sleep Robot is a peanut-shaped pillow measures your rate of breathing and then creates its own steady breathing rhythm in response, providing a physical sensation that will subconsciously influence the breathing rhythm. They was awarded the Robotdalen Innovation Award 2017, and later in May, the Philips Innovation Award 2017. Market release is scheduled for July, 2018.

By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!

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