According to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome, the Netherlands ecosystem is now ranked number 13 in the world — placing it ahead of both Paris and Berlin. In 2023, Dutch startups raised $2.2bn.
While there have been fewer startup deals this year, overall investment is up, according to figures from the Dutch Startup Association. And for some startups and scaleups, 2024 was truly a monumental year.
Picnic raises one of Europe’s largest rounds
Having grown its business 40% in 2023 following international expansion across France and Germany, Dutch online supermarket Picnic kicked off the year in style as it announced a €355mn funding round in January. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation participated in the round, which brought the company’s total raised to €1.3bn.
Founded in 2015, Picnic, its fully automated fulfilment centres, and delivery algorithms have defied the mass collapse of online grocery delivery startups that befell the likes of Getir and Flink after the pandemic. In 2018, the year before hitting 1,000,000 shoppers in the Netherlands, the company’s CTO Daniel Gebler took the stage at TNW Conference to talk about the tech that is disrupting the “everywhere commerce” space.