Insight
1 min read
The launch of DutchStartup.ai coincides with two important publications that underscore the urgency. Last week, a group of more than fifty experts presented the Nationaal AI Deltaplan, a call to transform the Netherlands from an AI consumer into a strategic European player. Shortly afterwards, the AI Deep Dive by ROM-Nederland and Invest-NL (written by Stefan Leijnen) was published, outlining the strategic choices needed for next-generation and energy-efficient AI, including reducing fragmentation, organising greater scale, and making targeted (larger) investments.
The conclusions are clear. The Netherlands has the knowledge and the infrastructure. What is missing is connectivity, capital and visibility. DutchStartup.ai has been built to fill exactly those gaps.
At launch, ROM-Nederland comes on board directly as a Founding Partner. Arjan van den Born, director of ROM Utrecht and spokesperson on behalf of ROM Nederland: "From ROM-Nederland we fully embrace this initiative, because we believe the Netherlands deserves a strong, connected AI startup community. On behalf of all ROMs, we will share our events, relevant trade missions and international trips via DutchStartup.ai. In doing so, we are helping to build one place where all AI startups in the Netherlands can find, know and strengthen one another."
From fragmentation to connection
DutchStartup.ai already brings together more than 350+ Dutch AI startups and their 1,200+ founders. The platform is not only for the ecosystem, but also of the ecosystem. In the coming months, the initiative will focus on expanding the national platform, adding partners, and producing targeted content such as the Founder Video series to attract international investors and talent.
CuspAI, founded in 2024 and operating from Amsterdam and Cambridge, uses generative AI to design new materials that can be discovered up to ten times faster than through traditional methods. The company has raised $130 million to date and works with partners including ASML, Meta and Hyundai.
Rotterdam-based Crownstone is building an indoor positioning system using Bluetooth modules mounted behind power outlets that draw power from the electrical grid. The system localises people and objects at room level and targets applications in healthcare, safety and building management.
The Dutch healthcare and health sector counts 78 active startups in 2026, a large share of which deploy AI for diagnostics, hospital logistics and home care. Funding is concentrated among a handful of players; broad adoption and regulation remain the principal bottlenecks.
