The doctor who builds AI, and the Dutch quest for courage

Anesthesiologist, programmer, and founder Michel Abdel Malek experienced this for years as a medical specialist. He noticed how the focus shifted from the patient to the system. Out of this frustration, his startup https://www.delphyr.ai/ was born. It's a story that's often told, but the angle here is different. This isn't a tech entrepreneur spotting an opportunity in healthcare. This is a medical specialist building a technological solution for his own deeply rooted problem.

The search function that reinvents the EHR

Delphyr is developing an AI assistant that supports doctors and nurses with generative search, a search function that not only finds information but understands, summarizes, and enriches it. The application also listens during a consultation, converts the conversation into a structured note, and directly unlocks all relevant medical data from often outdated and fragmented electronic health records (EHRs). This generative search serves as the springboard for future AI applications within healthcare. The promise is a drastic reduction in administrative burdens. But behind this promise lie several strategic choices that truly make the story interesting.

The Sovereign Choice

The first choice is technological. Delphyr is building its own language model, specifically trained on Dutch healthcare. More importantly, the infrastructure. The company collaborates with strategic European cloud partners to ensure the best solution. This might seem like a technical detail, but it is a fundamental strategic move. In a sector where data security and privacy are sacred, this flexible yet considered approach is a direct response to concerns about data sovereignty. By opting for a primarily European stack, Delphyr is building a 'sovereign' solution. It's a selling point that weighs heavily for hospital administrators, who are ultimately responsible for patient data, and medical end-users.

Raising the medical bar

While many startups in healthcare choose the quick route, Delphyr has made a different strategic choice: to pursue rigorous medical certification. It is a deliberate decision that sets the company apart. This certification is time-consuming and costly, but it gives hospitals confidence that the product meets the highest medical safety standards. For a sector rightly cautious about new technology, especially regarding patient safety, this is not a nice-to-have but a must-have.

Navigating a Land of Giants

The next strategic choice concerns the market. The Dutch hospital market for EHRs is a triopoly. Three companies, ChipSoft, Epic, and Nexus, hold 97% of the market together [4]. A new player aiming to replace these systems stands no chance. Delphyr does not attempt this. Instead, it positions itself as an intelligent layer that works on top of these rigid systems. With collaborations with seven EHR suppliers, they attempt not to storm the gatekeepers of healthcare data but to keep them friendly. It is a pragmatic approach that seems the only way forward in such a consolidated market.

The Paradox of Dutch Capital

Despite a promising start with €500,000 in initial capital and support from investors like Thomas Wolf (co-founder of Hugging Face), Abdel Malek exposes a painful paradox in the Dutch innovation climate.

"There is a saying among Dutch founders: we have enough capital, but what we lack is venture capital," says Abdel Malek.

The figures confirm his observation. The investment in venture capital per capita in the Netherlands was €193 in 2024, far behind the €546 in the United States [5]. Dutch pension funds, which manage vast assets, invest only 0.01% of them in domestic venture capital [5]. Investors are reluctant in the early, risk-laden phase where deep-tech companies like Delphyr find themselves. They wait for proven success, but precisely the lack of early funding makes that success hard to achieve.

Where We Should Look

The story of Delphyr is more than a startup tale. It is a case study for the future of technological innovation in the Netherlands. The opportunity for Delphyr is evident: if they manage to be one of the first to lay a safe, sovereign, and effective AI layer over the existing healthcare infrastructure, the potential market is vast. The threat is twofold: the power of EHR suppliers who can close their gates, and the risk-averse investment climate that can force the company to temper its growth ambitions or move abroad.

We are therefore particularly curious about the next steps. Will Delphyr succeed in securing a new investment round? And will they manage to convince the first major hospitals that their sovereign AI solution not only eases administration but also genuinely improves care? The answer to these questions will not only determine Delphyr's future but also reveal whether the Netherlands can solve its most complex problems with its most advanced technology.

Willem Blom Founder Dutchstartup.AI