Scale-ups sound alarm over failing Dutch business climate

Ten Dutch deep-tech scale-ups, including Axelera AI, Leydenjar, Nearfield Instruments and Smart Photonics, are calling on the Dutch government to create the business conditions needed for them to succeed. “As tech entrepreneurs, we’re sounding the alarm. The Netherlands lacks the innovation and business climate where scale-ups have the chance to be successful. Compared to the US, deep-tech scale-ups in the Netherlands grow four times slower. We, as united scale-up CEOs, call on the government, investors and companies to commit to deep-tech scale-ups to ensure the future prosperity of the Netherlands,” the “NTS champions” write in a statement, referring to the Dutch National Technology Strategy (NTS).

The NTS was presented early this year and identifies ten key enabling technologies to strengthen the earning capacity of the Dutch economy, tackle unwanted dependencies and social challenges and create technological leadership. “Our ambition is to build at least one ASML-like company based in the Netherlands in each of the ten key technologies by 2038,” the consortium’s website states.

Scale-ups need a different ecosystem to grow than existing industries. The NTS champions are therefore looking for a consistent long-term policy specifically focused on facilitating their companies, including a ‘fast lane’ for governmental approvals and priority access to public infrastructure. They want to engage with the new cabinet to discuss these measures, while also calling on investors, banks and potential customers to share some of the risk.

“New technologies take decades to fully mature. Without sufficient capital availability and/or inconsistent government policy, scale-ups can’t engage in risky long-term investments. It’s crucial to retain this industry for the Netherlands and let it contribute to our prosperity,” says CEO Mattijs Slee of Battolyser Systems, which is developing a hybrid electrolyzer-battery system.

The other nine NTS champions are Axelera AI (semiconductors), Cradle (AI), Ecleticiq (cybersecurity), Leydenjar (silicon battery anodes), Leyden Labs (biotechnology), Nearfield Instruments (semiconductor metrology), Nicolab (imaging), Quantware (quantum computing) and Smart Photonics (integrated photonics).