The Netherlands is a small country, but several of Europe’s better-known startups began there, from AI companies in Amsterdam to a chipmaker in Eindhoven and a drug developer in Leiden. If you have an idea of your own and are thinking about building a company in the Netherlands, these examples show what kind of business has found room in this market and where it started.
Five successful Dutch startups and what they do
Weaviate, a database for AI applications
Weaviate is an Amsterdam company founded in 2019. It builds a vector database, the kind of tool AI applications use for semantic search and for storing their data. Its core product is open source, so developers anywhere can try it for free.
The lesson for founders is that a Dutch startup does not have to sell only in the Netherlands: Weaviate was built for users around the world from the start.
Axelera AI, AI chips from Eindhoven
Axelera AI was founded in Eindhoven in 2021 and builds chips and hardware that run AI models, for example for image processing, faster and with less power. Eindhoven is the industrial city of the southern Netherlands, home to many technology and hardware firms, which makes it easier for a hardware startup to find engineers and industrial partners there.
Vico Therapeutics, RNA medicines for neurological disease
Vico Therapeutics started in 2019 in Leiden, one of the country’s biotechnology centres. It develops RNA-based medicines for rare inherited neurological conditions such as spinocerebellar ataxia and Huntington’s disease, and its lead drug is still in clinical trials.
Vico shows how long a drug startup takes to reach a product, which is why companies like it rely on investment and clinical trials rather than early sales.
Betty Blocks, building software without heavy coding
Betty Blocks is a Dutch company that makes a low-code platform, a tool companies use to design their internal software without writing much code. The company says two Dutch brothers started the work in 2007, which makes it the oldest name on this list and a reminder that a software startup usually grows over years, not months.
Picnic, an online supermarket with electric vans
Picnic started in 2015 and made its first deliveries in Amersfoort. The online supermarket brings groceries to the door in small electric vans on a fixed schedule. It is now based in Amsterdam and has expanded to Germany and France.
Picnic began by solving an everyday problem in one town and grew from there. If your own idea is a local service, remember that for the startup visa you have to show the idea is new for the Netherlands, not just profitable.
Startup companies in the Netherlands with visa sponsorship
Not everyone wants to found a company. If you would rather join a Dutch startup as an employee, there is a separate route for that. A Dutch pilot for essential start-up personnel lets qualifying startups bring in key staff from abroad. It is a route for employees, not founders, and it has been extended to 1 June 2028 (Staatsblad 2026, 114). In 2026 the salary requirement under this scheme is EUR 3,122 gross a month, without holiday allowance, according to the IND’s required amounts page.
When you talk to Dutch startups about a job, ask whether they can hire you under this scheme.
The Dutch startup ecosystem in brief
These companies work in different cities, and that is one of the Netherlands’ strengths: startups are not only in Amsterdam. Eindhoven is known for hardware and industrial technology, Leiden for biotechnology and Amsterdam for software and online commerce. The Netherlands is part of the EU single market and home to the port of Rotterdam, the largest in Europe, so a company registered there has access to a much larger market from the start.
To build your own company in this ecosystem, though, an idea is not enough. You need an active role in running the company, a registration with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and a clear view of first-year costs. See registering a company in the Netherlands and the cost of living in the Netherlands.
Starting a business in the Netherlands with Aval Visa
If these examples have you thinking about the Dutch startup visa, the decision belongs to the IND, the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service, and you file the application yourself. Our work is preparing the file with you: finding facilitators on RVO’s list that fit your idea, reviewing your step-by-step plan before it is sent, and listing the documents you need to prepare in Iran. To start, complete the free assessment form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which sectors do successful Dutch startups work in?
The examples on this page work in AI, chips and hardware, RNA-based medicines, low-code software and online groceries. The sectors differ, but each brought something new to the market and aimed beyond the Netherlands from the start.
Can I start a company in the Netherlands on a startup visa?
Yes. The Dutch startup visa is a one-year residence permit for founders who build an innovative business with the support of a Dutch facilitator. The conditions and steps are on our Netherlands startup visa page.
What happens after the first year of the Dutch startup visa?
The startup permit cannot be extended. Before the year ends you apply for a self-employed residence permit, and your facilitator has to declare that you completed at least three months of mentoring successfully. After five years of continuous residence, and with the other conditions met, you can apply for permanent residence in the Netherlands.
Can Dutch startups sponsor foreign employees?
Yes, through the essential start-up personnel pilot, which runs until 1 June 2028. It covers key staff, not founders, and in 2026 the salary requirement is EUR 3,122 gross a month without holiday allowance.
Sources
IND: residence permit for a start-up, IND: self-employed person, IND: required amounts, Staatsblad 2026, 114, RVO: facilitators. Company websites: Weaviate, Axelera AI, Vico Therapeutics, Betty Blocks and Picnic. Checked on 13 October 2026.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes published official rules rather than any individual case.
