Quarterly Investment Insights: Q1 2025
Key takeaways
- Startups in the Northern Netherlands raised over €20M in Q1 2025, defying the national downturn.
- Medtech and energy continue to dominate the regional landscape.
- Around half of all deals went to early-stage ventures — a sign of ecosystem resilience and investor confidence.
- Funding is fuelling real-world growth: production, market entry, and team expansion.
Funding in the North: Strong start, clear focus
While startup investment across the Netherlands fell by 59% in Q1 2025 — down to €460M across 79 deals (Silicon Canals, 2025) — founders in Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe held their ground. Northern startups raised over €20M, accounting for 4.7% of all Dutch startup capital during the quarter (IOplus, 2025).
Northern founders are earning investor trust not through hype, but by solving tangible problems with robust technology. Most funding rounds featured a healthy mix of venture capital, angel investors, and public funds, underscoring the strength of public–private collaboration. Startups are embedding early ties with academic institutions like UMCG and the University of Groningen, while building with global ambition from day one.
Two sectors led the charge: medtech and energy. Rather than chasing trends, these startups are addressing grounded, technical challenges — and they’re being rewarded with investor backing.
Trends to Watch
- Medtech & Energy Lead – Over half of all capital went to these two sectors, reflecting long-standing regional strengths.
- Early-Stage Resilience – Around 50% of deals involved early-stage ventures — a positive indicator in a cautious funding climate.
- Funding for Scale – This isn’t research-stage capital. Startups are using funds to scale operations, open facilities, and push into global markets
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Who raised, and why it matters
QT Sense raised €6 million from QDNL Participations, Interreg Europe and a group of angel investors (Silicon Canals, 2025; Leads on Trees, 2025). Their Quantum Nouva platform promises a breakthrough in biomedical diagnostics, with applications in detecting cancer and immune disorders at the quantum level.
Sencure, developer of ultra-low-power chips for wearable EEG and ECG devices, raised €3.9 million — as part of a Series B of a total of €7.9 million (819 Capital, 2025; LinkedIn, 2025). This funding supports the scaling up of their production.
Cortalix closed a €1 million round to further expand their synthetic antibody technology for PET scans and immunotherapy (Silicon Canals, 2025). Their diagnostic tools are faster, more sustainable and cruelty-free.
Econowind, developer of wind-powered marine propulsion technology, raised €3 million in development funding from Invest International, plus €2 million share capital from NOM and Horizon Flevoland (Seatrade Maritime, 2025; Ship & Bunker, 2025). The funding is intended for accelerated global deployment.
CodeGorilla and Alyx together received €1.85 million through FNOs Impact through Growth-initiative to scale up their digital inclusion technologies.
Fused Button Battery raised €295,000 from Future Tech Ventures to accelerate safer and more sustainable battery innovations.
Alumio, provider of an integration platform for scale-ups, received a strategic (undisclosed) investment from Lexar Partners (PIM Vendors, 2025; Alumio News, 2025) to further expand their partner network and platform.
RedStack, which focuses on energy technology for brackish water desalination, received support from PureTerra Ventures, NOM and Easter Technology (Water Wastewater Asia, 2025).
“When the world seems to look different every day, startups in the Netherlands have been raising about the same amount of capital for four quarters in a row. So there seems to be a strong foundation, and that is positive.” — Thomas Mensink, Golden Egg Check
National & European context
The broader Dutch startup scene has been under pressure. Q1 saw fewer deals and lower average ticket sizes (Dealroom, 2025). However, healthtech stood out — with €161M raised across 10 deals, it was the only sector to grow in this period (Silicon Canals, 2025).
Despite the national dip, the North continues to stand firm — not by accident, but through strategic focus, technical depth, and tight-knit partnerships.
The Netherlands remains the fourth-largest VC market in Europe (Techleap, 2025), but investors are becoming more selective: seeking clear use cases, scalable technology, and credible teams.
What Q1 in the North makes clear
You don’t need a canal-side office in Amsterdam to raise serious capital. You don’t need to chase trends to get noticed. And you certainly don’t need to wait for the market to bounce back before you start building. Founders in the North are proving that when you stay focused, build real things, and deliver actual traction, the capital follows. No hype required.