6 promising Amsterdam startups to watch in 2023

A reputation for innovation

The European Commission recognises the Netherlands as an Innovation Leader in Europe, ranking the country’s performance among the top 4 on the continent. Dutch startups and scale-ups received approximately €2.3 billion in VC funding in 2021 with much of the innovation coming from the logistics, mobility, renewable energy, tech, and food sectors.

Amsterdam has seen a particular explosion in startup growth, with a recent report revealing the city’s startups employ more people than ever. With strong core ecosystems and burgeoning innovative industries, 2023 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the startup scene. 

Young and ambitious, these startups are shaping the future

Here are some exapmles of the most innovative young Amsterdam startups who are on track to shake things up this year (all companies founded since 2020):

1. Timberhub: This growing construction startup wants to revolutionise the way people and companies buy timber with the first digital marketplace that connects buyers and sellers directly. By cutting out middlemen and streamlining the vetting, sourcing, logistics, and payment between buyers and sawmills, the company aims to increase the transparency, sustainability, and reliability of the timber industry with an all-in-one digital solution.

2. Hadrian: This cybersecurity company was started to give companies the tools they need to fend off digital threats. A team of professional hackers help provide critical insights to system vulnerabilities using machine learning to mimic a cyber attack. As digitisation increases, Hadrian is looking to lead the way towards a more secure digital future. 

3. Renoon: This female-founded platform helps connect conscious consumers with sustainable and ethical fashion companies. Shoppers can filter by attributes like materials used, carbon-neutral, vegan, and pre-owned, and only products that meet Renoon’s sustainability framework are shown on their platform. The company has curated more than 1 million products from over 200 partner brands and is also named as one of the top 10 European startups disrupting the sustainable fashion industry.

4. JetLearn: This fast-growing EdTech startup empowers children to learn skills in robotics and coding through online classes. Through 1:1 online lessons and interactive workshops for children between the ages of 6 and 16, the platform provides a world-class curriculum for skills that will only become more vital in the future. Against the backdrop of a talent deficit in this space, JetLearn was selected as one of HolonIQ's most promising EdTech startups in the STEM for Kids catagory.

5. Source.ag: This agritech startup produces fruits and vegetables with fewer resources through the use of artificially intelligent greenhouses. While it may sound like something out of a sci-fi film, their indoor farming solution allows growers to better predict and protect plant production in any environment or season, while using less natural resources. Their aim is to democratise access to fresh produce, make farming more eco-friendly by using less land and water, and increase farming yeild to help sustain the growing population. 

6. Insify: This insurtech startup provides entrepreneurs, freelancers and small businesses an easier way to get insurance. The aim is to make business insurance fast, simple and fair for entrepreneurs. Through the intuitive end-to-end digital customer journey, quotes can be generated in as little as 2 minutes. Their tailored insurance products cover business liability, professional indemnity, and occupational disability for entrepreneurs and small businesses, allowing more people to build a secure future.

Learn more about Amsterdam’s key sectors for business and discover why companies choose to set up in Amsterdam.