Dutch government pushes another €360 mil. into fund for deeptech development
The Dutch government is pushing another €360 million into the Deep Tech Fund. On Thursday, Minister Heleen Herbert of Economic Affairs will announce the extra investment into the fund, which aims to encourage and facilitate the development of cutting-edge technologies like microchips, quantum technology, photonics, and nanotechnology, Financieele Dagblad reported.
The extra investment will bring the Deep Tech Fund to €610 million, making it one of the largest funds for deeptech in the Netherlands. The development of deeptech takes substantial investments. It also requires a great deal of time before a product is ready for the market. That puts companies focusing on these technologies at risk. The government fund is intended to keep them going.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Invest-NL launched the venture capital fund with €250 million four years ago. That money went to 14 companies, including chip sector companies Axelera AI and Nearfield Instruments, and quantum computer company QuantWare.
Investments in deeptech companies have been rising for years. In the Netherlands, €1 billion went to these companies last year, accounting for 41 percent of all venture capital.
Despite this, the European deeptech sector is still behind other countries. European deeptech companies raise 3.4 to 4.2 times less than their American counterparts, and therefore grow less rapidly, Techleap reported this week.
