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Buyers say Eindhoven poised to develop into Netherlands’ No. 2 tech hub

Written by Jeff Lampkin

Eindhoven may not instantly spring to thoughts as a high-tech hub, however the Netherlands metropolis is eager to place itself as a middle for deep tech in Europe.

The Technical College of Eindhoven, Excessive Tech Campus Eindhoven, and regionally primarily based corporates like ASML and Philips have been eyeing initiatives throughout Europe and making use of what they’ve realized to the area’s technique. Philips launched in Eindhoven in 1891 and performed no small half within the municipality’s ambitions to develop into a tech hub.

Eindhoven produces a excessive variety of patents per yr contemplating its small inhabitants and has been dwelling to an inordinate variety of {hardware} startups. The native Excessive Tech Campus has a excessive {hardware} focus, as an illustration.

Our survey respondents take into account town robust in areas like photonics, robotics, medical gadgets, supplies science, deep tech, automotive tech, sustainability tech, medtech, Massive Information, {hardware} and precision engineering. They’re in search of extra mature startups and scaleups targeted on AI and exhausting tech.

Eindhoven is taken into account weaker in fintech and client merchandise, and it exists in a small area with restricted international visibility.

Over the following 5 years, one respondent mentioned, “Eindhoven could have advanced to the Netherlands’ second-largest tech ecosystem, behind Amsterdam. On a European scale, Eindhoven could have entered the highest 10.”

To study extra about Eindhoven, we queried the next traders:


Robert AL, Systema Circularis

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

Excessive-tech techniques, photonics, robotics, medical gadgets.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

Lightyear, Bio-TRIP, EFFECT photonics, Nemo Healthcare, Sorama.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

Absolutely devoted.

Who’re the important thing startup folks in your metropolis (e.g., traders, founders, legal professionals, designers, and so on.)?

Steef Blok, Hurt de Vries, Piet van der Wielen, Andy Lurling, Mark Cox.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

Extra mature, extra targeted on inclusive growth, much less high quality coming from college spinoffs.

Nathan van den Dool, CEO, Space4Good

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

Excessive-tech techniques and supplies, the true high-tech and deep tech stuff that both results in scientific breakthroughs or turns scientific breakthroughs into firms. Lithography makes a serious contribution to that, in addition to medical gadgets and manufacturing applied sciences.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

Nearfield Devices, Optiflux, Dynaxion, AlphaBeats, Incooling.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

They focus primarily on high-tech machine constructing and software program growth, AI.

With the shift to distant working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, will folks keep in your metropolis, transfer out or will others transfer in?

Largely unaffected.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

Extra built-in between AI and exhausting tech and manufacturing.

Pepijn Herman, enterprise builder, Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maat schappij

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

The professionals are high-tech techniques, collaboration tradition and wonderful startup ecosystem; The cons are that it’s a small area with restricted visibility globally.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

LionVolt, DENS, Lightyear, Morphotonics.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

They focus primarily on high-tech machine constructing and software program growth, AI.

With the shift to distant working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, will folks keep in your metropolis, transfer out or will others transfer in?

Others will transfer in! Housing is extraordinarily costly however the demand for a talented workforce is extraordinarily excessive. If folks transfer to surrounding areas, inside 30 km, housing costs skyrocket throughout.

Who’re the important thing startup folks in your metropolis (e.g., traders, founders, legal professionals, designers, and so on.)?

BOM (that’s us!), Braventure, Brainport Improvement, TNO.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

Main worldwide in a number of expertise areas, primarily, high-precision, roll-to-roll processing atomic layer deposition, materials dealing with, trade 4.0, silicon processing tools.

Betsy Lindsey, CFO, Aircision

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

The area is powerful in deep tech, automotive tech, sustainability tech, medtech, Massive Information, {hardware} and precision engineering. Most excited by sustainability tech and deep tech. The area is weak in fintech.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

Lightyear, Incooling.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

Conservative, non-risk-taking — there are such a lot of subsidies they don’t must take dangers, so as soon as the tech danger is gone, they’re good, however they don’t seem to be international sufficient; {hardware}.

With the shift to distant working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, will folks keep in your metropolis, transfer out or will others transfer in?

{Hardware} is hands-on — persons are nonetheless transferring in! We now have a housing “disaster!”

Who’re the important thing startup folks in your metropolis (e.g., traders, founders, legal professionals, designers, and so on.)?

Innovation Industries.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

Extra mature startups and scaleups on the scene!

Andy Lurling, founding companion, LUMO Labs

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

The area is powerful in sustainable cities, well being and well-being, and training.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

FruitPunch AI, AlphaBeats, Vaulut, Lightyear, Serendipity.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

Primarily {hardware}; LUMO Labs has an early-stage software program focus.

With the shift to distant working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, will folks keep in your metropolis, transfer out or will others transfer in?

Keep.

Who’re the important thing startup folks in your metropolis (e.g., traders, founders, legal professionals, designers, and so on.)?

Nard Sintenie, Frank Claassen, Hans Bloemen.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

Competing on a worldwide scale.

Han Dirkx, CEO and co-founder, AlphaBeats

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

The area is powerful in deep tech and well being. I’m enthusiastic about alternatives for cooperation between totally different firms. It’s weak in seed funding.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

Lightyear, AlphaBeats, Carbyon, FruitPunch, Serendipity.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

Tech traders are primarily government-regulated constitutions or angels. Concentrate on scaleup.

With the shift to distant working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, will folks keep in your metropolis, transfer out or will others transfer in?

They’ll keep; working from dwelling has some advantages however assembly folks in an inspiring setting offers one of the best synergy.

Who’re the important thing startup folks in your metropolis (e.g., traders, founders, legal professionals, designers, and so on.)?

LUMO Labs, HighTechXL, Andy Lurling, Sven Bakkes, John Bell, Guus Frericks, Bert-Jan Woertman.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

Main on the earth.

Jonas Onland, managing companion, Serendipity

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

The area is powerful in constructing sustainable and resilient cities and a platform between cities/society and tech market.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

Digital Toolbox (a Serendipity spinoff), Amber (mobility), Energetic Esports Area and different portfolio firms of LUMO Labs.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

By LUMO Labs, there’s a deal with societal investments; the remaining is funding in excessive tech as a result of massive industries (VDLK, ASML, NXP, Phillips).

With the shift to distant working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, will folks keep in your metropolis, transfer out or will others transfer in?

Work from home or combine within the workplace and at dwelling.

Who’re the important thing startup folks in your metropolis (e.g., traders, founders, legal professionals, designers, and so on.)?

A mixture of accelerators (LUMO Labs, HighTechXL, Braventure) and Brainport (ecosystem administration) supported by the Eindhoven College of Expertise and massive corporates.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

Main on the earth on societal/systemic change — transferring from high-tech towards affect (extra software program and digitization).

Daan A.J. Kersten, CEO, PhotonFirst

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

It’s robust in high-tech tools, {hardware}, photonics, additive manufacturing, lighting, electronics, semiconductor expertise and well being tech, and weak in client merchandise and apps.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

Lightyear, ELEO Applied sciences, EFFECT Photonics, SMART Photonics, PhotonFirst, Amber.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

There’s a comparatively low variety of traders in early stage.

With the shift to distant working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, will folks keep in your metropolis, transfer out or will others transfer in?

They’ll keep. Eindhoven is a scorching spot with many cultures, worldwide tech neighborhood and nice infrastructure, whereas it looks like a village.

Who’re the important thing startup folks in your metropolis (e.g., traders, founders, legal professionals, designers, and so on.)?

Nard Sintenie, startup founders, HighTechXL.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

Worldwide dominance in high-tech {hardware} scaleups.

Daniel den Boer, CEO and co-founder, Vaulut

What trade sectors is your tech ecosystem robust in? What are you most excited by? What’s it weak in?

The Eindhoven ecosystem is actually robust within the sectors of mobility, sensible metropolis and vitality. I’m most enthusiastic about sensible metropolis. That is our focus sector and it’s the embodiment of ecosystem collaboration with affect options.

That are essentially the most attention-grabbing startups in your metropolis?

Vaulut, Roseman Labs, FruitPunch AI, Amber, Sendcloud, Lightyear.

What are the tech traders like? What’s the funding scene like in your metropolis? What’s their focus?

The funding scene is getting higher. They’re more and more realizing that deep tech takes time and must be nurtured, however the potential affect is huge and might have a dramatic impact on all the ecosystem. There are nonetheless comparatively few early-stage affect drive traders. LUMO Labs is main the pack on that entrance.

With the shift to distant working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, will folks keep in your metropolis, transfer out or will others transfer in?

I feel extra folks will keep as the necessity to transfer to Amsterdam because the tech hub of the Netherlands diminishes, giving Eindhoven a lift to strengthen its personal ecosystem, which is able to in flip make much more folks keep and appeal to folks to maneuver within the metropolis. Consequently, COVID-19 could have a constructive impact on Eindhoven’s tech ecosystem, I consider.

Who’re the important thing startup folks in your metropolis (e.g., traders, founders, legal professionals, designers, and so on.)?

LUMO Labs, the Eindhoven College of Expertise, Excessive Tech Campus, Amber, Brainport Eindhoven.

The place do you see your metropolis’s tech scene in 5 years’ time?

In 5 years, I consider Eindhoven could have advanced to Netherlands’ second-largest tech ecosystem, behind Amsterdam. On a European scale, Eindhoven could have entered the highest 10.

About the author

Jeff Lampkin

Jeff Lampkin was the first writer to have joined gamepolar.com. He has since then inculcated very effective writing and reviewing culture at GamePolar which rivals have found impossible to imitate. His approach has been to work on the basics while the whole world was focusing on the superstructures.