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Across Europe, skills shortages are emerging as a key challenge. The Council of the European Union says this is driven by demographic change, demand for new skillsets, and poor working conditions in some sectors. Adding to that, a recent report highlighted that around 42% of Europeans lack basic digital skills, including 37% of those in the workforce. The rapid advancement of AI is adding more pressure. While AI offers the EU a shot in the arm to strengthen the bloc’s innovation and competitiveness, there is still a gap between the skills required, and the skills available. 5 jobs to discover this week Full-stack developer, Haystack People, Rotterdam Systemengineer DBMS DB2 DEV, belastingdienst, Apeldoorn Scrum Master, Artisans, Papendrecht IT Systemtechniker (m/w/d), SanData IT-Gruppe, Warstein Stage Logiciel: Développement d’outils de simulation et de tests en GO F/H, MBDA France, Le Plessis-Robinson In the Netherlands, new analysis from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has found that the growth of the labour force will decline sharply in the coming decades. It says that in the Dutch labour force, there are more vacancies than those unemployed, and that this trend is set to continue. How Startup Amsterdam Boosts Innovation and Growth at TNW Conference Discover how the City of Amsterdam partnered with TNW to amplify its startup ecosystem, attract global talent, and foster innovation that drives economic impact. Germany is also experiencing a similar fate, with Indeed’s Jobs & Hiring Trends Report for 2025 finding that demand for labour continues to cool, particularly among professional groups with top salaries. The report also found that in the medium term, Germany is heading for a shortage of skilled workers. In France, Indeed says the picture is broadly similar. “In 2025, wage and purchasing power gains are expected to remain limited while the French unemployment rate will remain close to its current levels,” it notes in its report. The unemployment rate in France is hovering around 7.4% thanks to a mismatch between supply and demand for workers, in part fuelled by the skills deficit. On a macro level, these sluggish European labour markets aren’t a great sign, and it is clear that there is much work needed to be done to fix the wider issues around skills gaps. But on a micro, or personal level, software engineers and tech professionals have a lot of scope. Top skills and programming languages If you have the right skills, particularly around artificial intelligence and software development, then opportunity knocks. Stack Overflow’s most recent developer survey found that the most popular programming roles are for full-stack, back-end, and front-end developers. These were followed by desktop or enterprise developers, and mobile and embedded applications. For its community of developers, JavaScript retained its long running spot in first place followed by SQ, HTML/CSS, Python, and TypeScript. On the other hand, GitHub’s recent Octoverse report found that on its platform, JavaScript has been knocked off its previous perch by Python. This is a language with many uses, notably in the in-demand fields of data science and machine learning, thanks to its simplicity and extensive libraries. GitHub says this is, “the first large-scale change we’ve seen in the top two languages since 2019—and it speaks to the rise in Python that’s accompanied the generative AI boom we’ve seen over the past two years.” 3 more roles to discover The rise of cloud computing, IoT, and AR/VR technologies has also created demand for languages that can efficiently handle these environments. Think Kotlin, which is gaining traction as the preferred language for Android development. Go (Golang) is popular for building scalable network servers and concurrent systems due to its performance and simplicity. Older languages are seeing a resurgence too. According to data from Developer Nation, Java, for example, gained over eight million new developers from 2021 to 2023. It may be more than 20 years old, but its recent rise in popularity is due to its use and versatility across cloud and IoT. C++ remains popular according to the TIOBE Index, where it is currently in second position. This is attributed to its performance and scalability, particularly in domains like embedded systems, game development, and financial trading software. However, not everyone is happy with C++, notably the US government, which issued a report this year urging programmers to move to memory-safe programming languages. This has led Rust’s user base to triple recently. The memory safe language is particularly appealing for systems programming due to its focus on safety and performance, and as a result it can offer a strong alternative to C++. As the big programming languages battle it out for supremacy, there are always the underdogs waiting in the wings. In its 2024 report, GitHub put a spotlight on the fastest-growing languages. These ones-to-watch include Go, HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language), Kotlin, Dart, Trust, Luna, TSQL, and Blade. Ready to find your next software job? Check out The Next Web Job Board source

Businesses are already being radically transformed by artificial intelligence (AI). Tools now exist that offer instantaneous, high-quality results in improving certain operations without the burden of high costs or delays. In fact, generative AI could completely upend the traditional ways that we measure success in business. Generative AI refers to programs that produce high-quality text, images, ideas and even complex software code in response to prompts (questions or instructions) from a user. Applications powered by data-driven algorithms enable users to quickly create high-quality content, redefining traditional measures of success. A small café can generate aesthetically pleasing menus in a few clicks through apps like Jasper.AI. Online retailers can use generative AI chatbots such as botco.ai to provide 24/7 support, answering queries and offering advice. Businesses with an online presence can use generative AI to analyse social media posts in order to understand customer sentiment. AI empowers businesses by automating tasks like writing marketing copy, crafting social media posts and generating blog articles. Additionally, AI can handle routine customer inquiries, data entry and scheduling, freeing up valuable time for strategic initiatives. Platforms such as GPT-4, GeminiAI and Co-Pilot are either free or affordable, making it easier for even small firms to benefit from high-end capabilities once reserved only for bigger firms with bigger budgets. Generative AI tools can produce content in close to real time, and deliver results without forcing firms to compromise on quality. In fact, the AI tools get better at what they do as they’re exposed to more data. Businesses operating a family of models known as “as a service” models, can make particular use of generative AI. In one of these, known as content-as-a-service (CAAS), firms provide other organisations with quick access to quality written content and visuals. Once exclusively the domain of humans, these tasks can now be done by AI. Firms operating a software-as-a-service (SAAS) model can also leverage AI given that some programs now generate complex computer code. Old measures of success Historically, project management and business success was largely defined through a simple formula: Cost x Time = Quality. Often touted as the “iron triangle” from the perspective of operational efficiency, this equation implies that, in order to attain a degree of quality, firms must balance cost with the time spent to achieve that level of quality. For example, requesting that something be both delivered quickly and at a high quality typically incurs higher costs. Proper planning and scheduling help ensure competitive pricing and reliable quality. Delivering results faster often translates to investing more resources, such as labour or specialised equipment, adding to overall costs. Conversely, delivering lower cost solutions would often come at the expense of quality. Generative AI can analyse social media posts in order to understand customer sentiment. Kaspars Grinvalds A related trade off is that of speed versus accuracy. If something needs to be done quickly, accuracy is often compromised. AI has upended this thinking, as firms can now achieve both speed and accuracy at the same time by leveraging AI. This can enhance productivity and drive innovation without losing out on quality. Likewise, through generative AI, smaller companies with fewer resources are able to rub shoulders and compete with larger firms using AI-powered tools. They can do this by streamlining operations, creating cost-effective marketing content and delivering personalised customer experiences. This can make existing businesses more efficient, competitive and creative. It can also lower the barriers to entry into markets for prospective small and medium-sized business owners. Prospects for survival Many generative AI tools are cloud-based, reducing the need for significant infrastructure costs. They are also user friendly, requiring no specialised expertise. This means that organisations no longer require specialised talent to drive competitiveness within their organisations. The UK government’s recent autumn budget included a number of tax rises that will hit businesses, especially some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that don’t have the financial buffers to weather severe economic challenges. Companies may either put recruitment budgets on hold, or scale them back. Against the background of such a challenging economic environment, SMEs are using generative AI to transform efficiency and productivity as well as improve accessibility and reduce costs. Generative AI has reconfigured the Cost x Time = Quality formula and has enabled firms to do things both quickly and accurately without a trade off. For SMEs, it has torn down competitive barriers and the prospects for survival during economic upheaval. As generative AI continues to develop, companies must be open to embracing change and rethinking how they perceive everything they once held true. Otherwise, they’ll have the wrong horse, for the wrong course. source

Every year, millions of businesses are created around the world. In order for these big ideas to turn into successful startups, most of them will inevitably come up against the challenges of fundraising.  While there is no magic formula, there are variables that founders can hone in on when engaging with potential investors. TNW sat down with San Francisco-based VC Plug and Play early-stage investor Letizia Royo-Villanova during the Red Bull Basement global final in Tokyo to get her insights.  The one thing that really needs to stand out, according to Royo-Villanova, is the drive and authenticity of the founder. “Maybe they’ve experienced a problem, or know someone that has experienced that problem, and so they really want to solve it. Not because of making money — of course that’s a plus — but because they actually care about solving that problem.” In addition to said passion, the ability to sell is another key skill. Founders are constantly required to sell their ideas to investors, to clients — and also to talent. “The best founders will have the best talent in their team,” Royo-Villanova states.  How Startup Amsterdam Boosts Innovation and Growth at TNW Conference Discover how the City of Amsterdam partnered with TNW to amplify its startup ecosystem, attract global talent, and foster innovation that drives economic impact. While direct industry experience is valuable, it’s not always essential. “There are great entrepreneurs out there that don’t necessarily have that experience. They are kind of born with that drive of founding a company.”  However, having insight into the customer and understanding the market are non-negotiables: “You really need to understand the pain point and the industry. That is going to facilitate a lot of doors opening in the future,” the VC adds.   Lastly, personality and rapport matter. “I do think that you feel it in the first half hour,” Royo-Villanova says, referring to understanding whether a founder is someone the VC is going to want to spend time with. “If you end up investing in a founder, you are going to have a lot of meetings with that person. So if you don’t feel the vibe, you don’t want to invest in them.” Mistakes founders make when pitching Even though a founder may have the best idea imaginable, creating an impactful pitch is essential in order to get investors on board. (Not everyone has the good fortune to survive a disastrous pitch like the one Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang famously gave Don Valentine of Sequoia in 1993.)  One of the most common mistakes Royo-Villanova sees is founders spending too much time on describing the general problem as opposed to focusing on their specific solution. “If it’s a climate or sustainability startup,” the VC explains, “and they spend 15 minutes talking about how there’s a climate issue, I don’t need to hear that. They could tell me in one or two sentences. Then we can concentrate on more important things.” And while solo entrepreneurs may well succeed, the VC is more likely to consider funding a founder team of two or more. “Building a startup is hard enough, and if you do it by yourself, what if you suddenly have a bad week or a bad month? You need that other person to hold you up,” she says. Furthermore, teams with complementary skills are more likely to drive success in the future.  Common pitfalls when running an early-stage startup Of course, beyond the pitch, there is also the small matter of actually running the business. Specifically, when it comes to fundraising, Royo-Villanova believes that a major misstep is taking money from any available investor without considering strategic alignment.  “The money is going to run out, but the support from the people that invest in you shouldn’t,” she says. The right VC can offer help with recruitment, sales, or industry network connections. Pivoting back to the question of talent, hiring decisions is a critical area when it comes to running the business. Founders often try to save money by hiring cheaper talent, but Royo-Villanova says this can backfire further down the road. “It’s about finding the right fit for your company and building a culture from day one,” she says. Finally, an inability to pivot is another potentially fatal flaw. “If you have an idea, talk to potential customers from day one, understand if this is something that is actually a problem and that they are going to prioritise and that they are going to pay for and if not, it’s ok to pivot. If you’re going to fail, fail fast — and it’s not even failing, it’s just changing to something else.” Focus on education and supportive regulation could drive European innovation With all the concerns and recent discourse around the innovation gap between the US and Europe, we could not help but ask the California-based VC what she feels are the most significant areas holding Europe back.  One of the main issues she identifies as a lack of early exposure to innovation and entrepreneurship. “I don’t feel I was aware of the world of innovation or venture capital as much as probably some students in the US,” Royo-Villanova (who hails from Spain) says. “If you start from a very young age to introduce that culture of innovation and explain how important it is, it’s going to help a lot in the future.” Regulation and corporate attitudes also play a role. European corporations can often exhibit a risk-averse mindset, in contrast with a more dynamic and entrepreneurial culture from their North American counterparts. Moreover, complex regulatory frameworks can stifle startups from scaling quickly — something initiatives such as the recently launched EU Inc hope to overcome.  Founders seeking to build successful startups need to embody passion and an ability to sell, as well as customer insight, while avoiding common pitfalls including neglecting strategic fundraising and failing to pivot quickly. Meanwhile, Europe’s innovation ecosystem would benefit from early education, a shift in corporate attitudes, and streamlining regulations.  Addressing all these challenges

Finnish startup Oura has closed its Series D funding round at $200mn, bringing the smart ring maker’s valuation to a cosy $5.2bn. Oura’s smart ring uses 20 biometric markers to track sleep, physical activity, and stress resilience. The device displays this data on an app that gives you a personalised “readiness” score. We tested the wearable earlier this year and were genuinely impressed.  Founded in 2013, Oura secured its first funding on Kickstarter, the crowdfunding site, in 2016. Counting this new tranche of capital, the tech startup has raised $550mn since inception. “We’ve made significant progress in advancing our mission to make health a daily practice and will use this funding to unlock new opportunities, with AI development at the centre of our strategy,” said Tom Hale, Oura’s CEO. In 2022, Oura became a unicorn and sold its millionth ring. Two years on, the company claims to have recently sold its 2.5 millionth device and to have made $500mn in sales this year alone.    How Startup Amsterdam Boosts Innovation and Growth at TNW Conference Discover how the City of Amsterdam partnered with TNW to amplify its startup ecosystem, attract global talent, and foster innovation that drives economic impact. “We know that Oura has the potential to change lives at scale, and we’re excited to continue leading the market in innovation while pursuing opportunities that extend beyond the ring,” said Hale. Oura said it signed partnerships with key retailers such as Amazon and Target this year. The ring is especially popular with celebrities — including Prince Harry, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Aniston. Even the Pentagon made a $96mn order in October to put the devices in (or should I say “on”) the hands of soldiers. While sales of smartwatches flatlined this year, smart rings are surging in popularity. Global smart ring sales are set to almost double from an estimated 1.7mn by the end of 2024 to 3.2mn in 2028, market intelligence firm IDC.  For many users, they’re seen as a more convenient option to smartwatches like the AppleWatch but still contain many of the same features. Smart rings also tend to move less and fit better against the skin.   Smart ring makers sold 880,000 units in 2023, said IDC. The Oura Ring made up 80% of these sales, soaring above competitors like Ultrahuman and Samsung. By those figures, Oura genuinely does seem to be the current lord of the (smart) rings. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.  ​​Fidelity Management led the funding round, which also saw the participation of Dexcom, a German provider of glucose monitoring sensors for diabetes patients. source

Artificial intelligence (AI) makes important decisions that affect our everyday lives. These decisions are implemented by firms and institutions in the name of efficiency. They can help determine who gets into college, who lands a job, who receives medical treatment and who qualifies for government assistance. As AI takes on these roles, there is a growing risk of unfair decisions – or the perception of them by those people affected. For example, in college admissions or hiring, these automated decisions can unintentionally favour certain groups of people or those with certain backgrounds, while equally qualified but underrepresented applicants get overlooked. Or, when used by governments in benefit systems, AI may allocate resources in ways that worsen social inequality, leaving some people with less than they deserve and a sense of unfair treatment. Together with an international team of researchers, we examined how unfair resource distribution – whether handled by AI or a human – influences people’s willingness to act against unfairness. The results have been published in the journal Cognition. With AI becoming more embedded in daily life, governments are stepping in to protect citizens from biased or opaque AI systems. Examples of these efforts include the White House’s AI Bill of Rights, and the European parliament’s AI Act. These reflect a shared concern: people may feel wronged by AI’s decisions. So how does experiencing unfairness from an AI system affect how people treat one another afterwards? AI-induced indifference Our paper in Cognition looked at people’s willingness to act against unfairness after experiencing unfair treatment by an AI. The behaviour we examined applied to subsequent, unrelated interactions by these individuals. A willingness to act in such situations, often called “prosocial punishment,” is seen as crucial for upholding social norms. For example, whistleblowers may report unethical practices despite the risks, or consumers may boycott companies that they believe are acting in harmful ways. People who engage in these acts of prosocial punishment often do so to address injustices that affect others, which helps reinforce community standards. Anggalih Prasetya / Shutterstock We asked this question: could experiencing unfairness from AI, instead of a person, affect people’s willingness to stand up to human wrongdoers later on? For instance, if an AI unfairly assigns a shift or denies a benefit, does it make people less likely to report unethical behaviour by a co-worker afterwards? Across a series of experiments, we found that people treated unfairly by an AI were less likely to punish human wrongdoers afterwards than participants who had been treated unfairly by a human. They showed a kind of desensitisation to others’ bad behaviour. We called this effect AI-induced indifference, to capture the idea that unfair treatment by AI can weaken people’s sense of accountability to others. This makes them less likely to address injustices in their community. Reasons for inaction This may be because people place less blame on AI for unfair treatment, and thus they feel less driven to act against injustice. This effect is consistent even when participants encountered only unfair behaviour by others or both fair and unfair behaviour. To look at whether the relationship we had uncovered was affected by familiarity with AI, we carried out the same experiments again, after the release of ChatGPT in 2022. We got the same results with the later series of tests as we had with the earlier ones. These results suggest that people’s responses to unfairness depend not only on whether they were treated fairly but also on who treated them unfairly – an AI or a human. In short, unfair treatment by an AI system can affect how people respond to each other, making them less attentive to each other’s unfair actions. This highlights AI’s potential ripple effects in human society, extending beyond an individual’s experience of a single unfair decision. When AI systems act unfairly, the consequences extend to future interactions, influencing how people treat each other, even in situations unrelated to AI. We would suggest that developers of AI systems should focus on minimising biases in AI training data to prevent these important spillover effects. Policymakers should also establish standards for transparency, requiring companies to disclose where AI might make unfair decisions. This would help users understand the limitations of AI systems, and how to challenge unfair outcomes. Increased awareness of these effects could also encourage people to stay alert to unfairness, especially after interacting with AI. Feelings of outrage and blame for unfair treatment are essential for spotting injustice and holding wrongdoers accountable. By addressing AI’s unintended social effects, leaders can ensure AI supports rather than undermines the ethical and social standards needed for a society built on justice. Chiara Longoni, Associate Professor, Marketing and Social Science, Bocconi University; Ellie Kyung, Associate Professor, Marketing Division, Babson College, and Luca Cian, Killgallon Ohio Art Professor of Business Administration, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. source

According to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome, the Netherlands ecosystem is now ranked number 13 in the world — placing it ahead of both Paris and Berlin. In 2023, Dutch startups raised $2.2bn. While there have been fewer startup deals this year, overall investment is up, according to figures from the Dutch Startup Association. And for some startups and scaleups, 2024 was truly a monumental year. Picnic raises one of Europe’s largest rounds  Having grown its business 40% in 2023 following international expansion across France and Germany, Dutch online supermarket Picnic kicked off the year in style as it announced a €355mn funding round in January. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation participated in the round, which brought the company’s total raised to €1.3bn. Founded in 2015, Picnic, its fully automated fulfilment centres, and delivery algorithms have defied the mass collapse of online grocery delivery startups that befell the likes of Getir and Flink after the pandemic. In 2018, the year before hitting 1,000,000 shoppers in the Netherlands, the company’s CTO Daniel Gebler took the stage at TNW Conference to talk about the tech that is disrupting the “everywhere commerce” space. Gebler also closed the year with a bang, as he was named CxO of the year by Computable.nl.  How Startup Amsterdam Boosts Innovation and Growth at TNW Conference Discover how the City of Amsterdam partnered with TNW to amplify its startup ecosystem, attract global talent, and foster innovation that drives economic impact. DataSnipper reaches unicorn status  Its Series B $100mn raise in February saw Amsterdam-headquartered auditing platform DataSnipper valued at $1bn, aka achieving the mythical status of unicorn. The round was led by Index Ventures and the funds are helping DataSnipper, which already counts Hilton, Siemens, and Frontier Airlines among its clients, to expand across more verticals including forensic accountants and tax advisors. DataSnipper was founded by Maarten Alblas, Jonas Ruyter, and Kai Bakker in 2017. In 2023, the company appointed a new CEO in Vidya Peters (on the featured image along with the founding team). Peters was previously Chief Operating Officer at payment solution provider Marqeta, helping the company go public in 2021. She sees the long term objective of DataSnipper as connecting unstructured data across industries, and believes there is tremendous opportunity for growth and expansion globally.  Mews becomes a unicorn, €100mn fund by Carbon Equity March was a month of celebration for current and former TNW Spaces member startups. Hotel management software provider Mews hit a €1.1bn valuation after a €101mn raise, led by Swedish investment company Kinnevik. The good news for Mews, founded in 2012 by former hotelier Richard Valter, did not stop there. In September, the company bagged another €90mn from Vista Credit Partners. Having already purchased nine other startups in the sector, the funds will allow Mews to continue its buying spree, consolidating its place as a market leader in redefining the hospitality industry with its cloud offerings. Meanwhile, leading climate fund investment startup Carbon Equity raised €100mn for its Climate Tech Portfolio Fund II — exceeding an initial target of €75mn and more than doubling its first fund from 2022. Founded only in 2021, Carbon Equity has quickly become a force to be reckoned with for investments in curated clean tech solutions.  In October, Wired dubbed Carbon Equity one of the hottest startups in Amsterdam, and at the beginning of December, co-founder Jacqueline van den Ende was awarded the title of Changemaker of the Year by Change Inc, rounding off a momentous year. Let’s hope climate tech investment continues to thrive in 2025.  First ever tech fund by Dutch Ministry of Defence  It is perhaps an unfortunate sign of the times we live in, but there is no denying that defence tech startups — from Ukrainian drone developers to German AI darling Helsing — are on a roll. In October, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced a €100mn fund to provide early-stage financing to the country’s startups, scaleups, and SMEs that meet specific innovation needs.  The fund will invest up to €5mn per company. It will focus on dual-use technologies, meaning tech that can be used both for civilian and military purposes. It is expected to open in 2025, so keep your eyes peeled for the first investments. We can’t wait to see what 2025 will bring as Amsterdam celebrates its 750th anniversary and TNW Conference returns to NDSM island in June. Join us as we bring together the whole Dutch tech ecosystem and discover what is truly next in tech! source

Munich-based startup Vaeridion has secured €14mn to develop an electric aircraft that it hopes will whisk passengers on short-haul routes around Europe by 2030.  “The microliner looks like a regular plane and it takes off from a runway — the only difference is that it will be powered by batteries,” Vaeridion’s co-founder and CEO, Ivor van Dartel, told TNW in an interview last month. “For operators and passengers, the experience will be essentially the same.” Berlin-based climate tech VC World Fund led the Series A investment, with participation from Project A Ventures, Vsquared Ventures, Schwarz Holding, InnovationQuarter, and angel investor Andreas Kupke.  “Our new funding will significantly accelerate development efforts, paving the way for certification-conforming prototype flights to take off in 2027, followed by a first commercial flight by 2030,” said Van Dartel. The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! The news comes just a month after Vaeridion became the first general aviation manufacturer to secure a pre-application contract (PAC) with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), in a big step towards commercial flight.  Vaeridion’s head of engineering, Markus Kochs Kämper, called it “a huge milestone” in the development of its microliner. “This initiative allows us to de-risk our core technology and the path to certifying our electric aircraft prior to submitting a type certificate application,” he told TNW at the time.   Van Dartel and Sebastian Seemann — both former Airbus and ZF engineers — co-founded Vaeridion in 2021. Their vision was to build an electric plane to replace jet-fueled aircraft on regional flights.   Preliminary tests put the range of the microliner at about 500km, said the company. In 2022, almost a third of flights in the EU covered this distance or less, according to Eurocontrol.  Vaeridion’s design is similar to existing regional aircraft, which could reduce development and manufacturing costs compared to more experimental electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) models that often require intricate propulsion systems and vertical lift capabilities.   The company has already signed up its first customers: Dutch private jet operator ASL Group, German business airline Aero-Dienst, and Danish companies Copenhagen AirTaxi and Copenhagen Helicopter.   Aero-Dienst and Vaeridion are also working together on the potential roll-out of an electric plane ambulance service for Germany’s ADAC, Europe’s largest automobile association.   “Our partnerships and market-focused strategy reflect our commitment to not only decarbonising short-haul flights across Europe but also to setting a new standard for sustainable and energy-efficient aviation at a competitive price point,” said Van Dartel. Vaeridion estimates that a trip in the microliner will cost between €150–300. The aircraft will initially serve business passengers before expanding into consumer travel, the company said.   source

Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb have transformed travel. They’ve made it easier for tourists to access personalised, private accommodations and for property owners to monetise their spaces.   With global tourism now on track for a full recovery post-COVID, Hostaway has secured a cool $365mn at a $925mn valuation as it looks to cash-in on the boom in short-term rentals. Hostaway is a property management system (PMS) and software marketplace for the short-term rental industry. It will use the cash to enhance its dynamic pricing tools, further integrate AI, and expand its presence in new markets, focusing on France, Italy, and Spain.    “Expanding into different geographies and investing in innovative AI applications is something we’ve been hyper-focused on for over a year now,” said co-founder and CEO Marcus Räder in a blog post. “With this new strategic investment, we’ll be doubling down on these efforts and much more.”  How Startup Amsterdam Boosts Innovation and Growth at TNW Conference Discover how the City of Amsterdam partnered with TNW to amplify its startup ecosystem, attract global talent, and foster innovation that drives economic impact. The company said it was the first PMS to integrate ChatGPT into its platform. Going forward, it plans to add or improve upon AI-powered personalised messaging, content creation, and language translation. Räder co-founded Hostaway in Finland in 2015, alongside Mikko Nurminen (CFO) and Saber Kordestanchi (COO), at a time when companies like Airbnb were really starting to disrupt a travel industry dominated by hotel chains and guest lodges.  The founders saw that while short-term rental platforms were easy for customers to use, managing stuff like bookings, pricing, and communication was a bit of a headache for property owners. They launched Hostaway to help property managers automate and manage short-term stays across multiple platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo.  The idea is that by automating tasks and putting the data on a single platform, Hostaway can save property managers time on admin, freeing them up to focus on customer service — critical in a review-based industry. The platform also recently adopted dynamic pricing tools to optimise rates, potentially increasing revenue.  “Hostaway has emerged as a category leader with a differentiated product addressing the distinct needs of short-term rental property managers, a dynamic and growing industry,” said Raph Osnoss, managing director at General Atlantic, a New York-based growth equity firm that led the funding round.  Hostaway also raised $170mn last year in its first big funding round. The company claims its platform is used by customers in over 90 countries. While Hostaway is officially based in Toronto, Canada, it employs a fully remote workforce of over 230 employees across 44 countries.  Hostaway is one of a cohort of tech startups raising big money to make things easier for the hospitality industry. One of them is UK-based Lighthouse, which raised $370mn in November to expand its data intelligence platform for hotels. Another is Amsterdam-based Mews which raised $110mn in March at a valuation of over $1.2bn, becoming the first Dutch unicorn of the year. Then in September, it bagged another $100mn, to further develop and expand its PMS software.     source

Rome-based venture capital firm Scientifica has launched a €200mn fund to support startups in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and other frontier technologies. The fund, set to launch early next year, will provide early-stage companies with both financial backing and access to advanced lab spaces. Scientifica’s fund is based on a “Zero CapEx” model. Startups can use Scientifica’s 4,000 m² of laboratories and a network of 70 certified labs in Italy without incurring upfront costs. The aim is to reduce barriers to innovation by giving early-stage access to cutting-edge tools and facilities. The model reflects a growing trend of venture capital firms supporting both funding and infrastructure for startups, particularly in deep tech. “Scientifica Fund is the tangible expression of a strategy that integrates research, venture capital, and industry to accelerate technological innovation and create sustainable value,” said managing partner Riccardo D’Alessandri, pictured above. Scientifica already has three offices in Europe: two in Italy and another in London. It also recently expanded to Silicon Valley. Led by prominent entrepreneur and investor Jon Lunetta, the new hub aims to connect European startups with resources in the American tech ecosystem. “With high-level international collaborations, we are ready to position Italy as a central player in the global innovation ecosystem,” said D’Alessandri. One of Scientifica’s key focus areas is in quantum computing startups. These companies are working on technologies that leverage quantum mechanics to process information in ways classical computers cannot. Scientifica’s recently partnered with Quantum Italia, Italy’s first VC focused entirely on quantum tech.    Beyond quantum, Scientifica looks to back a range of technologies from AI and advanced materials to biotech and 3D printing. Among its current portfolio of 16 startups are Green Independence, a startup developing an artificial “solar leaf” with a built-in wastewater purification system, and Recornea, which is working on an implant to treat a severe eye condition called keratoconus. source

According to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome, the Netherlands ecosystem is now ranked number 13 in the world — placing it ahead of both Paris and Berlin. In 2023, Dutch startups raised $2.2bn. While there have been fewer startup deals this year, overall investment is up, according to figures from the Dutch Startup Association. And for some startups and scaleups, 2024 was truly a monumental year. Picnic raises one of Europe’s largest rounds  Having grown its business 40% in 2023 following international expansion across France and Germany, Dutch online supermarket Picnic kicked off the year in style as it announced a €355mn funding round in January. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation participated in the round, which brought the company’s total raised to €1.3bn. Founded in 2015, Picnic, its fully automated fulfilment centres, and delivery algorithms have defied the mass collapse of online grocery delivery startups that befell the likes of Getir and Flink after the pandemic. In 2018, the year before hitting 1,000,000 shoppers in the Netherlands, the company’s CTO Daniel Gebler took the stage at TNW Conference to talk about the tech that is disrupting the “everywhere commerce” space. Gebler also closed the year with a bang, as he was named CxO of the year by Computable.nl.  DataSnipper reaches unicorn status  Its Series B $100mn raise in February saw Amsterdam-headquartered auditing platform DataSnipper valued at $1bn, aka achieving the mythical status of unicorn. The round was led by Index Ventures and the funds are helping DataSnipper, which already counts Hilton, Siemens, and Frontier Airlines among its clients, to expand across more verticals including forensic accountants and tax advisors. DataSnipper was founded by Maarten Alblas, Jonas Ruyter, and Kai Bakker in 2017. In 2023, the company appointed a new CEO in Vidya Peters (on the featured image along with the founding team). Peters was previously Chief Operating Officer at payment solution provider Marqeta, helping the company go public in 2021. She sees the long term objective of DataSnipper as connecting unstructured data across industries, and believes there is tremendous opportunity for growth and expansion globally.  Mews becomes a unicorn, €100mn fund by Carbon Equity March was a month of celebration for current and former TNW Spaces member startups. Hotel management software provider Mews hit a €1.1bn valuation after a €101mn raise, led by Swedish investment company Kinnevik. The good news for Mews, founded in 2012 by former hotelier Richard Valter, did not stop there. In September, the company bagged another €90mn from Vista Credit Partners. Having already purchased nine other startups in the sector, the funds will allow Mews to continue its buying spree, consolidating its place as a market leader in redefining the hospitality industry with its cloud offerings. Meanwhile, leading climate fund investment startup Carbon Equity raised €100mn for its Climate Tech Portfolio Fund II — exceeding an initial target of €75mn and more than doubling its first fund from 2022. Founded only in 2021, Carbon Equity has quickly become a force to be reckoned with for investments in curated clean tech solutions.  In October, Wired dubbed Carbon Equity one of the hottest startups in Amsterdam, and at the beginning of December, co-founder Jacqueline van den Ende was awarded the title of Changemaker of the Year by Change Inc, rounding off a momentous year. Let’s hope climate tech investment continues to thrive in 2025.  First ever tech fund by Dutch Ministry of Defence  It is perhaps an unfortunate sign of the times we live in, but there is no denying that defence tech startups — from Ukrainian drone developers to German AI darling Helsing — are on a roll. In October, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced a €100mn fund to provide early-stage financing to the country’s startups, scaleups, and SMEs that meet specific innovation needs.  The fund will invest up to €5mn per company. It will focus on dual-use technologies, meaning tech that can be used both for civilian and military purposes. It is expected to open in 2025, so keep your eyes peeled for the first investments. We can’t wait to see what 2025 will bring as Amsterdam celebrates its 750th anniversary and TNW Conference returns to NDSM island in June. Join us as we bring together the whole Dutch tech ecosystem and discover what is truly next in tech! source