Amsterdam startup funding news, November 2022

Buddee lands €1 million to digitise HR solutions for Dutch SMEs 

Amsterdam-based HR startup Buddee has secured €1 million from angel investors for its online platform for payroll, compliance and employee benefits processes. These apply digital solutions similar to those used in the US to Dutch SMEs, specialised to account for Dutch legislation and streamlined to integrate with commonly used HR and accounting tools. The boost in capital will extend this compatibility to other tools and expand Buddee’s team, services and products. 

Sympower tops up Series B by €3 million to total €25 million towards greener energy system 

As the urgency of a greener and more sovereign energy system comes sharply into focus in Europe, Amsterdam’s climate tech startup Sympower boosts its Series B funding round. After the summer’s initial round, including Expon Capitaland Rockstart, a further €3 million led by Activate Capital, Rubio Impact Ventures and PDENH brings the round to a total of €25 million. According to Sympower, the capital will allow them to continue balancing supply and demand across the grid, towards a transition to a greener energy system. 

Healthtech Clear.bio secures funds from Achmea for diabetes management tech 

Amsterdam’s Clear.bio, which develops an arm-patch chip and app for those with type-2 diabetes to measure blood glucose in real time, has received an undisclosed sum from Amsterdam-based Achmea Innovation Fund and previous investors. The app allows users to personalise a diet plan to reliably regulate nutrition, with encouraging results so far for improved quality of life. 

LLYC Venturing invest €100,000 into Digital Audience’s digital marketing strategies 

Madrid-based LLYC Venturing has announced it has invested €100,000 in Amsterdam’s Digital Audience, a digital platform for large companies to manage advertising campaigns. Digital Audience’s solutions allow clients to gather necessary data without cookies and in compliance with contemporary data laws, enabling marketing with a strong focus on security and privacy. 

€4 million from Yesqar boosts Godrive with car leasing subscription service 

Godrive.nu, a car-leasing subscription service based in Weesp, recently secured a €4 million investment from Yesqar, an automotive financier. The funds will go towards expanding Godrive’s fleet of second-hand vehicles – used because of their slower-depreciating value to reduce costs for customers – and further developing its platform.  

Overstory gets $5.2 million more for preventing power outages and wildfires 

Amsterdam’s Overstory, a global “vegetation intelligence” platform, has secured an additional $5.2 million in a funding round led by Convective Capital, following last year’s $3.9 million from investors including CapitalT and Moxxie Ventures. Overstory addresses how unregulated vegetation often causes power outages and wildfires when plants grow or fall into power lines. The funds will expand its AI solution, which analyses hi-res satellite imagery to identify locations at risk and prompts customers about where to prune or cut. 

Digital hospitality startup Drop.in raises pre-seed funds  

Drop.in, whose online guest app provides automated staff operations and guest services for hotels, has announced a pre-seed funding round for an undisclosed sum from 3XA, ASIF Ventures, Graduate Entrepreneur and private investors. Amid staff shortages across the hospitality industry, Drop.in’s product aims to provide a seamless digital experience for guests – facilitating check-in and check-out, mobile room keys and ‘digital concierges’ – while also taking pressure off staff. 

Plastic-free toothpaste-makers Smyle surpass sharefunding target of €1 million 

Amsterdam’s Smyle, whose toothpaste products are free of single-use plastic packaging and microplastics, beat their €1 million target on sharefunding platform Broccoli, raising a total €1,156,660 from 1,441 individual investors. Their toothpaste tabs are sent by regular post in paper packaging, and are already on sale across many shops in the Netherlands. 

Legaltech startup Govin secures €1 million to streamline legal processes for entrepreneurs and VCs 

Amsterdam-based Govin has announced it has raised €1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by the Dutch Founders Fund (DFF) as well as Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland and angel investors. The legaltech provides a one-stop solution for entrepreneurs and VCs needing to fulfil legal and governance requirements, aiming to save time otherwise spent digging through legal documentation. 

Contentoo strengthens its leading content marketing platform with €5 million 

Contentoo, based in Amsterdam, has cemented its position as Europe’s leading platform for content creation, with a €5 million investment through No Such Ventures. The funds will help scale Contentoo further, expanding its pool of freelance copywriters, translators and designers. 

UK-based Apadmi acquires Amsterdam’s The Mobile Company 

Amsterdam-based The Mobile Company, a creator of mobile apps, has been acquired by the UK’s Apadmi, a rapidly growing digital agency with clients including the BBC, the NHS and The Guardian. The acquisition means that the two combined companies now represent the largest team of mobile specialists in Europe, as its easier access to markets from the new Amsterdam base serve the company’s ambitions to expand globally. 

Amsterdam-based media company Azerion acquires Brussels’ audio advertiser Radionomy 

Azerion, a media and technology platform based in Amsterdam, has ventured into audio advertising by acquiring Radionomy Group, a Belgian digital audio advertising and marketing solutions, as well as its subsidiary brands Targetspot and Shoutcast. As Azerion plans to expand into US markets, these tools allow the company to offer customers a broader range of ad solutions including digital radio and in-game audio. 

Amsterdam’s Lepaya buys London-based Speak First, its second acquisition in two months 

Lepaya, a soft skills scaleup based in Amsterdam, has acquired Speak First, a London-based provider of communication and leadership skills training. The acquisition follows Lepaya’s September purchase of Munich’s vCOACH, a virtual provider of communication skills training and will expand the company’s offering of training to a range of staff. 

Rotterdam-based construction engineering firm Dura Vermeer acquires Amsterdam’s Nexton 

Nexton, an Amsterdam-based technical service provider for building-related installations, has been acquired by Rotterdam’s Dura Vermeer, which has aided construction and infrastructure projects since its founding in 1855. This is Dura Vermeer’s third acquisition, and it aims to solve technical issues for customers by benefitting from Nexton’s experience facilitating smart buildings, energy transition projects and circularity. 

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