Amsterdam startup funding news, January 2022

Amsterdam-based provider of multi-tenant WordPress solutions raises Seed round funding

Founded in 2020, WPCS.io offers a multi-tenant cloud platform for WordPress – making the process of building, scaling and managing websites easier for any user. A relative newcomer to the city’s startup scene, the tech company has recently gained an undisclosed value of investment from Amsterdam’s Arches Capital, an investment firm that specifically champions promising startups and scaleups. The Seed funding will be used to globalise the company through increased hiring and marketing efforts.

Social media museum gathers €3 million to expand to additional European locations

Amsterdam’s unique social media experience, Youseum, has drawn in further growth capital from both new and existing investors. This additional investment of €3 million will be used to open their first international locations outside of the Dutch capital since launching in 2019. Youseum offers visitors the chance to take standout pictures and videos for their social media accounts in their themed and curated installations.

Online platform Miro continues to encourage collaboration with new funding

US and Amsterdam-based, Miro, is an online platform that allows teams to plan, collaborate and create together while working remotely. The company has secured $4 million (approximately €353 million) in a Series C round of financing which involves the following investors: ICONIQ Growth, Accel, Atlassian, Dragoneer, GIC, Salesforce Ventures, and TCV. The funds will allow Miro to continue its growth trajectory and develop their products more efficiently.

Amsterdam fintech company D2X collects €5 million in a recent Seed funding round

Following the rise in demand for digital assets, Amsterdam-based D2X developed a user friendly solution and platform for exchanging digital derivatives on the EU-regulated market. To further their expansion and offering, the company has secured €5 million in a Seed round hosted by Tioga Capital Partners. Other investor partners who took part included Flow Traders, Fortino Capital, Picus Capital, Kima Ventures, Philippe Jabre’s family office, Darley Technologies, alongside a number of angel investors.

New funding for Amsterdam-founded digital education platform, Winc Academy

Winc Academy is an online education platform that helps users to develop their tech skills through an array of online courses and programmes. The company has announced that it has raised $3 million (approximately €2.6 million) during a Seed funding round by Rubio Impact Ventures and Dutch Founders Fund. An earlier investor in the company, Vivid Ventures, also took part in the round for investment. With renewed funds, Winc academy has ambitious plans to educate a further 20,000 learners on their platform over the coming years.

Digital travel assistant raises millions in funding from big names in Silicon Valley

Origin was founded in the Dutch capital in 2020 by its two founders who sought a way to make travelling easier, and the planning of trips less time consuming. Using their professional background in operations, marketing, machine learning and AI, the pair developed an app to help travel lovers scope out future trips more conveniently. The company recently gained $5 million of investment in a round led by Project A, alongside original investor Cavalry Ventures. The new funding will help to develop the app further and attract new partnerships, among other benefits.

Amsterdam fintech startup is acquired in plans to further revenue-based-financing

Requr, a fintech company based in the Dutch capital, has been acquired by financial institution Levenue as part of plans to embrace the rising popularity of revenue-based-financing (RBF). The company, founded in 2021, has created an online platform that connects investors to SaaS entrepreneurs in Europe looking for an easy and convenient way to fund their business operations.

Remote office equipment provider captures the attention of new investors

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a dramatic increase in remote working. Amsterdam-based online platform Workwize has capitalised on this transformation, offering seamless solutions for companies to provide office equipment to their employees working from home. The newcomer announced in January 2022 that they had raised €1.5 million in a recent funding round hosted by Peak Capital. Other participants included Graduate Entrepreneur Fund, alongside a number of independent investors.

Amsterdam-based VC newcomer invests in Dutch AI startup, Deeploy 

MLOps platform, Deeploy, is working to untangle the complexity of artificial intelligence software – aiming to make AI more transparent, trustworthy and easier to understand. The company has recently received €0.8 million investment from Amsterdam venture capital firm, Curiosity, as part of plans to focus on investing in several AI tech companies in the Benelux, Nordics and Baltics regions. The new funds will enable Deeploy to scale-up their current solutions to serve larger companies in the market.

Pre-Series A funding granted to Amsterdam and Singapore tech company

Investors from HERE Technologies, Elev8.vc, SGInnovate, Venturerock and Fernando Herrera have backed tech startup, UNL, in its pre-Series A round of funding. The company has captured $4.5 million (approximately €3.96 million) in addition to its initial funding of $2 million from early 2020.

The joint Amsterdam and Singapore venture focuses on micro-location and mapping technology and have created a platform where companies can create their own customised digital maps. With the additional finances, UNL hopes to expand their services to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, while also further developing their last-mile and logistics solutions.

Three startups receive investment from Amsterdam-based, student-focused VC firm

ASIF Venture has offered pre-seed investments to three new startups in Amsterdam, all of which are led by students or recent university graduates. The first company to have raised support is HelloMentor, a recruitment platform that links tech students to experts and mentors in leading tech companies, in and around the capital. They gained €25 thousand in pre-seed funding to grow their venture further. The second to garner investment is Elementa Labs, a tech startup that designs voice assistants to aid biomedical lab workers who are unable to use computers within ultra-sterile settings. They have also received €25 thousand in investments to develop their algorithm and the functionalities of their voice assistant. €25 thousand was also captured by Amsterdam-founded tech and logistics startup, Redistri. The company’s platform identifies themselves as a ‘carpool for truck shipments’, as they connect shippers and carriers to find the most efficient and optimal routes for truckload transportation.

Investors are drawn to baby formula brand developing goat milk-based products

Amsterdam’s Pure Goat Company has attracted €1.3 million in funding from investors such as FLEM global trading, Leche Investments and Finest Investments. The company is proud to offer an organic and sustainable baby formula that can be used alongside, or as an alternative to, the many cow milk formulas currently on the market. Pure Goat Company’s products are currently available in major supermarkets and pharmacies within the Netherlands, but with new funding they plan to expand to locations reaching beyond Europe.

Leyden Labs’ new approach to combat viruses raises $200 million in 2021

Leyden Labs’ mission is to free people from the burden of respiratory viruses. The company has announced closing $140 million in Series B financing, bringing its total capital raised to approximately $200 million in 2021. The round was led by investors Casdin Capital and GV (formerly Google Ventures) and included incoming investors SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Invus, and Bluebird Ventures, plus existing Series A investors F-Prime Capital and Byers Capital/Brook Byers. The financing will support the development of Leyden Labs’ platform, product portfolio, and team.

Onramper raises $6 million from EQT Ventures

Onramper, a fiat-to-crypto gateway aggregator has raised $6 million in funding. The seed round was led by EQT Ventures, with participation from Backed VC and TRGC. The investment will be used to accelerate product development and grow their team. 

Bilihome closes an investment round for smart, wearable light therapy for newborns with jaundice

Bilihome, a MedTech company based in Gelderland, announced the closing of an investment round with Health Innovations and Oost NL. This funding enables the company to de-risk further development and secure a timely market introduction.

AskNicely raises $32 million to empower frontline teams and delight customers 

AskNicely, a leader in customer experience software for service businesses, has completed a $32 million Series B funding round and is launching the world’s first frontline success platform. The round was led by Five Elms Capital with participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Blackbird Ventures. The funding will be used to lead the next generation of customer experience software for service businesses, bringing better technology to frontline teams.

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