ASML, Philips participate in €100M investment fund for Dutch deep tech

ASML, Philips and several other organizations are chipping in for the DeeptechXL Fund I, a 100-million-euro private investment fund focusing on promising Dutch startups and scale-ups. Expecting to make approximately 20 early-stage seed investments and 15 follow-on investments, the new fund will also provide non-financial assistance, such as business development support and access to networks to find partners and launching customers. DeeptechXL originates from and will closely work together with venture builder HightechXL.

“The fact that DeeptechXL can intensively tap into the strong deep-tech knowledge base and experience in the region makes this initiative stand out,” comments ASML CEO Peter Wennink. “Innovation, entrepreneurship and cooperation are the lifeblood of both Philips and Brainport Eindhoven. We’re convinced that through this initiative, we’ll see even more startups and scale-ups to be launched in the Netherlands,” adds Philips CEO Frans van Houten.

Apart from ASML and Philips, Brabant Development Agency (BOM), research institute TNO, PME Pension Fund and public investment bank Invest-NL are participating as well. DeeptechXL received a 9-million-euro loan from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) specifically targeted at seed investments.