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Contact /Chris van Voorden Datum /

In 2018, 115 foreign companies opened an office or expanded their business in West Holland with the assistance of regional acquisition partners. These firms are expected to provide in excess of 2,600 jobs and to invest a total of 278 million euros in the region. Since 2014, The Hague Business Agency, Rotterdam Partners and InnovationQuarter have been actively collaborating to place the region in the global spotlight and to attract and support foreign companies. This has paid off: 26% of international companies that set up business in the Netherlands last year chose West Holland.

United States and China strongly represented

Most of the foreign companies that made a new or an expansion investment in West Holland in 2018 came from China (23) and the USA (22). This is in line with the trend of recent years with the majority of firms hailing from these two countries.

Chinese companies that established themselves in West Holland during 2018 include Genscript (biomedical firm with European branch in Leiden), Oppo (smartphones in Rotterdam) and Newtrend Group (biochemicals in The Hague).

Major names from the US that set up in or expanded into West Holland include GE Healthcare (new office in Rotterdam), Microsoft (Quantum Lab in Delft) and Synergy International Systems (Tech for Good in The Hague).

The figures for 2018 also reveal that companies from ‘new’ countries are coming to the region. For example, the strong growth in the number of firms from India and Turkey is striking. Eight companies from each country chose West Holland as their base in the Netherlands.

New sectors: ‘Next’ and ‘Impact’ Economy

Also noteworthy is the growing presence of firms active in the Next Economy. This includes a significant number of young tech companies that have made West Holland their home due to the region’s strong innovation ecosystem.

No fewer than 34 of the 115 newly established foreign firms in 2018 operate in the high-tech and IT sectors, followed by 14 in life sciences and health, 13 in the energy sector and 11 in agro and food.

We also see many new businesses (12) active in the so-called ‘Impact Economy’; companies that are working on making the world a better, safer and fairer place.

Investor Relations Programme: 298 companies visited

In addition to attracting new companies, The Hague Business Agency, Rotterdam Partners and InnovationQuarter also actively support foreign firms already established in the region.

This is part of the national Investor Relations Programme, which is co-funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Region and the Province of South Holland. In 2018, the three acquisition partners visited a total of 298 companies through the programme.

Successful collaboration on acquisition in West Holland

Attracting and retaining foreign investment is of great importance to the Netherlands and the West Holland region, not least in terms of economic growth and job creation. The 115 international companies succesfully assisted in 2018, for example, will by their own estimate create 2,108 new jobs within three years and secure 535 existing jobs. In addition, these firms are jointly investing 278 million euros in the region.

The 115 investment projects are the result of a joint effort by the regional agencies Rotterdam Partners, The Hague Business Agency and InnovationQuarter in association with the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), an operational unit of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. The acquisition partners have been collaborating closely since 2014, both strategically and operationally, and have achieved great success. In 2018, 26% of all foreign companies* that established themselves in the Netherlands opted for West Holland, well above the region’s share in the national economy. In 2014, it was 20%.

 

* This concerns the projects completed by Rotterdam Partners, The Hague Business Agency and InnovationQuarter in collaboration with the NFIA (Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency).

Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Chris van Voorden Datum /

It was the pedometer that gave him away. Tennis coach Mark de J. was suspected of killing entrepreneur Koen Everink. De J. claimed that at the time of the murder he was being held in a back seat, but his pedometer told a different story. Just one example of digital evidence helping to solve a case. Hans Henseler and Carl Tinker of Magnet Forensics expect this type of information will in future be part of all police investigations. It is therefore high time that not only digital forensics specialists but also regular investigators had the opportunity to review digital evidence. Magnet’s intuitive assessment tool – Magnet REVIEW – makes this possible.

What makes Magnet Forensics so innovative?

“What makes Magnet REVIEW so good is that the tool works intuitively,” says Carl Tinker, sales director at Magnet Forensics. “For instance, anyone can order a football shirt on Amazon. You select the correct size and the right colour, team and fabric. Magnet REVIEW is equally user-friendly. In the left column, investigators can click on e-mail, chat, photos and documents. It lets them easily examine the digital evidence and assess its relevance to the case.”

Tinker adds, “When digital forensics first emerged, a group of experts sat in a corner and that’s where you would send the digital evidence. Nowadays, these experts still unlock the raw data, but the detectives are the ones that assess the evidence because they have knowledge of the suspects and the timeline of events.”

In 2018, the Canadian company Magnet Forensics acquired the product Tracks Inspector as well as the team of the Dutch firm that went by the same name. Tracks Inspector had, among other things, developed the well-known chatbot Sweetie for researchers at Terre des Hommes. With Magnet Forensics, Tracks Inspector has now become Magnet REVIEW.

How has InnovationQuarter contributed to the establishment of Magnet Forensics in The Hague?

“About 20 months ago when in Canada, we met Chris van Voorden, head of Foreign Investments at InnovationQuarter,” says Carl Tinker. “Chris told us about the soft landing programme that InnovationQuarter organises in conjunction with the Canadian embassy. This initiative is for Canadian companies that want to become acquainted with the West Holland ecosystem.”

Tinker explains that Magnetic Forensics was at the time still thinking of the United Kingdom as the location for its EMEA headquarters: “Although we had clients in the Netherlands, we did not have any strategic contact until Chris and account manager Philip introduced us to the Ministry of Justice, potential partners and The Hague Security Delta. We then started scratching our heads because access to the European market is much better from the Netherlands than from the UK. And Brexit was coming too.”

So, the company decided to settle in The Hague.

“InnovationQuarter made us feel that there really was a support structure for us here,” says Tinker. “We were introduced not only to strategic partners and government bodies but to various commercial leads as well. For example, it was at an event recommended to us by InnovationQuarter that we met our Romanian partner. We are now doing substantial business with them.”

What is the social impact of Magnet Forensics?

Magnet Forensics began life on the work floor. The Canadian police officer Jad Saliba, who himself has a background in IT, was disturbed by the fact that his colleagues worked so little with digital evidence. Digital specialists were overloaded and investigators had not mastered the complex digital forensics tools that were available.

Saliba therefore built a tool that allowed non-technical colleagues to analyse digital evidence. His company, Magnet Forensics, now employs 220 people. But in his heart, Saliba is still a law enforcement officer with a strong social mission: seeking justice and protecting the innocent.

What does the future look like?

“We want to grow,” replies Hans Henseler, co-founder of Tracks Inspector and now director of Magnet REVIEW at Magnet Forensics. “We hope to increase our turnover fivefold, but we are also growing in terms of staff: this year, we will go from five to nine FTEs. And if we add staff for support and training, we need to think along the lines of 12 employees in total.”

Henseler lectures on digital forensics at Leiden University of Applied Sciences one day a week. He says, “What Magnet does will only become more relevant over time as there are many things that people are quite poor at but which machines excel at. You cannot stop the current trend.”

Wat kunnen wij voor u betekenen?

Neem gerust contact met ons op.

Martijn van Hoogenhuijze

Senior Account Manager Cybersecurity / Team Lead Smart & Safe
Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Chris van Voorden Datum /

In 2018, 115 foreign companies opened an office or expanded their business in West Holland with the assistance of regional acquisition partners. These firms are expected to provide in excess of 2,600 jobs and to invest a total of 278 million euros in the region. Since 2014, The Hague Business Agency, Rotterdam Partners and InnovationQuarter have been actively collaborating to place the region in the global spotlight and to attract and support foreign companies. This has paid off: 26% of international companies that set up business in the Netherlands last year chose West Holland.

United States and China strongly represented

Most of the foreign companies that made a new or an expansion investment in West Holland in 2018 came from China (23) and the USA (22). This is in line with the trend of recent years with the majority of firms hailing from these two countries.

Chinese companies that established themselves in West Holland during 2018 include Genscript (biomedical firm with European branch in Leiden), Oppo (smartphones in Rotterdam) and Newtrend Group (biochemicals in The Hague).

Major names from the US that set up in or expanded into West Holland include GE Healthcare (new office in Rotterdam), Microsoft (Quantum Lab in Delft) and Synergy International Systems (Tech for Good in The Hague).

The figures for 2018 also reveal that companies from ‘new’ countries are coming to the region. For example, the strong growth in the number of firms from India and Turkey is striking. Eight companies from each country chose West Holland as their base in the Netherlands.

New sectors: ‘Next’ and ‘Impact’ Economy

Also noteworthy is the growing presence of firms active in the Next Economy. This includes a significant number of young tech companies that have made West Holland their home due to the region’s strong innovation ecosystem.

No fewer than 34 of the 115 newly established foreign firms in 2018 operate in the high-tech and IT sectors, followed by 14 in life sciences and health, 13 in the energy sector and 11 in agro and food.

We also see many new businesses (12) active in the so-called ‘Impact Economy’; companies that are working on making the world a better, safer and fairer place.

Investor Relations Programme: 298 companies visited

In addition to attracting new companies, The Hague Business Agency, Rotterdam Partners and InnovationQuarter also actively support foreign firms already established in the region.

This is part of the national Investor Relations Programme, which is co-funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Region and the Province of South Holland. In 2018, the three acquisition partners visited a total of 298 companies through the programme.

Successful collaboration on acquisition in West Holland

Attracting and retaining foreign investment is of great importance to the Netherlands and the West Holland region, not least in terms of economic growth and job creation. The 115 international companies succesfully assisted in 2018, for example, will by their own estimate create 2,108 new jobs within three years and secure 535 existing jobs. In addition, these firms are jointly investing 278 million euros in the region.

The 115 investment projects are the result of a joint effort by the regional agencies Rotterdam Partners, The Hague Business Agency and InnovationQuarter in association with the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), an operational unit of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. The acquisition partners have been collaborating closely since 2014, both strategically and operationally, and have achieved great success. In 2018, 26% of all foreign companies* that established themselves in the Netherlands opted for West Holland, well above the region’s share in the national economy. In 2014, it was 20%.

 

* This concerns the projects completed by Rotterdam Partners, The Hague Business Agency and InnovationQuarter in collaboration with the NFIA (Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency).

Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Martijn van Hoogenhuijze Datum /

It was the pedometer that gave him away. Tennis coach Mark de J. was suspected of killing entrepreneur Koen Everink. De J. claimed that at the time of the murder he was being held in a back seat, but his pedometer told a different story. Just one example of digital evidence helping to solve a case. Hans Henseler and Carl Tinker of Magnet Forensics expect this type of information will in future be part of all police investigations. It is therefore high time that not only digital forensics specialists but also regular investigators had the opportunity to review digital evidence. Magnet’s intuitive assessment tool – Magnet REVIEW – makes this possible.

What makes Magnet Forensics so innovative?

“What makes Magnet REVIEW so good is that the tool works intuitively,” says Carl Tinker, sales director at Magnet Forensics. “For instance, anyone can order a football shirt on Amazon. You select the correct size and the right colour, team and fabric. Magnet REVIEW is equally user-friendly. In the left column, investigators can click on e-mail, chat, photos and documents. It lets them easily examine the digital evidence and assess its relevance to the case.”

Tinker adds, “When digital forensics first emerged, a group of experts sat in a corner and that’s where you would send the digital evidence. Nowadays, these experts still unlock the raw data, but the detectives are the ones that assess the evidence because they have knowledge of the suspects and the timeline of events.”

In 2018, the Canadian company Magnet Forensics acquired the product Tracks Inspector as well as the team of the Dutch firm that went by the same name. Tracks Inspector had, among other things, developed the well-known chatbot Sweetie for researchers at Terre des Hommes. With Magnet Forensics, Tracks Inspector has now become Magnet REVIEW.

How has InnovationQuarter contributed to the establishment of Magnet Forensics in The Hague?

“About 20 months ago when in Canada, we met Chris van Voorden, head of Foreign Investments at InnovationQuarter,” says Carl Tinker. “Chris told us about the soft landing programme that InnovationQuarter organises in conjunction with the Canadian embassy. This initiative is for Canadian companies that want to become acquainted with the West Holland ecosystem.”

Tinker explains that Magnetic Forensics was at the time still thinking of the United Kingdom as the location for its EMEA headquarters: “Although we had clients in the Netherlands, we did not have any strategic contact until Chris and account manager Philip introduced us to the Ministry of Justice, potential partners and The Hague Security Delta. We then started scratching our heads because access to the European market is much better from the Netherlands than from the UK. And Brexit was coming too.”

So, the company decided to settle in The Hague.

“InnovationQuarter made us feel that there really was a support structure for us here,” says Tinker. “We were introduced not only to strategic partners and government bodies but to various commercial leads as well. For example, it was at an event recommended to us by InnovationQuarter that we met our Romanian partner. We are now doing substantial business with them.”

What is the social impact of Magnet Forensics?

Magnet Forensics began life on the work floor. The Canadian police officer Jad Saliba, who himself has a background in IT, was disturbed by the fact that his colleagues worked so little with digital evidence. Digital specialists were overloaded and investigators had not mastered the complex digital forensics tools that were available.

Saliba therefore built a tool that allowed non-technical colleagues to analyse digital evidence. His company, Magnet Forensics, now employs 220 people. But in his heart, Saliba is still a law enforcement officer with a strong social mission: seeking justice and protecting the innocent.

What does the future look like?

“We want to grow,” replies Hans Henseler, co-founder of Tracks Inspector and now director of Magnet REVIEW at Magnet Forensics. “We hope to increase our turnover fivefold, but we are also growing in terms of staff: this year, we will go from five to nine FTEs. And if we add staff for support and training, we need to think along the lines of 12 employees in total.”

Henseler lectures on digital forensics at Leiden University of Applied Sciences one day a week. He says, “What Magnet does will only become more relevant over time as there are many things that people are quite poor at but which machines excel at. You cannot stop the current trend.”

Wat kunnen wij voor u betekenen?

Neem gerust contact met ons op.

Martijn van Hoogenhuijze

Senior Account Manager Cybersecurity / Team Lead Smart & Safe
Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Martijn van Hoogenhuijze Datum /

Dutch delegation to India seals agreement on soft landing support in Karnataka for Dutch startups-980x450

In response to increased interest by Indian Safety & Security entrepreneurs in expanding or relocating to the Netherlands, InnovationQuarter joined the High tech / Cybersecurity delegation of the largest Dutch economic mission to India ever. During the trip, InnovationQuarter had the opportunity to invite current investors and prospects to several Trade Dinners and to a lunch organized by The Hague Business Agency with the Mayor of The Hague.

After two days in New Delhi, the Hightech/ Cyber delegation went to Bangalore where InnovationQuarter was offered Soft Landing Support for Netherland Startups by Karnataka’s Technology Incubators. The letter of support for the Soft Landing Programme is the result of previous meetings between government officials of the State Karnataka, the City of The Hague and InnovationQuarter.

Dutch delegation to India seals agreement on soft landing support in Karnataka for Dutch startups-002-980x450

Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Martijn van Hoogenhuijze Datum /

Results Holland Hightech Pavilion during Japan IT Week

During this mission InnovationQuarter, NFIA, Dutch embassy/Innovation Office and HSD Office represented and positioned the Netherlands as the secure digital gateway to Europe. In addition HSD partners SecurityMatters, Compumatica, Redsocks Security, TU Delft and ReaQta presented their cyber propositions to Japan, with the aim to have exposure and create new relationships with Japanese businesses, knowledge institutions and the Japanese government. The purpose of this mission was to contribute to a Cyber Secure Japan and its critical infrastructures in relation to the Olympic Games 2020.

Jan-Hein Chrisstoffels (Netherlands Embassy, Tokyo): “We have been running this Japan-project for 4 years straight, promoting Dutch cyberexcellence as a niche proposition in the Japanese market. We launched it during the State Visit to Japan, October 2014, signed PIB in Summer 2016, and are seeing real results rolling in today. That is very satisfying.”

Results Holland Hightech Pavilion during Japan IT Week

Results

Redsocks Security together with its Japanese partner Networld, had their first dealflow. Compumatica prepared a testcase together with a new partner/customer. TU Delft strengthened their relation and cooperation with the University of Okohama International University and Kyushu University. ReaQta had many relevant conversations in relation to finding the right Japanes partner. And all of them gained new contacts and leads.

Also, a business deal of multiple Dutch parties with an end-user and strategic partner in Japan is in progress.

In addition, Security Matters together with their Japanese partner Macnica Networks showcased their case study about the deployment of ‘SilentDefense’ in TEPCO Power Grid (TEPCO PG), the largest electric power company in Japan. This case study was officially announced on 18 May 2018 by a press release. With the number of cyber attacks constantly on the rise and the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, TEPCO PG selected Security Matters’ SilentDefense to enhance the cyber resilience of its industrial infrastructure and the security of Japanese social infrastructure.

Damiano Bolzoni, co-founder SecurityMatters: The Japanese market is one of the most demanding in terms of technical quality and flexibility requirements, and it’s very difficult to reach the high level of trust required to work with their critical national infrastructure. The establishment of this fruitful relationship would have not been possible without the Dutch Embassy, the PIB programme and the partners facilitating our events in Japan and offering their invaluable assistance with building the trust to establish a relationship. Because the Japanese market is dominated by giants, the forming of a successful relationship with a European company is vital. This will both increase the opportunities for Dutch R&D and demonstrate a best practice for other high tech Dutch companies.

Acquisition

InnovationQuarter, the Dutch embassy, NFIA and HSD Office had many fruitfull meetings during the Japan IT Week. The concrete results will be announced later this year.

Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Chris van Voorden Datum /

Attractive business climate in the Netherlands

Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Eric Wiebes, commented: “The presence of foreign companies is important for our country. Some 1.4 million Dutch people have a job directly or indirectly thanks to these companies. The excellent annual NFIA results confirm that we benefit from a good investment climate. Our highly educated population, good infrastructure, pleasant housing and living conditions and competitive fiscal climate attract foreign companies and employees. For our future economic growth and employment it is important that the Dutch business climate remains attractive. We all benefit from that. ”

Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, under whose responsibility the NFIA falls as well, commented: “The Netherlands has an attractive business climate, and the Dutch economy is in good shape. Also, with a view to Brexit, there is increasing interest from international companies to move activities to the Netherlands or to establish themselves in the Netherlands. It is therefore important that the NFIA, Dutch embassies and consulates overseas continue to put the Netherlands on the map abroad.”

Distribution centers and headquarters

Within the Invest in Holland network, the NFIA was directly responsible for 8,158 of the 12,686 jobs. In 2017, the NFIA registered 224 foreign direct investment projects for the Netherlands, corresponding to 1.23 billion euros in investments. The NFIA results show that most new jobs were created in distribution centers (1,864), at headquarters (1,345), in marketing & sales offices (1,316), R&D (1,259) and production sites (1,081). To illustrate, Netflix expanded its European headquarters in Amsterdam with a customer contact center of 400 jobs. Merck Performance Materials invested 15 million euros in its production plant for so-called liquid crystal glass in Veldhoven. Meanwhile, Japanese gelatin producer Jellice expanded its production plant in Emmen, resulting in 25 additional jobs.

US companies lead employment creation

As in 2016, the majority of ‘foreign’ jobs were created by companies from the United States. NFIA results for 2017 indicate some 2,516 jobs created by US companies, bringing 110 million euros in investments.  Companies from within Europe also provided a substantial number of jobs (2,879), including the UK (872). Japan and India provided 655 and 423 jobs, respectively.  Majority of jobs from foreign investments in 2017 came from creative industries such as fashion and entertainment & media (2,126). Additional jobs by sector include agrifood (1,788), IT (1,219), life sciences & health (600) and business services (457).

Brexit

Within the Invest in Holland network, including West Holland acquisition partners The Hague Business Agency, Rotterdam Partners and InnovationQuarter, special attention was on Brexit last year. The NFIA is in contact with more than 200 foreign companies that are considering a switch to the Netherlands in the wake of Brexit. Many companies choose to wait before they announce their plans for the future, due to the lack of clarity about the new relationship between the UK and the EU. In 2017, 18 companies made a Brexit-related move to the Netherlands. These re-locations accounted for 483 jobs and 19 million euros added to the Dutch economy. In these results, the relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to Amsterdam is not yet included.

 

Source / NFIA

Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Martien Kuunders Datum /

Medisch Artificial Intelligence bedrijf Quantib uit Rotterdam

Faster and more objective diagnoses by automatic interpretation of MRI and CT scan data

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Quantib is one of the most renowned Dutch players in the field of medical AI applications. Quantib utilizes ML software for the segmentation, classification and quantification of medical images, improving diagnostic quality and allowing for a more efficient workflow of physicians and researchers. Quantib is a spin-off of the Erasmus MC, developing her products in close collaboration with the internationally recognized Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam (BIGR) under supervision of Prof. dr. Wiro Niessen.

Moreover, Quantib has strong partnerships with industry players (GE Healthcare, Philips and Intrasense) for research, development and the distribution of her products. Recently, Quantib received media coverage as winner of The Dutch Data Science prize. Quantib’s first products received FDA approval and CE marking in 2016 and focus on the detection and tracking of neurological disorders such as Parkinson, Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.

The investment allows Quantib to bring new ML applications to the market with regards to stroke, lung disorders, oncology and bone structures. Quantib will also establish new partnerships with leading international academic hospitals.

In conjunction with the investment, the management team has been reinforced with Arthur Post Uiterweer (former Philips and Boston Consulting Group) and Jorrit Glastra (former Shell). The supervisory board will consist of Prof. dr. Gabriel Krestin, Harm-Jan Wessels and health entrepreneur Jaap Maljers.

Investment in Quantib

Rudolf Scholte, CEO of Quantib: “Our software supports radiologists and neurologists with their objective assessment of MRI- and CT scans. Our deep learning algorithms can support better diagnoses, and a better assessment of treatments’ effectiveness. Up until now, our main focus was on brain disorders. This investment allows us to develop new products and to extend our team.”

“Quantib’s applications help standardise and speed up image analysis and allows for the detection of subtle changes over time. It increases the objectivity of the diagnostic process and therefore delivers an improved diagnosis combined with more efficient processes, positively impacting a large group of patients. We see large international growth opportunities for the company and we are proud to be a part of this development.” says Ewout Prins, Managing Partner Holland Venture.

Francis Quint, Head InnovationQuarter Capital: “Quantib facilitates faster, better and more efficient diagnoses, a fantastic result from the close collaboration with Erasmus MC. We are happy to support this Rotterdam-based company with their ambition to extend the range of their current technology to other applications.”

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Contact /Sasja Heijman Datum /

Dutch Digital Health Mission to Silicon Valley 2017

CITRIS

For InnovationQuarter, this trade mission builds on the warm relationship with CITRIS that was concluded by the MoU in 2016. CITRIS, the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society, and the Banatao Institute leverage the research strengths of University of California campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz, and operate within the greater ecosystem of the University and the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley.

Dutch Digital Health Mission to Silicon Valley 2017

Digital Health Mission

The mission was kicked-off by Matthew Holt, well-known of the Health 2.0 conferences, who explained the group the healthcare system in the US and the implications for digital health companies. Several hospital visits ensured the delegation could talk directly to their end-customers and key decisionmakers. The group visited amongst others the San Mateo Medical Center, El Camino Hospital, Stanford and UCSF. Other visits included Kaiser Permanente, Launchpad Digital Health and companies active in the Netherlands such as Medisense.

The mission was closed with the Dutch Digital Health night at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in San Francisco where the companies pitched their product for a crowd of 100 internationals in the digital health sector.

Amongst the participants were the West Holland based New Compliance, Bayards, Topic Healthcare Solutions, Hippus/Handshoemouse and the Rathenau Institute.

Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Niels Krol Datum /

Burgemeester Jon Hermans-Vloedbeld van Noordwijk en Mark van Venrooij, Directeur Aerospace Systems NLR © Verkijk

“Dit is een geweldige toevoeging aan het regionale ruimtevaartcluster en mooie opsteker voor de ontwikkeling van de Space Campus Noordwijk”, aldus burgemeester Jon Hermans-Vloedbeld. “Naast ESA-ESTEC en het Galileo Reference Center is NLR nu de derde kennisinstelling binnen de gemeente Noordwijk op het gebied van ruimtevaart. Ik ben zeer verheugd dat NLR vanuit Noordwijk het aanwezige cluster actief kan bij staan bij de verdere groei van ruimtevaartactiviteiten op het park”.

De gemeente Noordwijk en de regionale ontwikkelingsmaatschappij InnovationQuarter hebben NLR ondersteund in het vestigingsproces.

NLR heeft een jarenlange track record op het gebied van onderzoek, ontwikkeling, testen en operaties in de ruimtevaart. Zo heeft NLR onder meer kennis, expertise en faciliteiten op het gebied van system engineering, aero(thermo)dynamica, geavanceerde structuren, warmtehuishouding, on-board elektronica en antennes. NLR zet dit in op het gebied van lanceervoertuigen, satellieten, payloads en onderdelen daarvan. Daarnaast heeft NLR veel expertise op het gebied van verschillende toepassingsgebieden van de ruimtevaart, waaronder aardobservatie en navigatie. NLR werkt onder andere mee aan de ontwikkeling en verificatie van het Europese GALILEO satellietnavigatiesysteem. Ook heeft NLR een breed scala aan faciliteiten voor het testen, verifiëren en valideren van nieuwe producten en toepassingen. Dit omvat het uitvoeren van environmental en structural testen, maar ook windtunneltesten en (microzwaartekracht) testvluchten.

NLR Noordwijk is gevestigd aan de Huygensstraat 44 op het Space Business Park © Verkijk

Burgemeester Jon Hermans-Vloedbeld probeert NLR’s Virtual Reality bril © Verkijk

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Contact /Tanja Baars Datum /

RoboValley and YES!Delft organise first European Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Accelerator

Robotics & AI Accelerator

The Robotics & AI Accelerator is a two month pressure cooker for business professionals, students, PhDs, engineers and scientists in the field of robotics and AI who want to test the commercial feasibility of their ideas. The programme helps participants to explore and validate their ideas, market potential and business model – and to launch in markets all over Europe. The programme will also introduce participants to the European Robotics and AI ecosystem, and help them develop a network of peers, experts and mentors.

RoboValley partners up with YES!Delft

Arthur de Crook, managing director RoboValley: “We are proud to host the first European Robotics & AI Accelerator Programme. Crucial in starting a successful venture in robotics is access to the right partners in industry, academia and government. RoboValley provides this access. We expect the industry to be interested in the results of the programme and we are already talking with some companies about sponsorships. In YES!Delft, one of the top incubators in Europe, we have found an experienced partner with a lot of startup expertise.”

EJ Lugt, managing director YES!Delft:  “AI and robotics are two key technologies that will have a massive impact on the world. With this programme we seek entrepreneurs who want to take their AI or robotics solution to the world. We’re looking for ambitious and passionate founders that want to create real change in the world. I’m very excited to offer new entrepreneurs this strong programme to take their company to the next level.”

The Robotics & AI Accelerator Programme takes place at RoboValley in Delft. For the first edition, RoboValley and YES!Delft aim at 10 teams from all over Europe. Information about the selection process will be made public soon.

Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Damien van der Bijl Datum /

YesDelft-en-ECE-join-Forces

With two world-leading universities on technology and business only 15 minutes apart it is a no-brainer to combine this mutual power into one programme. The joint programme consists of the existing Get Started programme offered by ECE and the Validation Lab programme from YES!Delft that have been running successfully for several years.

So what is the main difference between startups from Delft and Rotterdam? “The main difference we see is at the starting point of the entrepreneurial venture. Most aspiring entrepreneurs from Delft start off with a technological solution and seek for the right problem and market. Entrepreneurs from Rotterdam are good at building businesses, but ideas are mostly born by a personal frustration” states Martin Luxemburg, director at ECE. The purpose of the program is to guide these nascent entrepreneurs in the process of finding the right product-market fit with experienced coaches and mentors guiding them through this journey.

“If you would have taken a look at Coolblue or Rituals 10 years ago, you wouldn’t necessarily call them innovative. But taking a look at them now, these companies are leading scale-ups in the Netherlands, both disrupting their markets through business model innovation.“ This unique collaboration between YES!Delft and ECE will provide advantages for the high-tech startups to start their venture in a business-minded environment and vice versa.

EJ Lugt, director at YES!Delft sees other opportunities as well: “A potential spin-off of the program could be that teams from Delft and Rotterdam join forces. Research from the Erasmus University Rotterdam shows that the chances of success are higher when teams consist of people with different backgrounds.” Good examples are Senz Umbrella and Magnet.me, both consisting of founders from TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam. “One of the side-effects of the program could be the creation of more of these mixed teams, and thereby increasing the likelihood of success of these startups. The expectation is that by educating the entrepreneurs in this way and connecting them to each other, they are better able to take on (social) challenges successfully and so contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals; one of the focus points of both universities.”

Source / YES!Delft

Terug naar overzicht
Contact /Chris van Voorden Datum /

Ambassadors and Trade Counsellors visit The Hague’s Cyber Security Week

The Hague’s security hub

The visit was organised in close co-operation with TradeCouncellors.nl and InnovationQuarter. Director Marion Verboom of TradeCounsellors, Deputy Mayor Saskia Bruines and Chris van Voorden, Director Foreign Investments at InnovationQuarter, welcomed the Ambassadors at the HSD Campus.

In addition executive director Richard Franken explained how the community of businesses, governments and knowledge institutes work together on innovation and knowledge in the field of safety and security.

Core of the Dutch security cluster is the HSD Campus: the national innovation centre of the Dutch security cluster, with living labs, education and training facilities, flexible office space and meeting rooms. Businesses, governments and knowledge institutions from across the country collaborate to harvest knowledge, and develop products and services that contribute to a safer and more secure world.

Ambassadors and Trade Counsellors visit The Hague’s Cyber Security Week

The Ambassadors and their Trade Counsellors were stimulated to participate more in the Cyber Security Week next year and bring more and more companies over to The Netherlands to exchange knowledge and do business with each other. In addition the ambassadors and trade counsellors joined the seminar ‘Getting to know the Dutch Cyber Security Market’.

Ambassadors and Trade Counsellors visit The Hague’s Cyber Security Week

Cyber Security Week 2017

In the same week as the Europol – INTERPOL Cybercrime Conference and the EC-Council’s Global Cyberlympics final, a unique ‘Cyber Security Week’ is being held at several locations in the City of The Hague. From 25 until 29 September, The Hague is the hotspot for the cyber security community. Over 80 events provide the opportunity to meet key players, discuss the latest developments, share knowledge and to pitch innovative ideas for funding! The Cyber Security Week is powered by The Hague Security Delta, the leading security cluster in Europe.

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Contact /Chris van Voorden Datum /

StartupFest Europe / CapitalFest 2017

StartupFest Europe

Startups are good for the economy. They take care of innovation and employment. In order to grow, startups include capital, knowledge and customers. That’s why Dutch StartupDelta started in 2016 with StartupFest Europe, a European festival where startups and scale-ups find funding to grow their business, meet launching customers and find inspiration from international topnotch speakers.

StartupFest Europe consists of a main event (CapitalFest) and a number of thematic events spread around The Netherlands. This years theme is ‘Global Challenges, Startup Solutions’. At different times during StartupFest Europe there are speakers and challenges about one of the global challenges.

StartupFest Europe connects startups from all regions and sectors, enabling the Dutch startup potential to be visible to national and international investors ~ Francis Quint, Head of InnovationQuarter Capital

Edible drones

During CapitalFest on September 27th in the Beurs of Berlage, Amsterdam, there will a large series of international top speakers on stage (as keynote speaker or participant in a breakout session). In addition, there is a special video message from Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba.

Some of the speakers are startup or scale-up with a strong focus on one of the world’s challenges. Like Boyan Slat. He is the founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, the company that develops technological solutions for floating plastic in the oceans. Slat started his business in 2013 when he was 18 years old. The Ocean Cleanup has collected $ 31.5 million in funding.

With its company Windhorse Aerospace Nigel Gifford develops edible drones that can be deployed in disaster areas. The drones can transport a few tens of kilos of aid goods in the future.

The Ocean Cleanup

Innovative translator

Tim Houter and his colleagues develop the solution for fast and safe transportation. Houters team recently became second in the SpaceX Hyperloop competition of Elon Musk. The first tests of the Delft Hyperloop are promising.

Vasco Pedro is the founder and CEO of Unbabel, a Portuguese startup that develops the best translator using both artificial intelligence and “real” people. The goal of Unbabel is to make people worldwide work together better and easier.

Eyewire is the company of Amy Robinson Sterling. Eyewire portrays the human brain through the use of an online game. By solving 3D puzzles, everyone can collaborate on visualizing the human neural network.

100 billion dollars

In addition to these five innovative startups, CapitalFest’s stage includes Deep Nishar, the world’s largest investor. Nishar (former vice president at LinkedIn) is managing director of The Softbank’s Vision Fund; The Vision Fund has invested $ 100 billion. CapitalFest gives two startups the opportunity to pitch their company at Nishar. Besides, all startups visiting CapitalFest get the opportunity to present their business to hundreds of other investors.

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Contact /Sasja Heijman Datum /

Hercules Pharmaceuticals ontvangt investering van UNIIQ voor ontwikkeling immuuntherapie tegen kanker

Inhibition of tumor growth

Many cancer patients experience a suppressed immune system. This causes the body to incorrectly detect tumor cells as healthy tissue, resulting in the inability of the body’s natural defence system to attack and destroy these cells. Hercules Pharmaceuticals currently develops a therapeutic that activates the immune system, thereby limiting the growth and metastasis of the cancer cells. This therapy revolves around the inhibition of the Aryl Hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in different forms of cancer in which AhR has a high expression level.

Over the last few years, a number of different therapies, focusing specifically on improving the patient’s immune system, have been introduced into the market. These so-called ‘checkpoint inhibitors’ have had a strong positive effect on patients suffering from a number of difficult-to-treat cancers, such as skin and lung cancer. Using the UNIIQ investment, Hercules Pharmaceuticals will further develop its lead compound and use this compound in a number of mouse models, thereby also exploring the possibilities to use the compound in combination with current therapies. Expectations are that Hercules’ drug can be used as both a standalone therapy and a combination therapy.

This investment from UNIIQ enables us to further prove efficacy and safety of our drug

Further Development

Hercules Pharmaceuticals was founded by Boston University and DDF Ventures and uses the IP and knowhow from inventor and CSO David Sherr. The company is headed by CEO Bart Wuurman, former CEO of, amongst others,  Lanthio Pharma and AM-Pharma. Wuurman: “This investment from UNIIQ enables us to further prove efficacy and safety of our drug. Initially this will be done by using different mouse models, but we have set a clear goal to use this therapeutic in a clinical setting as soon as possible”.

Liduina Hammer: “Immunotherapy has seen a very strong growth and a number of breakthrough developments over the last couple of years, strongly improving the outlook for a large number of patients. Hercules Pharmaceuticals has shown promising results so far in this field and with this this investment UNIIQ will contribute to an important step towards obtaining proof-of-concept with the technology and further growth and development of the company.”

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Contact /Loek Becker Hoff Datum /

Visit to ship-owners and shipyard

The concept ‘Technology Exchange Roadshow (TER)’ was firsts introduced by Netherlands Maritime Technology (NMT) in the Netherlands as many maritime companies, especially SME’s can have trouble getting in touch with ship-owners. By organizing a joint visit, via NMT, the Dutch Embassy in Singapore and InnovationQuarter, coupled with a current theme that plays well with ship-owners, this opening is more easily created. This gives the participating Dutch companies, Bachmann Electronic, Hydrex, Rubber Design, Subsea Industries, VAF Instruments and VSH Fittings an opportunity to present their businesses and solution.

The four parties visited in Singapore on April 28 were:

  • Thome Ship Management
  • PAC Offshore
  • Triyards
  • Pacific Radiance

NMT-InnovationQuarter-Technology-Exchange-Roadshow-(TER)-Singapore-2017-001-760x680

The participating Dutch companies were able to introduce a wide variety of solutions. The ship-owners responded very well to these and indicated that despite the variety, all companies presented solutions relevant to them. The sessions gave all participants an opportunity to  present their company and cost-effective solutions after which there was time for the Singapore companies to ask questions.

InnovationQuarter and NMT are at this time investigating the possibility to organize a TER to Norway. A preliminary outline for the trip has been drafted and can soon be shared with interested companies.

NMT-InnovationQuarter-SEA-Asia-Singapore-2017-001-760x680

SEA Asia

The sixth edition of SEA Asia took place in Singapore from April 25th to 27th. This maritime & offshore fair and conference took place in the Marina Bay Sands Complex. This SEA Asia edition in 2017 was visited by 16,000 visitors from 85 different countries. SEA Asia receives strong support from the Singaporean government and the major shipping organizations SSA (Singapore Shipping Association) and MPA (Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore) to firmly market Singapore as a leading place for  both the global and local Maritime & Offshore industry.

The Holland Pavilion was visited on the opening day by the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister of Transport, Mr Khaw Boon Wan. On the second trading day, the Holland Networking Reception was held with a select group of invited guests, including some shipyards and shipowners from Singapore.

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Contact /Tanja Baars Datum /

International Robotics Week

Integrating RoboBusiness Europe, TUS Expo and ROS Industrial in one event turned out to be a huge success. For three days, experts in the field of robotics and unmanned systems, and their robots and drones, from all over the world gathered in the Netherlands. The week saw an expo and conference in the World Forum The Hague, tours to labs of the Delft University of Technology and demonstration days in the port of Rotterdam (unmanned harbour) and former airport Valkenburg (drone show). This made clear that the Netherlands has everything needed for robotics companies that want to settle here.

Keynotes

The International Robotics week started on Wednesday, with inspiring keynotes from Kim Liebregts (Tesla Benelux), Noel Sharkey (Responsible Robotics) and Melonee Wise (Fetch Robotics). Wise’s contribution was of particular interest. She pointed out that there are around 1000 robotics start-ups in the world, most of these founded after 2010. Why is that? The answer is open-source robotics (ROS). “Why did this sudden explosion happen? Because of open innovation.” Her company also benefited from ROS.

There are around 1000 robotics startups in the world, most of which were founded after 2010. Why is that?

Sharkey told visitors to think about the ethical aspects of robotics. “We don’t want to sleepwalk into robotics just as we did with the internet.”

Business wise

The IRW is the perfect place for start-ups to present themselves. Prince Constantijn, the startup envoy of StartupDelta, had some advice for them. The preconditions for being successful in the Netherlands are present, but it is not enough to just have a good product. To give this product a place in the market, you have to be ‘business wise’: you need to surround yourself with people who have a sense of enterprise.

Constantijn also visited the RoboValley pavilion, where various startups were gathered together: Delft Robotics, CropZoomer, Clear Flight Solutions, SeaDrone, Robot Care Systems, Robot Security Systems, Robot Engineered Systems, Vectioneer. Also present were the student DreamTeam: Project MARCH, ImProvia and the Care-o-bot from Fraunhofer / Unity Robotics. During the startup event, AeroVinci announced they received a subsidy of € 300.000,-. This allows them to further develop the dronedock technology.

Portal: connect.robovalley.com

During the IRW, we also launched the beta version of connect.robovalley.com: ‘your compass in the world of robotics’. Connect.robovalley.com offers a single place for companies to find the latest news, insights and reports on robotics.

RoboValley Foundation Dinner

Networking is an important part of a large congress. Because of this, the organisation was happy that the city of Delft and InnovationQuarter enabled us to host the first RoboCafé NL in the old town hall of the city of Delft on the first evening of the event. Futurist Aseem Prakash delivered an inspiring presentation, the historical ambience took care of the rest.

A day later, they organised the RoboValley Foundation Dinner in our own offices. The Dutch robotics sector was present, as were several international guests. They were, amongst others, addressed by Delft University of Technology’s rector magnificus Karel Luyben, Aimee van Wynsberghe and Guszti Eiben.

‘Golden Age of Nerds’

“We are living in a golden age of nerds”, concluded comedian Pep Rosenfeld during the closing keynotes a day later. He is right. During the IRW, it became clear how much is happening in the field of robotics and how fast developments are moving. “Robotics and AI are all about possibilities”, said Prakash during his keynote. “Possibilities that humans never have experienced before.”

“Robotics and AI are all about possibilities”

There was room for ethical issues during the closing keynotes. Irakli Beridze of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute told us what the UN is doing in the fields of robotics and AI. Beridze and his organisation have settled in The Hague because of the presence of the Responsible Robotics Foundation. “By joining forces, we want to make this a city of ideas and global policies related to AI and robotics.”

“Over the past few years, we have built a global platform for organisations and people involved in robotics”

RoboValley Platform

RoboValley’s Managing Director, Arthur de Crook, thanked everyone at the end of the IRW. He explained the importance of the event for RoboValley. “Over the past few years, we have built a global platform for organisations, researchers and governments involved in robotics. But we also really wanted to create a moment to show this platform to the world. This moment was the International Robotics Week.” Robotics can contribute to solving the grand societal challenges. This is why it is important to create the next generation robotics. “So we can embrace the future for the good.”

Source / RoboValley