The Netherlands still ranks among the world’s quantum leaders, but other nations are investing at an entirely different scale. Dutch quantum leaders argue that maintaining the country’s lead now depends more on industrial policy than on scientific breakthroughs. Last May, scale-up Quantware raised a 152-million-euro Series B, the largest investment round ever completed by a Dutch deep-tech company. Great news, to be sure, but grounds for reflection, too. In the quantum arena, 152 million euros is modest at best. IBM recently received 1 billion dollars from the US government to build a quantum foundry – an ambition that Quantware shares. In August, US photonic quantum computing firm Psiquantum closed a 1-billion-dollar round to reach a 7-billion-dollar valuation. Rather than a reason for a victory lap, Quantware’s funding round therefore exposes one of the Dutch quantum ecosystem’s major challenges: finding enough growth capital to scale. Quantum scale-ups aren’t alone in facing this problem in the Netherlands: Already in 2024, ten scale-ups in ten different fields – including Quantware – sounded the alarm about the Dutch innovation and business climate for scale-ups. However, quantum stands apart because success depends not only on sound business conditions, but also on active industrial policy, public procurement and strategic government investment. Bits&Chips’ Dutch state of semicon 2026 This article is part of the Bits&Chips special edition on the Dutch state of semicon, published on 23 October 2026. Order your hard copy of the special at info@techwatch.nl. Grease The center of gravity of the Dutch quantum ecosystem firmly resides in the province of South Holland. The foundations were laid by Delft University of Technology and the University of Leiden, which have made several key contributions to the science. According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Critical Technology Tracker, TU Delft ranks first globally in high-impact quantum computing research, while the Netherlands ranks second among the world’s leading countries in quantum science. Delft researchers were among the first to recognize that quantum technology – which not only comprises computing, but also sensing and communication – had evolved from fundamental physics research to an engineering problem. In 2013, when quantum computing still seemed science fiction, TU Delft and neighboring applied-research institute TNO announced the formation of Qutech, a research institute tasked with advancing the world-leading research toward technology. Fast forward to today and quantum technology has moved from engineering to industry. US firm IonQ says it will launch a quantum computer that’s capable of cracking the cryptographic standard used to generate and verify Bitcoin transactions in 2028. While that claim may be overly optimistic, industry insiders agree that it’s realistic for quantum computers to perform calculations with real-world applications by the early 2030s. Quantum sensing and communication are a couple of years ahead on their respective maturation curves. Sporting about thirty startups, the Netherlands is still well-positioned to claim a sizeable chunk of what’s destined to become a multi-billion-dollar industry. However, the window of opportunity is closing. “We’ve built a strong scientific and startup ecosystem,” says Freeke Heijman, vice president of the European Quantum Industry Consortium and cofounder of Dutch quantum ecosystem builder Quantum Delta NL. “Now we have to make the leap to industrial policy before falling behind. Other nations are investing up to ten times more.” Heijman is looking to the national government and institutional investors, in particular. “Provinces like South Holland can help with early-stage funding and support, but the amount of money needed at this stage requires much deeper pockets. Quantum entrepreneurs at the Semiconpoort quantum event, 21 September in The Hague, echoed this sentiment: Dutch innovation polic