For the third consecutive year, a record number of international companies have chosen Amsterdam to open an office. The city has become a magnet for international businesses, startups, and talent. A report by IBM on global trends also confirms the same indicating that Amsterdam is a destination for international companies.
Especially, the metropolitan area of the Dutch capital is attracting many foreign companies since 2016 due to the abundance of investors, support from the government, business climate, and skilled talent. Some companies have chosen the Netherlands for their operations fearing the Brexit implications.
Though there are big players from across the world, many North American corporations have expanded their business into Amsterdam. Take a look at the foreign companies that have expanded into Amsterdam as sourced from Dealroom here.
Uber (US)
Founders: Garrett Camp, Travis Kalanick
Total funding: €13.2 billion
Founded year: 2009
Why its hot: Uber set the world in motion with its cab-hailing platform, which helps drivers and riders get moving in over 600 cities across the world. Uber has grown considerably in Amsterdam and it is the first thing that comes to people’s minds when it comes to hiring a cab. The company is also committed to delivering the best service to its users and came up with a set of restrictions to make it safe for commuters.
Palantir Technologies (US)
Founders: John Collison, Patrick Collison
Total funding: €1.7 billion
Founded year: 2004
Why its hot: Palantir Technologies is helping the world’s most important institutions to use their data to solve the most urgent problems. Its software lets customers integrate and analyse their data so that they can answer questions unlike never before. With big data, the company is building the future of national security, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and more.
Flexport (US)
Founder: Ryan Petersen
Total funding: €1.2 billion
Founded year: 2013
Why its hot: Flexport is a modern freight forwarder. The company brings together data analytics and advanced technology, supply chain expertise, and logistics infrastructure to deliver a better experience. The company intends to ensure freight forwarding is customer-focused and circulatory. It lets freight forwarders enjoy deep visibility, fast and reliable transit times, and predictable and low supply chain costs.
Stripe (US)
Founders: John Collison, Patrick Collison
Total funding: €941 million
Founded year: 2010
Why its hot: Stripe offers a set of tools to build and run an internet business. The company helps businesses accept payments from anywhere and anyone and build new companies such as Kickstarter and Lyft. Stripe operates with the intention to bring more global businesses online. Stripe processes billions of dollars every year for various businesses ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Databricks (US)
Founders: Ali Ghodsi, Ion Stoica, Matei Zaharia, Patrick Wendell, Reynold Xin, Andy Konwinski, Arsalan Tavakoli-Shiraji.
Total funding: €815 million
Founded year: 2013
Why its hot: Databricks is a leader in Unified Data Analytics. The company helps organisations make their data ready for analytics, make data-driven decisions, and empower data science. It lets organisations adopt machine learning at a rapid pace so that they outpace the competition. By providing Databricks lets companies innovate faster and handle challenges involved in treating chronic diseases faster via faster drug discovery, protection of financial markets, and improving energy efficiency.
Klarna
Founders: Niklas Adalberth, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Victor Jacobsson
Total funding: €791 million
Founded year: 2005
Why its hot: Klarna is a global tech bank providing online financial services such as debt collection, online storefronts, credit payments and more. This Swedish fintech firm separates buying from paying and lets buyers pay for the goods after receiving them. Also, it offers a safe after delivery payment solution.
Dropbox (US)
Founders: Arash Ferdowsi, Drew Houston
Total funding: €553 million
Founded year: 2007
Why its hot: Dropbox provides secure file sharing, storage, and collaboration solutions. The mission of this company is to make it possible for users across the world to share whatever they want across any device wherever they go. With its headquarters in San Francisco, Dropbox has over 12 offices across the world.
Fuze (US)
Founders: Derek Yoo, Steve Kokinos
Total funding: €437 million
Founded year: 2006
Why its hot: Fuze is a global cloud communications and collaboration software company connecting the digital workforce. The company intends to change the way people communicate so that they can deliver their best possible results. Fuze has created a platform that empowers people to seamlessly transition between video, voice, messaging, and content sharing and collaborate with teams on any device, at any time and from anywhere.
GitHub
Founders: Chris Wanstrath, PJ Hyett, Tom Preston-Werner
Total funding: €318 million
Founded year: 2008
Why its hot: GitHub provides code hosting services for developers to build software for open-source and private projects. The company develops an online platform for users to share codes with friends, classmates, colleagues, and strangers. The company has come up with a strategic partnership with International Business Machines Corporation as well.
Tesla Motors
Founders: Elon Musk, JB Straubel, Marc Tarpenning, Martin Eberhard
Total funding: €681 million
Founded year: 2003
Why its hot: Tesla operates with a mission to accelerate the transition towards sustainable energy by increasing the use of affordable electric vehicles besides renewable energy generation as well as storage. Tesla is committed to deliver the best-in-class performance, safety and reliability with its vehicles. Amsterdam is touted to be a Tesla hub as the company has opened its flagship store on the PC Hooftstraat and its European office as well in the city.
Main image picture credits: Databricks
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