The International Coordination Team ('Regieteam Internationaal'), consisting of the ministries of Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs and VNO-NCW (Dutch Employers' Federation), has approved the joint proposal of Topsector ICT and Netherlands Innovation Network UK. It concerns a proposal for Dutch-British cooperation in the field of Neuromorphic Technologies. In addition to Topsector ICT and Netherlands Innovation Network UK, SURF is also involved in this project, which is titled ‘Future of Compute: Neuromorphic Technologies’.
Follow-up steps
The first phase is the development of a public-private supported plan of action for Dutch-British cooperation in this sector. Both parties will work on this in the coming months, in close cooperation with experts from industry, research and government bodies in both countries. Parallel to this process, research and consultancy firm Birch, together with the core team of the Neuromorphic Computing Whitepaper will be conducting an initial scoping exercise for a national roadmap and value chain mapping. The results of this study will also feed into bilateral programming.
Key digital and information technology
Neuromorphic Technologies is one of the seven digital and information technologies covered by Topsector ICT. In March this year, an innovation mission took place to London and the surrounding area, where a large Dutch delegation discovered opportunities for research collaboration and business partnerships in this emerging technology.
According to Frits Grotenhuis, director of Topsector ICT, Neuromorphic technologies are going to revolutionise the digital world. These technologies take the architecture and efficiency of our brains as their example when designing computer chips and associated software algorithms. This enables us to perform complex tasks faster and more efficiently. And opens up new opportunities for Artificial Intelligence, sensor technology and data processing, among other things. You can read more about this in these articles in Computer Weekly and The Next Web, which Topsector ICT cooperated on.
Strong starting positions
The Netherlands and the UK are leaders in the field of Neuromorphic Technologies. By making clever use of the principles of the brain and nervous system, the countries aim to achieve not only technological advances but also significant sustainability benefits and improved competitiveness.
The Netherlands' starting position is strong because of its excellent academic reputation in artificial intelligence, neuroscience and computational modelling (simulating and studying complex systems using mathematics, physics and computer science). Many talented researchers and teachers work at Dutch universities and research institutes, doing pioneering work in neuromorphic computing.
“Our country occupies a unique position globally in neuromorphic technology. Dutch knowledge covers the entire value chain: materials, algorithms and chip design, new devices, production of better transistors and optical neuromorphic computing. The Netherlands' leading position is also visible in the relatively high number of startups in this sector. In addition, the Netherlands is one of the top players within the EU in the field of semiconductor technology and is relatively strong in knowledge valorisation," explains Tijs Koops, Programme Manager Internationalisation and Innovative SMEs and one of the initiators of this project.
Declaration of intent Schoof and Starmer
On 6 February 2025, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof visited 10 Downing Street, where he and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer expressed their intention to establish a new innovation partnership between the Netherlands and the UK. Future of compute, and thus neuromorphic computing, have been explicitly identified as one of the priorities for UK-Dutch cooperation:
“Turning to technology and innovation, the leaders agreed on the importance of moving at pace to seize on the opportunities offered by new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum and semiconductors, and agreed to pursue a new innovation partnership to accelerate growth in key technologies.”
Cooperation with the UK
Globally, no countries or industry players have yet claimed a leadership position in neuromorphic computing. The US, with billions invested in Stargate, is for now focusing on traditional computing power, and this is also what major European projects like the European AI factories are focusing on. Within Europe, the Netherlands and the UK are in a highly promising position to take a leading role globally as well.
It is partly because of this strong knowledge base in both countries, as well as a joint focus on national agendas to bring this technology to the market, that programmatic, structural cooperation between the two countries is essential to accelerate the further development of this technology. By joining forces in the project ‘Future of Compute: Neuromorphic Technologies’, that has now been approved, the Netherlands and the UK aim to further strengthen and market their position.
The usefulness of bilateral public-private partnerships
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are essential because of the complex, multidisciplinary nature of neuromorphic computing, which brings together basic research, industrial innovation and societal applications. No single party - be it government, industry or knowledge institution - can independently achieve the breakthrough needed to position the Netherlands competitively internationally. National coordination and synergy are important. The development of Neuromophic Technologies requires collaboration between experts in AI, high performance computing, photonics and semiconductors.
Public-private partnerships counteract fragmentation, allowing knowledge institutions and companies to join forces for strategic, joint innovation. The Dutch government can help remove barriers to the growth and implementation of Neuromorphic Technologies. This includes by promoting participation in European cooperation programmes and strategic partnerships with leading markets such as the UK. The government can also help with visibility and leverage resources to promote access to production facilities and testing environments for valorisation.
Network event
On 13 June 2025, leading researchers, innovators and policymakers will gather in Delft for Neuromorphic Now – a unique ecosystem event exploring how this emerging technology will transform industries such as mobility, healthcare, robotics and cybersecurity. There will be live demos of neuromorphic chips from Innatera and Spinncloud, industry insights from early adopters and various networks of researchers, technologists and ecosystem builders will be making presentations. Topsector ICT is supporting this event financially. You can register here.
Watch the animation about neuromorphic computing.