A new analysis shows that without substantial public-private investment, the Netherlands risks falling behind, with major consequences for healthcare, energy, security and competitiveness. The country stands at a decisive moment in the development of artificial intelligence. In its new position paper, “For the Netherlands to become a major player in responsible AI, at least €5 billion is required,” AI Coalitie 4 NL sounds the alarm: the Netherlands is structurally underinvesting in AI, even though the technology has become a prerequisite for societal progress and economic growth.

According to the report, the Netherlands faces major transitions such as affordable and accessible healthcare, a sustainable food system, clean energy, modern defense and an agile public sector. AI is essential for addressing these challenges. The use of data, predictive models and intelligent automation improves quality, reduces costs and enables more efficient use of scarce labor. Yet the pace of adoption and innovation is too slow. Uncertainty, lack of consensus and a shortage of mature, reliable technology hinder scaling. As a result, the Netherlands lags behind countries like Germany, France and the Scandinavian frontrunners, which invest significantly more per capita.

AIC4NL calls for a public-private investment agenda of at least €5 billion over five years, divided across three strategic pillars. The first is the creation of a secure and sovereign AI infrastructure worth €1 billion, including a state-of-the-art AI factory, a Dutch AI cloud, trustworthy data collections and strong compute capacity. Without this foundation, companies and governments cannot develop or deploy their own AI solutions. The second pillar is the development of a Dutch AI Fair Tech industry with €1.5 billion in investments. Europe and the Netherlands are currently too dependent on American and Asian Big Tech, and the report stresses the need for homegrown AI platforms, models and sector-specific solutions that align with European values such as transparency, privacy and fairness. This also requires investments in startups and scale-ups, data collections and top talent. The third pillar calls for €2.5 billion to accelerate AI transitions in strategic sectors. Targeted investments should enable four to five major AI Grand Challenges in areas such as healthcare, energy and climate, defense and security, and agrifood. Large-scale deployment, rather than isolated pilots, is necessary to achieve meaningful impact. Talent development and reskilling are equally important, because without people who can build, apply and manage AI, innovation cannot scale.

The report is clear: without coordination, ambition and investment, the Netherlands will become dependent on foreign technology and miss out on economic opportunities. With focused action, the country can instead become a leading AI player, embedded in European cooperation and guided by strong public values. The next five years will be decisive. Investing means becoming a player; delaying means falling behind.