STICHTING NLNET

Their core work

NLnet Foundation is a Dutch non-profit that funds and supports open-source software and open internet technologies through a distinctive microgrant model. Under the EU's Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, they distribute funding to independent developers, small teams, and researchers working on privacy, security, accessibility, and internet standards. Rather than conducting research themselves, they act as a grant-making intermediary — identifying, mentoring, and funding grassroots projects that strengthen the open internet ecosystem. Their work spans software quality assurance, internationalization, standardization, and ensuring digital rights including freedom from software patents and restrictive copyright.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

NLnet's early H2020 work (2018) focused on the foundational layers of internet freedom: privacy, security, accessibility, internationalization, and defending open-source software from patent and copyright restrictions. By 2020, their focus shifted toward standardization and bringing NGI research results — including blockchain and decentralized technologies — into formal standards bodies. The arc is clear: from funding grassroots tools to ensuring those tools become part of the internet's permanent infrastructure.

NLnet is moving from pure grant-making toward bridging the gap between open-source innovation and formal internet standards, making them increasingly relevant for projects that need real-world adoption pathways.

How they like to work

NLnet predominantly leads — they coordinated 2 of their 3 H2020 projects, reflecting their role as the central grant distribution hub in NGI consortia. With 16 partners across 9 countries, they operate as a network orchestrator rather than a technical contributor, connecting diverse small teams and independent developers across Europe. Working with NLnet means gaining access to their extensive network of open-source developers and their proven microgrant infrastructure for distributing funding to many small recipients efficiently.

NLnet has collaborated with 16 unique partners across 9 countries, reflecting a broad European reach. Their real network extends far beyond formal consortium partners — as a microgrant distributor, they maintain relationships with hundreds of individual developers and small teams across the open internet community.

What sets them apart

NLnet occupies a rare niche: they are a non-profit foundation that functions as a venture-style funder for open-source internet technologies, but within the EU research framework. Their microgrant model lets them distribute large EU budgets (€6M+ per project) to dozens of small independent teams — something most research organizations cannot do. For consortium builders, NLnet brings both a ready-made pipeline of open-source innovators and deep expertise in managing cascading grant mechanisms under EU rules.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NGI0-PET
  Flagship €6.2M project where NLnet coordinated the distribution of microgrants to privacy-enhancing technology developers across Europe, covering security, accessibility, and internationalization.
• NGI Assure
  Largest single project (€6.7M) focused on the critical bridge between NGI research and formal standardization, including blockchain and decentralized technologies.
• NGI0-Discovery
  Companion project to NGI0-PET with identical budget, coordinated by NLnet, completing the twin pillars of the NGI Zero programme.