What DigiShape does

DigiShape is a Dutch open innovation platform founded in 2017 that coordinates digitalization efforts across the water sector. It is hosted under Topsector Water & Maritiem (TKI Deltatechnologie), a publicly-supported top-sector framework, and brings together government agencies (notably Rijkswaterstaat, KNMI, and regional water authorities), knowledge institutions (Deltares, TU Delft, MARIN), and private companies (Port of Rotterdam, Van Oord, Royal HaskoningDHV) to collaborate on data, modeling, and digital twin projects.

The platform's core offerings include the DigiShape Open Source Platform (D-OSP) for sharing tools and datasets, a portfolio of seedmoney-funded projects (PortVision deep learning for port visibility, Digitale Dijk digital twin for dike management, KLIC at Sea geospatial standardization for offshore wind), the Beacon data exchange tool, and the four-year AI Impulsprogramma voor waterbewegingsmodellen launched in November 2025. The latter develops machine learning models for the Rijkswaterstaat main water system that compute water motion scenarios in under one minute versus 5+ hours for traditional hydrodynamic models. Activity is organized across seven program areas covering data analysis and AI, data collection, data exchange, user interaction, North Sea spatial planning, water and logistics, and water management.

DigiShape operates as a non-profit: it does not sell products or services and partner participation is free for qualifying organizations. Revenue is not commercially generated; instead, the organization is sustained through public-sector innovation funding flows, partner contributions, and small (€10,000) seedmoney grants distributed to project initiatives at quarterly DigiShape Day events. With approximately 7 core team members based primarily in Delft, the platform functions as a program management and community convening layer rather than a software vendor.

Name

DigiShape

Legal name

DigiShape

Website

https://digishape.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DigiShape is a Dutch non-profit open innovation platform under Topsector Water & Maritiem that convenes government agencies, research institutes, and companies to drive digitalization of the water sector through collaborative projects, open-source tools, and seedmoney-funded AI initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Sector Innovation Platform

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Software Publishers (5132), Navigational Services to Shipping (488330)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Yard Infrastructure & Asset Monitoring (IoT, CMMS, Crane/Dock Monitoring) (IMAJALAM)

Keywords

• Water sector innovation
• Digital twin technology
• Machine learning models
• Open source platform
• Geospatial data standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Delft

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Collaborative Innovation Funding: DigiShape operates as a publicly-funded innovation platform under Topsector Water & Maritiem (TKI Deltatechnologie). Funding comes from participating organizations including governments, knowledge institutions, and companies rather than product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DigiShape operates an open innovation platform that brings together companies, knowledge institutions, and governments to collaboratively digitalize the Dutch water sector. It delivers programs, seedmoney-funded projects, open-source tools, and machine-learning models for water motion prediction, port visibility, dike management, and offshore geospatial standardization. The platform operates under Topsector Water & Maritiem (TKI Deltatechnologie) and does not sell commercial products.

Product overview

DigiShape is an open innovation platform for digitalization of the water sector, bringing together companies, knowledge institutions, and governments. It is not a single commercial product but a collaborative ecosystem offering programs, projects, and tools. The portfolio includes the AI Impulsprogramma voor waterbewegingsmodellen (AI program for water motion models), the DigiShape Open Source Platform (D-OSP), and project initiatives such as PortVision (deep learning for port visibility), Digitale dijk (digital dike twin), KLIC at Sea (geospatial standardization for offshore), and Beacon (data exchange tool). These offerings span data analysis/AI, data collection, data exchange, user interaction, and water management domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AI Impulsprogramma voor waterbewegingsmodellen (AI Impulse Program for Water Motion Models) A four-year collaborative program developing machine learning models for water motion prediction in Rijkswaterstaat's main water system. ML models compute scenarios in under one minute compared with 5+ hours for traditional hydrodynamic models.
• DigiShape Open Source Platform (D-OSP) An open-source platform developed collaboratively by the DigiShape community for sharing tools, data, and solutions that advance digitalization in the water sector.
• PortVision A seedmoney project developing deep learning models for port visibility to improve operations during limited-visibility conditions such as fog in the Port of Rotterdam.
• Digitale Dijk (Digital Dike) A seedmoney-funded initiative exploring the value of a detailed digital twin of dikes for asset management, maintenance optimization, and emergency-response planning, focusing on dike composition and underground structure.
• KLIC at Sea An initiative standardizing geospatial data for offshore wind farms and North Sea infrastructure, enabling safer and more reliable data exchange for offshore assets.
• Beacon A data collection and exchange tool for the water sector, featured as part of the DigiShape ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• ML models for water motion can compute scenarios in under 1 minute compared to 5+ hours for traditional hydrodynamic models (300x+ speed improvement)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, important and minor.

• KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Meteorological research partner in the AI Impulsprogramma, contributing weather and climate data essential for water motion modeling.
• Rijkswaterstaat (RWS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary government partner leading the AI Impulsprogramma voor waterbewegingsmodellen. RWS provides operational data from the main water system and drives adoption of ML models for water management. David van den Burg (DigiShape Program Manager) and Iris Reuselaars (RWS Director) co-lead the program.
• DeltarescoreTechnology or IntegrationResearch institute developing AI emulators for extreme storm surges, TurboSWAN wave models, and LobithNN neural network models for the AI Impulsprogramma. Key technical contributor to water modeling innovation.
• TU DelftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner contributing research expertise in civil engineering, ports and waterways, and geo-engineering. Hosts Luca Flessati working on anchor test data standardization.
• Port of RotterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor port authority partnering on data projects including Data ankerproeven en corrosie (anchor test and corrosion data) and PortVision deep learning for visibility. Provides operational data and use cases.
• Van OordimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaritime contractor and offshore specialist participating in KLIC at Sea project for geospatial standardization of offshore wind infrastructure.
• Periplus (Periplus Archeomare BV)importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerManaging partner for KLIC at Sea project, driving the initiative for geospatial data standardization of offshore assets and wind farms.
• Royal HaskoningDHVimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering consultancy developing standard formats for grout anchor tests and participating in data standardization projects.
• JetmixminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical partner in Data ankerproeven en corrosie project focusing on anchor testing data.
• HHNK (Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier)importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional water authority collaborating on Digital Dike project, providing test dike in their management area for digital twin development.
• BZIM (BZ Ingenieurs & Managers)importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering consultancy leading the Digital Dike project, focusing on dike composition and underground structure for strength calculations and emergency response.
• MARIN (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands)importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute hosting DigiShape Day events including the AI Impulsprogramma kickoff meeting.
• Topsector Water & Maritiem (TKI Deltatechnologie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization under which DigiShape operates as a testing ground/sandbox for water sector innovation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DHI Group: International water and environment software/consulting firm providing MIKE hydrodynamic modeling tools. Comparable as a commercial counterpart building water modeling software that DigiShape's ML emulators aim to complement or displace.
• Wageningen University & Research: Major Dutch research institution with water and delta-technology programs. Comparable as a knowledge institution participating in the Dutch water-innovation ecosystem that DigiShape coordinates.
• Arcadis: Global design and engineering consultancy with significant water and climate adaptation practices. Comparable as a Dutch-headquartered engineering firm addressing the same water-management digitalization challenges.
• KISTERS: Water data management and environmental monitoring software vendor. Comparable as a software provider addressing similar water-sector digitalization and data-exchange use cases that DigiShape enables.
• Royal HaskoningDHV: Large Dutch engineering consultancy with deep water-sector expertise and an existing DigiShape partner. Comparable as a commercial engineering firm operating across the same Dutch water-innovation ecosystem.
• Innovyze (Autodesk Water): Water infrastructure modeling and analytics software suite (now part of Autodesk). Comparable as a broad incumbent in digital water modeling, the same category DigiShape's open-source community projects compete against.

Emerging players

• FloodWaive: Startup developing AI solutions for Rhine low-flow forecasting, presented at the AI Impulsprogramma DigiShape Day. Comparable as an early-stage company operating in the same DigiShape community and water-AI niche.

Direct peers

• Deltares: Dutch applied research institute specializing in water, subsurface, and infrastructure. Directly comparable as the leading technical contributor to DigiShape's AI Impulsprogramma and a core partner developing water motion ML models.
• MARIN (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands): Dutch maritime research institute that hosts DigiShape Day events and collaborates on water/maritime digitalization programs. Comparable as a publicly-supported research organization operating in adjacent water/maritime domains.

Regional players

• HKV (Hydroconsult): Dutch specialist consultancy focused on water systems modeling and flood risk. Comparable as a Netherlands-based water-modeling organization addressing overlapping use cases with DigiShape's hydrodynamic emulator programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/digishape

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DigiShape