dit-lab

What dit-lab does

DIT-lab is a research and innovation lab jointly operated by DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs), the Dutch Education Executive Agency, and Hanze University of Applied Sciences. Headquartered in Groningen, Netherlands, it functions as a formal collaboration rather than a commercial entity, with the stated mandate to explore how the Dutch government can continue to deliver reliable and appropriate digital services to citizens and businesses amid changing European legislation, evolving technology, and shifting citizen expectations. Its primary research lens is digital identity with a particular focus on Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), and its work is delivered by cohorts of student interns and graduation researchers rather than a traditional employed engineering team.

The lab's product surface consists primarily of serious games and digital prototypes, all published openly on GitHub Pages and the DIT-lab website. Active and historical prototypes include Projekt Kiosk (an SSI scenario game in multiple student-built versions), Exam Day Disaster (a visual novel about credentials in an SSI world), Retro Computer Sim (a diploma-verification game), SSI Game, ParadiSSIo, Digital Diploma Disaster, Nation of One, Data Detective, Cocktail Master, Kernel, Honorbound, and Reclaiming Me. Alongside these games, DIT-lab is building a Wallet-app with a secure data vault for personal credentials, an LLM-based advisory service called Meedenkservice to consult with DUO on innovation and identity topics, and an in-development Agentic Wallet for autonomous study-financing actions.

Commercially, DIT-lab operates as a non-revenue-generating research partnership; it does not sell products or services and does not disclose pricing. Its sole institutional counterpart is DUO, which simultaneously acts as both its funding partner and its parent entity alongside Hanze. Distribution is open-source and educational in nature, with GitHub repositories and the ditlab.nl website as the primary channels, meaning its influence is exerted through prototypes and advisory input into Dutch public-sector service design rather than through any commercial go-to-market motion.

Name

dit-lab

Legal name

DIT-lab

Website

https://ditlab.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

DIT-lab is a research collaboration between Dutch government agency DUO and Hanze University of Applied Sciences in which student teams build serious games and prototypes exploring Self-Sovereign Identity and digital public-service innovation for the Dutch education sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Digital Innovation Research Software

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Maker / DIY Electronics & Physical Computing Platforms (EDAFANAC), Virtual Labs, Remote Labs & Hands-On Practice Tools (EDAFABAH), Lab & Science Virtual Labs (Chemistry, Biology, Physics) (EDAFAJAE), DIY Kits, STEM Electronics & Maker Bundles Retail (CRACAKAN)

Keywords

• Serious games development
• Self-sovereign identity
• Digital public services
• Government innovation research
• Educational technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Groningen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Collaboration: Funded through collaboration between DUO (government education agency) and Hanze University of Applied Sciences as a research and innovation partnership

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DIT-lab is a research collaboration between DUO (Dutch Education Executive Agency) and Hanze University of Applied Sciences that develops serious games, digital wallet prototypes, and AI-based services exploring Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and digital public-service innovation. Student teams (undergraduate internships and graduation projects) build interactive prototypes and game concepts that simulate future government service scenarios for citizens and businesses. Outputs include playable serious games, a wallet application with data vault functionality, an LLM-powered advisory service (Meedenkservice), and an agentic wallet concept for study financing.

Product overview

DIT-lab is a research and innovation lab that develops serious games and digital applications focused on Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and digital identity for government services. Their product portfolio includes: serious game prototypes (Projekt Kiosk, Exam Day Disaster, Retro Computer Sim, SSI Game) that explore how SSI technology could work in public services; a Wallet-app with secure data vault functionality; AI-powered services including a meedenkservice (LLM) for advisory purposes and an Agentic Wallet for autonomous study financing actions; and various game concepts in development. The offerings function as interactive research tools and educational applications rather than commercial products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DIT-lab: Discover Innovations of Tomorrow - A collaboration between DUO and Hanze focused on innovation and digital identity research using serious gaming

Products and services

• Projekt Kiosk A serious game prototype about Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) where users can choose which data to share and which to withhold in government service scenarios. Developed by student teams to explore how SSI could function in public services.
• Exam Day Disaster A visual novel game about a student who must take an exam on time while dealing with a broken phone in an SSI world. Available in two versions (Amber's without inventory and Sean's with inventory system).
• Retro Computer Sim A game where players check diplomas for validity based on credentials received in a retro computer simulation environment. Players verify the authenticity of educational documents.
• SSI Game A game demonstrating how Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) would work. Players choose which data they want to share and which they want to keep private across different scenarios.
• Wallet-app A mobile application with a data vault connection that allows users to securely store their personal data and credentials. Students are expanding the app's functionality and integration capabilities.
• Meedenkservice (LLM) An AI-powered thinking and consultation service using Large Language Models. Tested by students for advisory purposes related to government innovation and digital identity topics for DUO.
• Agentic Wallet An autonomous AI wallet system for study financing that uses AI agents to handle multi-step actions related to student financial services. Listed as an internship/student project in development stage.
• Game Concepts Collection A collection of game concepts and prototypes in development by students, covering themes around digital identity, credentials, and educational scenarios. Includes ParadiSSIo, Digital Diploma Disaster, Diploma Day Disaster, Nation of One, Data Detective, Cocktail Master, Kernel, Honorbound, and Reclaiming me.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDUO is the Dutch Education Executive Agency, a government organization responsible for implementing education-related services. DIT-lab is a formal collaboration between DUO and Hanze where they explore and research how government can continue to provide reliable services to citizens and businesses, focusing on innovation and digital identity questions.
• Hanze University of Applied Sciences (Hanze)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHanze is a university of applied sciences in the Netherlands. The collaboration with DUO creates DIT-lab, which works with students on research projects exploring government service innovation. Students participate through internships and graduation projects.
• Digital Society Hub (DSH)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital Society Hub is a platform managed by Hanze University for posting vacancies and internships. DIT-lab uses this platform to advertise student positions and connects with potential candidates through DSH events.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sphereon: Dutch company building SSI/digital-identity wallets and verifiable credential infrastructure. Highly comparable to DIT-lab because it operates in the same Dutch SSI ecosystem, addresses the same European Digital Identity Wallet standards, and serves both public-sector and regulated customers.
• InnoValor: Netherlands-based provider of ReadID, a mobile identity-verification and digital-identity platform. Comparable because it sells digital-identity tooling into Dutch and EU government workflows — the same domain DIT-lab researches with DUO.

Broad incumbents

• Logius: Dutch government organization providing shared digital services (DigiD, MijnOverheid, eHerkenning) to ministries and citizens. Comparable as the incumbent public-sector digital-identity steward whose roadmap DIT-lab's research is designed to inform.
• SURF: Dutch collaborative ICT organization for education and research, jointly owned by Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences. Comparable because it is the established institution through which Hanze-affiliated digital-identity research is normally funded and coordinated.
• TNO: Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research — a major Dutch applied-research body running government-funded programs. Comparable as a structurally funded research counterpart that converts government innovation questions into applied outputs, similar to DIT-lab's DUO collaboration.
• Microsoft Entra Verified ID: Microsoft's enterprise verifiable-credential and decentralized-identity product within the Entra suite. Comparable as a large incumbent whose roadmap and standards decisions shape the same SSI / verifiable-credential space DIT-lab explores with Dutch government partners.

Emerging players

• Gataca: European digital-identity company delivering verifiable-credential and SSI wallet infrastructure. Comparable as an emerging peer operating in the same eIDAS-2.0 / EU Digital Identity Wallet category that DIT-lab prototypes for the Dutch public sector.
• Validated ID: European company providing digital-identity and verifiable-credential solutions built on SSI principles. Comparable because its go-to-market in regulated/government use cases overlaps directly with the SSI scenarios DIT-lab is prototyping for DUO.
• Dock.io: Decentralized/SSI identity platform focused on verifiable credentials and reusable KYC. Comparable as a peer building the production-grade SSI infrastructure that DIT-lab's serious games are designed to educate the public sector about.

Regional players

• iDIN: Dutch bank-issued digital-identity service used by issuers and acceptors across the Netherlands. Comparable as an alternative trusted-identity scheme competing for the same Dutch public/private digital-identity wallet slot that DIT-lab's Wallet-app research informs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dit-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about dit-lab