Europe
Introduction
Europe is a highly connected key global region, home to many of the world’s leading startup hubs such as London, Paris and Berlin to name a few.
Venture Capital
Through a macro-lens, VC investment has been slowing globally from the highs of 2021 however there’s been a bit less of a shock in Europe as in North America and the rest of Asia.
Venture capital investment into European startups reached $98 billion in 2022, down 17% from 2021 highs.
By stage
Almost all the fall in European venture capital has been at late-stage. More was raised from Seed to Series A rounds in Q1 than from all $100M+ rounds.
The below carousel showcases early stage VC investment into European HQ’d startups over the past decade in an annual and quarterly overview.
The below carousel showcases breakout stage VC investment into European HQ’d startups over the past decade in an annual and quarterly overview.
The below carousel showcases late stage/scale-up stage VC investment into European HQ’d startups over the past decade in an annual and quarterly overview.
By industry
A growing share of startups headquartered in Europe trend have utilised a SaaS business model, with half of existing startups in the most recent year utilising this business model, up nearly double from a decade ago.
Within Europe, the leading three industries in terms of VC investment between 2017 and 2021 have consistently been Fintech, Health, and Transportation.
In 2022, Fintech startups in Europe received the highest amount of VC investment, with a total of $23.4 billion, followed by Energy startups with $13.7 billion and then Transportation startups with $12.5 billion raised.
By country
In terms of leading national ecosystems in the European continent, The UK, France and Germany have raised the most VC investment in Europe over the past decade.
The table below displays VC investment into each of Europe's national ecosystems, sorted by default by fastest percentage growth over the past 12 months.
Double-click on any of the column headers to sort by the leaders in the European region.
By city
London, Paris and Berlin are the leading city ecosystems in the European continent, but startup innovation is very distributed in Europe across tens of other notable hubs.
Double-click on any of the column headers to sort by the city ecosystems in the European region.
Investors
Top investors in Europe
European venture capital is increasingly competitive. The number of unique investors active in Europe doubled between 2020 and 2022.
The European VC investor landscape has been thriving over the past three years, with a significant increase in the number of investors in all investment stages. The pre-seed stage witnessed the fastest growth, followed by the series A and series B+ stages, respectively.
This trend showcases a positive outlook for the European start-up ecosystem, indicating that there is a growing interest and support for start-ups at all investment stages.
Unique active investors
Unicorns
Europe is now home to 400+ unicorns, representing a diverse range of industries, from fintech to health tech, e-commerce to mobility, and more. These companies have attracted significant investment from global investors, helping them to expand their operations and compete with their American and Chinese counterparts.
The number of new unicorns increased significantly between Q1 2016 to Q4 2021, reaching its peak in Q4 2021 with 34 new unicorns.
There has been a noticeable drop-off in the number of new unicorns since Q3 2022, reaching a record low of just 3 unicorns in Q1 2023.
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