In April, the volume of invested venture capital in Europe saw a significant increase, rising by 17% compared to March, according to Crunchbase data. The total of invested volume reached $3.2bn, spread in 389 funding rounds. This uptick is noteworthy against a backdrop of relatively stable global venture capital funding, which reached just over $22 billion for the month.
As we move into the latter half of 2024, investors are proceeding with caution, mindful of the persistent challenges in the venture landscape. Despite record-high dry powder reserves, there remains hesitancy in deploying capital due to recent macroeconomic uncertainties. This cautious approach follows a challenging year in 2023, where total venture investment plummeted by over $25 billion in the third quarter compared to the previous year, and by 65% from the peak in the fourth quarter of 2021. The first quarter of 2024 continued this trend, recording the second-lowest global startup funding since early 2018.
Number and volume of announced funding rounds over the past 6 months*
- Number of funding rounds
- Invested volume in $bn
Leader Industries and Investors
According to the number of conducted investments, the software startups lead the market with a total 75 investments. Nevertheless, the AI trend still persists, with 39 investments being made in AI startups this month, sharing the spot of second most invested industry with IT startups.
Now, regarding the companies behind the investments, SFC Capital emerged this month as the most active venture capital investor, completing 21 deals.
Founded in 2012 by CEO Stephen Page, SFC Capital has established itself as a leading investment fund manager and business angel network. The firm oversees the SFC Angel Fund, which is dedicated to investing in small UK-based companies that qualify for the SEIS and EIS investment schemes.
In second place, with fewer than a quarter of the closed deals achieved by SFC Capital, is Antler, a Singapore-based early-stage investor founded in 2017.
Top 10 Industries of Financed Startups
- Software
- AI
- IT
- Biotechnology
- Health Care
- Saas
- FinTech
- Financial Services
- Medical
- Manufacturing
Top 5 Investors with the highest number of deals
- SFC Capital
- Antler
- Y Combinator
- Business Growth Fund
- FJ Labs
Notable funding rounds across Europe
In April, the largest funding round was a $214.8 million Series A secured by HysetCo, an innovative hydrogen mobility start-up founded in 2020 in Saint-Denis, France. This round featured a diverse group of investors, including Toyota, Eiffel Investment Group, Raise Impact, Air Liquide, Total Energies, and Kouros, with Hy24 leading the investment.
HysetCo specializes in facilitating the transition to zero-emission transportation through advanced energy management solutions.
While Seed Rounds accounted for the majority of investment rounds, making up approximately 36% of the total, the highest investment volume was seen in Venture Rounds, which amassed $933 million across 102 deals.
The largest Seed Round was secured by FlexAI, which raised $30 million. Founded in Paris in 2023, FlexAI is revolutionizing AI compute by rearchitecting compute infrastructure at a system level. The lead investors were Heartcore, Elaia, and Alpha Intelligence Capital, with additional backing from bpifrance, Frst Capital, and Partech.
Number and total volume of financing rounds per stage
- Number of funding rounds per stage
- Volume of financing rounds per stage in $mn
Detailed overview by stage
European VC Industry Hotspots
In April, London remains the hotspot of the European VC industry, with Paris securing the second spot.
The UK led the way with the most investment rounds at 138, followed by France with 49, and Germany with 40. When considering investment volume rather than the number of deals, London and Paris still held their top positions, but Saint-Denis and Dublin moved up to third and fourth places, respectively, surpassing Berlin. This shift highlights the dynamic nature of the European venture capital landscape, where different cities can lead in either the number of deals or the total investment volume, reflecting varying strategies and market opportunities.
PE Acquisitions Overview
Private Equity (PE) acquisitions experienced a notable surge of 37% in April, marking the highest number in the past six months. London led with six acquisitions, followed by Amsterdam with four.
This growth also outpaced venture capital (VC) investments. In April, there were 37 PE acquisitions, making up 9% of all investment rounds (VC + PE) out of a total of 426 rounds—the highest share recorded in the last six months.
The largest known PE acquisition included Darktrace, a British cybersecurity company founded in 2013, which is headquartered in Cambridge, England. The firm was acquired by Thomas Bravo, an American private equity and growth capital firm based in Chicago, for $5.3 billion.
- % of all investment rounds
- Number of PE acquisitions
*All data from CrunchBase, as of May 7, 2024.
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