Funding for European-based startups is billed year-over-year in 2024. Funding totaled $51 billion, down 5% year-over-year from the $54 billion invested in 2023, in line with Crunchbase data.
European startups raised 16% of total global enterprise capital in 2024, a slight decline from 18% in the previous two years. (Although it’s value remembering that some European startups move their headquarters to the United States but keep large teams in Europe, which skews the funding count in favor of the United States, where funding is counted depending on where the company is based).
Financing stabilized in Europe in 2024, but still represents lower than half – 44% – of the $117 billion market cap in 2021. Late-stage financing has declined the most since financing boomed on the continent.
While funding was flat in comparison with the previous 12 months, it exceeded pre-pandemic funding levels including 2020.
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Great Britain, France and Germany are leading the way
Europe’s leading country, the UK, provided around a third of funding for European startups in 2024, with UK-based startups raising around $17 billion in total funding.
France raised $7.9 billion, and Germany got here in third with $7.6 billion. Each of them accounted for about 15% of the continent’s financing. Switzerland was the fourth-largest European country to speculate $2.8 billion in its startups last 12 months.
Healthcare, financial services and artificial intelligence
The leading investment sector for European start-ups was healthcare/biotechnology, with over $11 billion invested. The leading corporations in terms of investments were a biotechnology holding based in Germany Isotope Technologies MunichLondon-based women’s health start-up Flo’s healthand a Finnish sleep and health tracking platform Our.
The second largest sector was financial services, with $9.6 billion in funding. The largest rounds in this sector went to a London-based lending company Abounde-commerce payments company based in Barcelona SeQuradigital bank based in London Monzoand a London-based cross-border payments company Zepz.
Artificial intelligence was the third largest sector of European startup funding with $8.8 billion, representing roughly 9% of worldwide AI funding. The most rounds were raised by a London start-up dealing with autonomous vehicles Wayvemodeling company based in Paris Mistral AIBerlin-based AI defense company Helsingaand an artificial intelligence translation company based in Cologne Deep L. (By the poolcurrently based in the US but previously based in Paris, raised a $500 million round in 2024).
The fourth quarter ends the 12 months on a strong note
European startup funding reached $12 billion in the fourth quarter, up 13% quarter-over-quarter and unchanged year-over-year.
Late stage
Late-stage financing in the fourth quarter totaled $5.2 billion across 100 deals, up 25% year-over-year.
Early stage
Early-stage financing reached $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter across nearly 300 financing rounds, down 7% year-over-year.
Seed
Seed funding reached $1.6 billion across greater than 800 deals in the fourth quarter, representing a 29% funding decline from the prior 12 months’s fourth quarter.
Europe Summary
Funding for European startups remained regular 12 months over 12 months, unlike North America, which picked up in the fourth quarter and continued to grow 12 months over 12 months, largely driven by AI sector funding and multiple billion-dollar-plus rounds.
Continental enterprise capital funds and early stage enterprise capital funds remain lively. Seed and earlier stage funding in 2024 overall was north of 60% of the market peak, while late stage funding was around 31%.
Methodology
The data in this report comes directly from Crunchbase and is based on reported data. The data provided is from January 3, 2025.
Please note that data transfer delays are most noticeable in the earliest stages of a enterprise, with seed funding amounts increasing significantly after quarter/12 months end.
Please note that each one financing amounts are in US dollars unless otherwise noted. Crunchbase converts foreign exchange to U.S. dollars at the spot rate in effect on the date financing rounds, acquisitions, IPOs and other financial events are reported. Even if these events were added to Crunchbase long after the event was announced, currency transactions are converted at the historical spot price.
Glossary of financing terms
Seeds and Angels consist of seed, pre-seed and angel rounds. Crunchbase also covers enterprise rounds of unknown series, equity crowdfunding, and convertible notes valued at $3 million (USD or converted USD equivalent) or less.
The early stage consists of Series A and Series B rounds, in addition to other kinds of rounds. Crunchbase includes enterprise rounds of unknown series, corporate ventures and other rounds above $3 million and those valued at lower than or equal to $15 million.
The Late Stage consists of Series C, Series D, Series E, and later lettered expedition rounds following the “Series [Letter]“Naming convention. Also included are enterprise rounds of unknown series, corporate ventures and other rounds valued at greater than $15 million. Corporate rounds are only included when a company has raised seed financing as a part of a series enterprise financing round.
A technology development is a private equity round led by a company that has previously raised a “venture” round. (Basically any round from the pre-defined stages.)