Weekly round-up of European tech: Over 75 technology investment deals totaling approximately €3.6 billion
European Tech Funding Soars in H1 2025: AI, Cleantech, and Fintech Lead the Way
Last week, the European tech industry raised a staggering €3.9 billion in funding, with the telecom, software, and energy industries leading the charge. The telecom industry raised €2.6 billion, the software industry €207.3 million, and the energy industry €179.5 million.
The handily provided .csv file allows for in-depth analysis of the events last week, revealing that over 75 tech funding deals were tracked, totaling over €3.6 billion. Moreover, more than 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumors, and related news stories were also observed.
The latest trends in tech funding deals, M&A transactions, and news across Europe in 2025 show a strong focus on AI, biotech, defence, deep tech, cleantech, and fintech as top industries, with notable activity concentrated in Germany, France, and the UK.
In the first half of 2025, European startups raised €19 billion, despite a cautious VC climate and geopolitical uncertainties. Series B funding remains strong, with increasing deal volumes and high valuations, while Series C funding has declined in both volume and value. Top sectors leading funding include AI-powered defence tech, biotech, cleantech, fintech, and emerging fusion energy technologies.
Significant funding rounds in 2025 include Helsing (Munich, Germany), which raised €600 million Series D for AI software for defence, valuing the company at €12 billion. Proxima Fusion (Munich, Germany) secured €130 million Series A for stellarator fusion reactors aimed at clean energy by the 2030s. Nabla (Paris, France) raised €59.4 million Series C in AI and biotech.
The UK has surpassed Germany in total capital invested, although France leads in the number of deals, often with smaller deal sizes. Non-European investors have pulled back somewhat, with non-European leads dropping to a two-year low (32% of deals), and US repeat investment becoming sparse, indicating a tighter ecosystem funding pattern focused within Europe.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) launched its 2025 work programme with over €1.4 billion in funding aimed at breakthrough technologies and scaling startups, with schemes like the EIC Accelerator and STEP Scale Up providing grants and equity investments mainly between €0.5 million to €30 million.
Germany (notably Munich) continues to be a dominant hub for high-value deep tech and defence funding rounds. France remains a leader in fintech and biotech deal count, with rising prominence in AI startups. The UK’s tech ecosystem attracts significant capital, especially for fintech, although there is a noted shift in investment geography overall. Central and Eastern Europe also show growing activity, though on a smaller scale compared to Western Europe.
AI drives many major funding rounds, spanning defence systems to drug discovery. Cleantech notably rebounded strongly in H1 2025, driven by energy innovation startups like fusion power. Fintech continues to attract investments, including renewed interest in crypto infrastructure. Other notable sectors seeing increasing investor attention include quantum computing, space technology, and defence tech.
A monthly report is available for paying subscribers, detailing essential deals, actions, and players across the European tech ecosystem. Last week, there were no reported funding deals in industries other than telecom, software, and energy. Sweden had a total of €176.9 million in funding, and Germany had €277.5 million. The total value of last week's funding deals in the telecom, software, and energy industries does not include the value of the exits, M&A transactions, rumors, or related news stories. Companies from the UK, Germany, and Sweden raised a combined total of €6.1 billion in funding last week.
Technology industries, such as AI, cleantech, and fintech, have been leading recipients of funding in the European tech sector, with over €3.6 billion raised in deal volumes during the first half of 2025. In fairness, these sectors, along with defence and biotech, have attracted significant investor attention, with notable funding rounds including Helsing (Munich, Germany) in AI software for defence, Proxima Fusion (Munich, Germany) for stellarator fusion reactors, and Nabla (Paris, France) in AI and biotech.
