European startup funding H1 2021
Half-year report · 2021-01-01 – 2021-06-30 · vs H2 2020
Half-year
Summary
auto-generatedIn H1 2021, 1,961 rounds were recorded and disclosed equity funding (excluding debt and grants) reached €51B, up 68.9% versus H2 2020. Debt rounds added a further €3.9B.
Deal count moved +0.6% versus H2 2020, with 2,255 named investors participating.
UK led by equity raised with €10B (20.1% of equity).
Software was the most-funded sector at €12B in equity (23.1%).
The ten largest rounds accounted for 18.6% of disclosed capital, led by Northvolt's €2.3B.
340 exits were recorded this half-year worth a combined €32B.
Equity funding
€51B
▲ +68.9%excl. debt & grants · +€3.9B debt
Funding rounds
1,961
▲ +0.6%Companies funded
1,921
▲ +2.3%Named investors
2,255
▲ +135.1%Exits
340
▼ -25.6%Provenance: 92% of 1,961 rounds disclosed an amount · 76% of priced rounds are high-confidence · EUR totals reconcile to ECB at-date within -0.50%
Methodology →Investments
Funding within H1 2021
by monthFunding within H1 2021 — interactive chart.
Data table
| Amount | Deals | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | €5.8B | 267 |
| Feb | €7.1B | 293 |
| Mar | €9.4B | 304 |
| Apr | €7.7B | 273 |
| May | €11B | 372 |
| Jun | €14B | 452 |
Biggest deals
top 10 by amount- 1NorthvoltOther · Sweden · Jun 2021€2.3B
- 2CinchGrowth/Late · UK · May 2021€1.2B
- 3Just Eat TakeawayDebt · Netherlands · Feb 2021€1.1B
- 4SpotifyOther · Sweden · Feb 2021€1.1B
- 5SinchGrowth/Late · Sweden · May 2021€900M
- 6KlarnaOther · Sweden · Mar 2021€830M
- 7CelonisSeries D+ · Germany · Jun 2021€821M
- 8SumUpDebt · UK · Mar 2021€750M
- 9Trade RepublicSeries C · Germany · May 2021€738M
- 10MollieSeries C · Netherlands · Jun 2021€665M
Concentration
top 10 deals18.6%
of disclosed capital came from the ten largest rounds.
Top 10 total
€10B
Period total
€55B
Countries
Top countries
equity raisedH1 2021 — top countries — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2021 — top countries | |
|---|---|
| UK | €10B |
| Sweden | €8.4B |
| Israel | €7.3B |
| Germany | €7.2B |
| France | €4.1B |
| Netherlands | €2.7B |
| Spain | €1.8B |
| Denmark | €1.1B |
| Türkiye | €948M |
| Switzerland | €895M |
Capital by country
share of equityH1 2021 — capital by country — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2021 — capital by country | |
|---|---|
| UK | €10B |
| Sweden | €8.4B |
| Israel | €7.3B |
| Germany | €7.2B |
| France | €4.1B |
| Netherlands | €2.7B |
| Spain | €1.8B |
| Denmark | €1.1B |
| Türkiye | €948M |
| Switzerland | €895M |
| Other | €6.5B |
Geographic distribution
European countries shown · click a countryH1 2021 — geographic distribution — interactive chart.
Industries
Top sectors
equity raisedH1 2021 — top sectors — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2021 — top sectors | |
|---|---|
| Software | €12B |
| Fintech | €12B |
| E-commerce | €5.5B |
| Transportation | €4.2B |
| Healthtech | €3.7B |
| Cybersecurity | €3.6B |
| Media | €3.2B |
| Cleantech | €3.1B |
| AI | €1.7B |
| Edtech | €1.5B |
Capital by sector
share of equityH1 2021 — capital by sector — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2021 — capital by sector | |
|---|---|
| Software | €12B |
| Fintech | €12B |
| E-commerce | €5.5B |
| Transportation | €4.2B |
| Healthtech | €3.7B |
| Cybersecurity | €3.6B |
| Media | €3.2B |
| Cleantech | €3.1B |
| Other | €16B |
Stages
Funding by stage
total euro raised by round typeH1 2021 — funding by stage — interactive chart.
Data table
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Pre-Seed | €38M |
| Seed | €1.0B |
| Series A | €3.8B |
| Series B | €4.8B |
| Series C | €7.4B |
| Series D+ | €11B |
| Early VC | €13M |
| Growth/Late | €2.7B |
| Debt | €3.9B |
| Grant | €42M |
| Crowdfunding | €56M |
| Other | €20B |
Exits
Exit activity
340
exits recorded
€32B
combined disclosed value
Exits breakdown
by typeH1 2021 — exits by type — interactive chart.
Data table
| H1 2021 — exits by type | |
|---|---|
| Acquisition | 288 |
| IPO | 23 |
| Leveraged buyout | 15 |
| Unknown | 9 |
| Merger | 5 |