European startup funding Q4 2023
Quarterly report · 2023-10-01 – 2023-12-31 · vs Q3 2023
Quarterly
Summary
auto-generatedIn Q4 2023, 1,054 rounds were recorded and disclosed equity funding (excluding debt and grants) reached €15B, down 36.4% versus Q3 2023. Debt rounds added a further €3.2B.
Deal count moved -1.5% versus Q3 2023, with 2,438 named investors participating.
UK led by equity raised with €3.4B (23.3% of equity).
Software was the most-funded sector at €3.9B in equity (26.4%).
The ten largest rounds accounted for 42.9% of disclosed capital, led by Visma's €3.0B.
176 exits were recorded this quarter worth a combined €7.0B.
Equity funding
€15B
▼ -36.4%excl. debt & grants · +€3.2B debt
Funding rounds
1,054
▼ -1.5%Companies funded
1,046
▼ -1.8%Named investors
2,438
▲ +4.0%Exits
176
▼ -20.4%Provenance: 87% of 1,054 rounds disclosed an amount · 95% of priced rounds are high-confidence · EUR totals reconcile to ECB at-date within +0.01%
Methodology →Investments
Funding within Q4 2023
by monthFunding within Q4 2023 — interactive chart.
Data table
| Amount | Deals | |
|---|---|---|
| Oct | €3.4B | 390 |
| Nov | €5.6B | 367 |
| Dec | €9.0B | 297 |
Biggest deals
top 10 by amount- 1VismaOther · Norway · Dec 2023€3.0B
- 2NorthvoltDebt · Sweden · Dec 2023€1.1B
- 3Octopus EnergyOther · UK · Dec 2023€800M
- 4ABB E-mobilityOther · Switzerland · Nov 2023€501M
- 5PlenitudeOther · Italy · Dec 2023€500M
- 6Aleph AlphaSeries B · Germany · Nov 2023€466M
- 7Mistral AISeries A · France · Dec 2023€385M
- 8Statera EnergyDebt · UK · Nov 2023€346M
- 9UpdraftDebt · UK · Dec 2023€316M
- 10SumUpGrowth/Late · UK · Dec 2023€285M
Concentration
top 10 deals42.9%
of disclosed capital came from the ten largest rounds.
Top 10 total
€7.7B
Period total
€18B
Countries
Top countries
equity raisedQ4 2023 — top countries — interactive chart.
Data table
| Q4 2023 — top countries | |
|---|---|
| UK | €3.4B |
| Norway | €3.2B |
| France | €2.0B |
| Germany | €1.8B |
| Netherlands | €858M |
| Switzerland | €763M |
| Italy | €736M |
| Sweden | €459M |
| Spain | €321M |
| Denmark | €182M |
Capital by country
share of equityQ4 2023 — capital by country — interactive chart.
Data table
| Q4 2023 — capital by country | |
|---|---|
| UK | €3.4B |
| Norway | €3.2B |
| France | €2.0B |
| Germany | €1.8B |
| Netherlands | €858M |
| Switzerland | €763M |
| Italy | €736M |
| Sweden | €459M |
| Spain | €321M |
| Denmark | €182M |
| Other | €1.0B |
Geographic distribution
European countries shown · click a countryQ4 2023 — geographic distribution — interactive chart.
Industries
Top sectors
equity raisedQ4 2023 — top sectors — interactive chart.
Data table
| Q4 2023 — top sectors | |
|---|---|
| Software | €3.9B |
| Energy | €3.2B |
| Fintech | €2.0B |
| AI | €1.0B |
| Cleantech | €849M |
| Healthtech | €771M |
| Transportation | €358M |
| Deeptech | €255M |
| Sports | €231M |
| Cybersecurity | €223M |
Capital by sector
share of equityQ4 2023 — capital by sector — interactive chart.
Data table
| Q4 2023 — capital by sector | |
|---|---|
| Software | €3.9B |
| Energy | €3.2B |
| Fintech | €2.0B |
| AI | €1.0B |
| Cleantech | €849M |
| Healthtech | €771M |
| Transportation | €358M |
| Deeptech | €255M |
| Other | €2.4B |
Stages
Funding by stage
total euro raised by round typeQ4 2023 — funding by stage — interactive chart.
Data table
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Pre-Seed | €133M |
| Seed | €564M |
| Series A | €1.5B |
| Series B | €1.2B |
| Series C | €532M |
| Series D+ | €441M |
| Early VC | €1.0M |
| Growth/Late | €470M |
| Debt | €3.2B |
| Grant | €37M |
| Crowdfunding | €17M |
| Other | €9.8B |
Exits
Exit activity
176
exits recorded
€7.0B
combined disclosed value
Exits breakdown
by typeQ4 2023 — exits by type — interactive chart.
Data table
| Q4 2023 — exits by type | |
|---|---|
| Acquisition | 173 |
| Merger | 2 |
| Buyout | 1 |