Europe-based startups raised $24 billion in Q2 2026, marking the region’s strongest venture funding quarter in four years, according to Crunchbase data.
The figure was up roughly a third quarter over quarter and two-thirds higher than the $14.4 billion raised in Q2 2025. UK startups led the region with more than $10 billion raised, representing the third-largest funding quarter for the country on record and coming in less than $500 million below its 2021 peak.
Four companies raised venture fundings of a billion dollars or more last quarter, accounting for 25 percent of all startup investment in Europe in Q2. These included Alphabet-owned AI drug developer Isomorphic Labs, green steel producer Stegra, robotics developer Neura Robotics, and Ineffable Intelligence, an AI lab founded by former DeepMind researchers.
Most of the growth was driven by rounds of $100 million and above. Sectors that stood out include biotech, quantum computing, financial services, AI labs, aerospace, semiconductor, robotics, and energy.
European startup M&A activity also picked up in Q1 and maintained momentum in Q2, even as public-market exits stayed subdued. Startup investment in Europe for H1 was up 50 percent year over year to $42 billion, though it remains below the 2021 H1 peak of $60 billion.
