Investment in Early Stage Technology in Europe has increased from €875 million in the first half of 2015 to €3.6 billion in the first half of 2018, finds a new report.
The report also revealed that France and the UK are neck and neck in investment in early stage technology. France, which has seen rapid growth in its startup scene over the last half a decade, generated almost a quarter of investment in early stage technology deals in Europe. This was just shy of the UK’s 24.59% piece of the investing pie.
The report, ‘A Deep Dive into European Early-Stage Tech Startup Activity,’ and produced by Stripe, Techstars and research specialists Tech.eu, highlights how diverse Europe is in the technology space, with Spain, for example, generating 3.9% of European investment in early stage technology and Italy getting 1.92% of the investing pie.
Fintech and Medtech have been the most popular industries for investors, generating over €4 billion in early stage funding in the past three years, far outstripping other sectors.
The report found that Fintech startups such as Monzo and N26, and Medtech startups such as Dr.Focused, Kry and Doctolib have benefited most from the influx of investment, as they challenge one another for the greatest share of early stage with investment. They have each received €2.32bn and €2.07bn in investment respectively over the last three years.
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Despite the proximity of Brexit, the UK still leads the way for early stage Fintech investment with €829.9 million invested in the first half of 2018, compared to €402.2 million invested in early stage Fintech in the next largest market Germany in the same time period.
Iain McDougall, UK & Ireland Country Manager, Stripe said: “Europe’s tech scene is clearly thriving. To see a fourfold increase in the value of early stage investments in just three years is a huge testament to the continent’s startup scene. The UK is not alone anymore. We are now seeing the birth of a new generation of globally competitive tech companies, led by France, Germany, Sweden and Spain.
Robin Wauters, Co-founding editor, Tech.eu said: “We launched Tech.eu 5 years ago when Europe was on the verge of exploding with technology startup activity. This report shows that the momentum has only increased since then, evolving Europe’s startup ecosystems into maturity in key hubs like London, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm, but also into a healthy breeding ground for a new generation of ambitious entrepreneurs in regions across the continent. We are looking forward to chronicling and analysing the European tech startup scene’s continued evolution in the coming years.”
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Eamonn Carey, MD of Techstars London said: “In the five years since Techstars London launched, we’ve seen some incredible European companies grow and scale globally. As the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, we’re proud to be supporting that with programs in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Oslo and Tel Aviv.”
