European VC funding at a high level

Europe's start-ups raised 58.6 billion US dollars in the first half of this year. This makes it the second-best half-year of all time.

Despite fears of an economic slump, the current investment climate looks positive for European start-ups. In the first half of 2022, European start-ups raised 58.6 billion US dollars, according to a report by Silicon Valley Bank and Dealroom. According to the report, German start-ups raised around seven billion US dollars. This puts them in third place behind France (9.7 billion) and the UK (20.8 billion).

"The fact that Europe recorded the second-highest half-year result for VC funding confirms that there is an opportunity for companies with a solid business model to seek and secure investment," says Simon Bumfrey from Silicon Valley Bank UK.

All European start-ups are currently worth a total of 3.1 trillion US dollars. This means that the value of European start-ups has increased compared to the previous year. There are currently 500 unicorns in Europe. New European unicorn cities have also been added this year. These include Chemnitz, Como (Italy), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Athens (Greece).