Europe sees record $51 billion in venture capital investment

Europe saw more than $51 billion in venture capital investment during the first half of 2026. A KPMG analysis highlights a record number of billion-dollar deals in the first quarter alone, with six European companies securing at least $1 billion in funding—the highest number ever recorded for a single quarter.

Investment activity was geographically diverse, with three deals in the United Kingdom, two in Germany, and one in France. Key transactions included the UK-based AI firm Nscale ($2 billion), Germany’s Neura Robotics ($1.8 billion), and the UK’s autonomous vehicle company Wayve ($1.5 billion). Other major deals involved Germany’s fintech Cloover ($1.2 billion), France’s Advanced Machine Intelligence ($1 billion), and the UK’s Kraken Technologies ($1 billion).

While artificial intelligence remains a primary driver of investment, capital is increasingly spreading across sectors such as robotics, autonomous transport, fintech, energy technology, defense technology, and biotechnology. In the second quarter, the UK’s Ineffable Intelligence secured $1.1 billion, marking one of Europe’s largest early-stage funding rounds and signaling investor willingness to commit large sums to early-stage AI companies.