Slowdown In EU Startup Funding Announcements Persists

Funding announcements for startups in the European Union have slowed in the weeks following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

In the 33-day period since the Ukraine invasion began, EU startups have announced a total of 170 seed- through late-stage funding rounds, collectively raising $3.2 billion, per Crunchbase data. 

That’s a distinct slowdown over prior weeks. By comparison, for instance, in the 33-day period prior to the attack, EU companies announced 255 rounds, bringing in $5.1 billion. 

The recent slowdown follows a record funding period for European startups. Last year, venture funding to Europe, including both EU and non-EU countries, hit an unprecedented $116 billion, up an incredible 159 percent year over year.

It’s unclear why things have slowed recently. A few weeks ago, when we wrote about the pace of EU funding in the immediate aftermath of the attack, we postulated that some of the slowdown might be due to companies choosing to delay funding announcements. For many startups, it might not have seemed like the appropriate time to celebrate a new round.

As we revisit this subject a few weeks later, that hypothesis remains plausible but looks less probable. While startups might delay a funding round announcement for a short period, they probably won’t put it off indefinitely.

While the median funding round in the past 33 days was $4.2 million, there have been a number of big investments in the mix. The largest include:

• Paris-based Doctolib, an online and mobile booking platform for medical appointments, raised $548 million in a March Series F round.
• Berlin-based Forto, a digital freight-forwarding and shipping-management platform, raised $250 million in a March Series D round.

Illustration: iStock

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