European venture capital investments rise despite global decline

Worldwide, the number of ‘venture capital’ investments, also known as venture capital investments, fell from 9,458 to 7,520 deals in the past quarter.

There was a decrease in the number of investments worldwide, including in Europe. Yet there is positive news: the total amount invested increased in Europe, while the rest of the world also saw a decrease in those figures.

This is evident from KPMG’s ‘Venture Pulse’ report, a quarterly analysis of global venture capital (VC) investments.

There is no growth anywhere else than in Europe
Europe saw the total amount of venture capital investments increase from 14.1 billion euros in Q4, 2023 to 16.8 billion euros in Q1, 2024, thanks in part to a remarkable mega deal in Sweden of 4.9 billion euros.

In contrast to Europe, the rest of the world saw a decline; North and South America fell from 40.7 billion to 35.8 billion euros. In the United States a decrease is visible from 37.6 billion to 34.4 billion and in Asia investments fell from 21.5 billion to 17.7 billion euros.

All in all, global venture capital investments fell from 78.7 billion euros in Q4’23 to 71.3 billion euros in Q1’24.

Cleantech and AI are the biggest money makers
Cleantech, a collective term for technologies, products or services that contribute to a cleaner environment, together with artificial intelligence (AI), appear to be the exceptions to the rule when it comes to the decline in global VC investments.

The two sectors attracted strong investments in the first quarter of this year. Together they accounted for eight of the top ten deals worldwide.

Although the number of deals in Europe fell, it was the only region worldwide where the amount of investment increased. The 4.9 billion euros investment in Sweden’s H2 Green Steel was the main driver of this increase, significantly outpacing other deals in the region.

Other notable VC investments included 404.8 million for British neobank Monzo, 389.7 million for French generative AI company Mistral AI and 313.7 million for French EV maker Electra. The Dutch company Picnic is also on this list. The supermarket on wheels attracted no less than 365.3 million in investments.