The tide is turning for European VC. Venture-backed start-ups in Europe raised $49.6bn in the year through to June 11th, almost matching the total for the whole of 2020 ($51.7bn), according to PitchBook Data. Deal sizes are getting bigger. A dozen European startups have raised $500m or more this year, the most on record.
European technology leaders and investors acknowledge the importance of size and scale and are actively seeking closer collaboration to scale up small companies. Several initiatives are already underway to build viable competitors to US dominance in technology.
This is providing an important tailwind for the recovery across European labour markets. VC investment has accelerated sharply in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. These three countries are also enjoying strong labour market recoveries and are seeing a surge in property price growth. German unemployment fell another 38.1k in June.
The broader Eurozone labour market numbers have been positive recently too. French unemployment fell sharply again in May (down 231k over two months), while Spanish employment jumped 203k last month.
