More than $51 billion in venture capital investment flowed into Europe in the first six months of 2026, whilst a record number of funding rounds worth over $1 billion were finalised in the first quarter of the year. Alongside AI, robotics, autonomous transport, fintech and energy, defence technologies and biotechnology are also attracting increasing attention from investors.

Record number of billion-dollar deals already in the first quarter

According to KPMG’s analysis, Europe’s venture capital market continues to benefit from its geographical and sectoral diversity, with investment activity well distributed across countries and industries. The strength of the market is particularly well illustrated by the fact that in the first quarter of 2026, six European companies raised at least $1 billion in funding – a higher figure than ever before. Of the six transactions, three were in the United Kingdom, two in Germany and one in France.

Among the largest European deals were the US$2 billion round for the British AI technology firm Nscale, the US$1.8 billion round for the German robotics firm Neura Robotics, the US$1.5 billion round for the British autonomous vehicle technology firm Wayve, the US$1.2 billion round for the German fintech firm Cloover, the French AI technology firm Advanced Machine Intelligence raising $1 billion, and the British energy technology firm Kraken Technologies raising $1 billion.

These billion-dollar funding rounds clearly demonstrate that investor interest is no longer concentrated on a single technology sector: alongside AI and robotics, autonomous transport, fintech and energy also featured amongst the largest transactions.

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AI remains the driving force behind investment

Interest continued to grow in the second quarter: the British firm Ineffable Intelligence raised $1.1 billion, one of the largest early-stage funding rounds in Europe to date. This record-breaking investment also indicates that investors are willing to risk extremely large sums even in the early stages of a company’s life cycle in pursuit of the growth opportunities offered by AI.

Alongside AI, the biotechnology sector is also attracting increasing attention from investors. This is clearly illustrated by the $2.1 billion funding round secured by Isomorphic Labs, another UK-based company specialising in AI-driven pharmaceutical research, which was one of the largest European transactions in the first half of the year. The convergence of artificial intelligence and healthcare innovations is likely to continue to attract significant investor interest in Europe in the coming years.

Defence technology is one of the fastest-growing sectors

Alongside AI, defence technology and dual-use technologies (which can be applied for both civilian and military purposes) have also become increasingly sought-after in Europe.

According to KPMG, defence technology has seen spectacular growth in Europe over the past two years, with investor interest ranging from drone technology and satellites to secure communications and cyber solutions. In the second quarter, Aura Aero, a French developer of dual-use hybrid-electric aircraft, raised $392 million in funding.

KPMG states that, due to geopolitical tensions and European countries’ efforts to develop their sovereign defence capabilities, defence technology is likely to remain a key investment area in the coming period.

Robotics, autonomous transport and energy are also attracting investors

Among the largest transactions of the first half of the year were several sectors which, alongside AI, demonstrate the broadening of the European technology ecosystem.

German firm Neura Robotics’ $1.8 billion funding round signals strong investor interest in robotics, whilst British firm Wayve’s $1.5 billion round has taken funding in autonomous transport to a new level. In the energy technology sector, Germany’s Cloover raised $1.2 billion, whilst the UK’s Kraken Technologies raised $1 billion.

According to KPMG, within the UK’s energy sector, the focus has been particularly on infrastructure solutions that offer a response to growing energy demand, such as power generation, battery storage or energy efficiency technologies.

Europe remained attractive to major investors

The European venture capital market had an exceptionally strong first half of 2026: according to data from KPMG Private Enterprise Venture Pulse, European companies raised $25.7 billion in venture capital in the first quarter, followed by a further $25.6 billion in the second, meaning that a total of approximately $51.3 billion flowed into the continent’s start-up and scale-up ecosystem over the first six months.

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