Weeklytech round-up: Over 60 tech investment deals totaling €1.1B in Europe
Europe's tech sector has witnessed a surge of activity in the first half of 2025, with significant funding rounds, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and strategic partnerships taking place across various sectors, including healthtech, quantum, energy, and defense.
In the funding arena, European startups raised a staggering €24.53 billion ($28.9 billion) across 3,600 funding rounds, with the top 10 deals alone exceeding €3.8 billion. Notable recipients include Helsing, a Munich-based company specialising in AI-powered defense systems, which secured a massive €600 million Series D round, valuing the company at €12 billion. Isomorphic Labs, a London-based AI-driven pharmaceutical developer, also raised over €500 million.
The healthtech and pharmaceutical industries have been particularly active, with Enveda Biosciences raising $55 million for AI-driven drug discovery and clinical trials. Mankind Pharma is planning to acquire Bharat Vaccines and Serums for $1.7-$2 billion, while Sun Pharma has reinforced its presence in the Russian market with the acquisition of JSC Biosintez for $24 million. Collaborations between Radionetics Oncology and Eli Lilly, and Aurigene and Edity Therapeutics, are further examples of the industry's active partnerships.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group has played a crucial role in this growth, significantly increasing its 2025 financing ceiling to a record €100 billion. The EIB is launching TechEU, the EU’s largest innovation financing program, earmarking €70 billion from 2025 to 2027 to attract capital and talent. This initiative aims to generate €250 billion in investments supporting tech startups and scaleups in various fields, including energy and security.
Germany, France, and Spain have been at the forefront of these developments. Germany, leading with major defense tech funding and active participation in AI and deep tech innovation, has seen companies like Helsing secure significant funding. France, while not highlighted in large deals, benefits from increased EU-wide funding and innovation programs like TechEU. Spain, although not directly mentioned in the top funding rounds or M&A, stands to gain from EU funding programs boosting innovation and tech scale-up initiatives across Europe.
The quantum/deep tech sector has also seen substantial investment, with €19 billion in deep tech funding reported for H1 2025, indicating growing investor confidence in emerging scientific technologies. The energy sector has also received over €11 billion from the EIB for power grids and energy storage projects, highlighting the emphasis on energy security and sustainability.
In summary, Europe's tech ecosystem in H1 2025 is marked by record funding rounds in AI, health, defense, and energy sectors, large-scale financing programs by the EIB to enhance strategic industries, and active M&A and partnership activities in pharma and biotech, particularly in Germany, France, and the broader EU region.
- Despite not being highlighted in the top funding rounds, Europe's finance sector could potentially benefit from EU funding programs like TechEU, which aims to support tech startups and scaleups in various fields, including healthtech.
- The healthtech sector in Europe is not only active in seed funding but also in strategic mergers and acquisitions, as seen in Mankind Pharma's planned acquisition of Bharat Vaccines and Serums for a considerable amount in the finance sector.
