Invest Europe

European Venture Capital: From Momentum to Scale At Invest Europe's Venture Capital Forum 2026 in Amsterdam on 14-15 October 2026, investors explored performance, fundraising, liquidity and the path to global VC leadership. The European venture capital community gathered at the Felix Meritis in Amsterdam over two days during which LPs, GPs and industry leaders explored the forces shaping European venture capital: investment performance, capital allocation, emerging technologies, value creation, liquidity and the conditions needed to build the next generation of global champions. One overarching message emerged: Europe has the talent, innovation and investment expertise to compete globally. The challenge now is to turn these strengths into sustainable scale. Read the article to find out more: https://lnkd.in/eY6vZCUe #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #infrastructure #ListedPE #InvestEuropeNews #VCF26

What does the scale-up journey look like for Europe’s next deep tech pioneers? And how is Finland 🇫🇮 leading the charge? Europe’s venture ecosystem continues to gain momentum, with Invest Europe's latest consolidated data showing €19.7 billion invested into 4,827 venture-stage companies in 2025 alone—a 4% increase on 2024. Meanwhile, venture-backed growth investments grew by 15%, reaching €4.7 billion across 429 companies. In our latest Opinion article, Samuel Wendelin, Member, LP Council, Invest Europe and Director, Fund Investments, Tesi highlights how Europe’s growth pipeline is vital for taking breakthrough innovations from research prototypes to global commercial success. Nowhere is this truer than in Finland: according to the Finnish Venture Capital Association's (FVCA) statistics, Finnish startups raised a record €1.9 billion in 2025. 🦾 Backed by a strong engineering foundation, a 3.2% GDP R&D investment rate, and top-tier academic spinouts, Finland is establishing itself as a powerhouse relative to its size. From world-class unicorns and decacorns like ICEYE, Bluefors, Sensofusion, and IQM Quantum Computers, to a startup ecosystem projected to grow from €60 billion today to €250 billion by 2035, Finland’s deep tech sector is proving that patient capital and growth-stage funding can transform complex science into international market leaders. Read 'Europe is scaling up, and so is Finnish deep tech' https://lnkd.in/eCMMdTqt #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #infrastructure #ListedPE

How will Europe secure its future competitiveness in an intensifying global economy? And where will the industries of tomorrow come from? While Europe boasts world-class researchers and entrepreneurs, its key challenge lies in providing the capital needed to help breakthroughs scale into global market leaders. In his latest article, Anders Stromblad, Member, LP Council, Invest Europe and Senior Advisor, Andra AP-fonden (AP2), highlights how venture capital provides the patient financing and expertise to bridge this gap. Over the past decade, VC investors have backed over 26,000 European companies with €132 billion—including nearly €20 billion in 2025 alone. These companies now employ over one million people, driving job growth at 4.4% in 2024 (versus 0.8% overall in Europe) while historically outperforming major benchmarks like MSCI Europe and MSCI World since 1986. Read 'The next chapter of European competitiveness depends on venture capital' https://lnkd.in/ejJEKRwX #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #infrastructure #ListedPE

Why invest in Europe’s quiet power? 🇪🇺 Europe’s private equity, including large buyouts, and venture capital industry has grown strongly over the past decade. It attracts foreign investment, with 34.3% of capital raised in 2025 coming from investors outside Europe. Large buyouts (LBO) 📈 Investment levels: €724bn invested in 11,000 companies (2016-2025) 📈 14.73% net IRR for Buyout PE funds since inception vs 13% over 30 years for North American LBO funds. 📈 €103bn Buyout fundraising in 2025, a 33% increase from 2024, with North American investors representing 30% of the total, from 24% in 2024 Investing today offers a well-priced front-row seat to growth as European businesses trade at lower multiples than their US peers. Explore more insights ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e7BUGwgr #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #infrastructure #ListedPE #QuietPower

European venture capital is delivering competitive returns 📈, comparing favourably with both public markets and North American peers. 📊 16.59% – 10-year net IRR for European VC funds 🌎 13.77% – North American VC over the same period 📈 9.99% – Rest of World VC Europe’s VC ecosystem has matured significantly over the past decade, and its performance reflects that transformation. For global LPs looking to diversify their venture exposure, Europe offers an increasingly compelling combination of performance, innovation and opportunity. Invest in Europe's Quiet Power ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ehDwr2SQ #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #infrastructure #ListedPE #QuietPower

September was a high-impact month focused on wrapping up our H1 advocacy work, setting our H2 priorities in motion, preparing the second part of our major global campaign, and finalising preparations for one of our three flagship annual conferences. - Investing in Europe's Quiet Power 2026 - Venture Capital Forum (14-15 October, Amsterdam) - Invest Europe's first bi-annual Policy Update Take a moment to explore in detail, and help us amplify our message across your own networks and channels as we promote the strength of European private capital worldwide. Thanks for your time and engagement. Eric.