+€100 billion has been invested in European tech startups in 2022, despite macroeconomic challenges

• 31 new European unicorns in 2022, with the UK, France, Sweden, and Germany being home to 60% of all.
• Sustainable startups are having momentum in Europe. 35% of European VCs shifted towards social and environmental impact starting 2022.
• CEE is one of the fastest-growing regions for VC funding in Europe, with Fintech and Mobility raising the most funds.
• SeedBlink has mobilized €150 million for European tech start-ups in the past three years.

Bucharest, December 21st, 2022: More than €100 billion have been invested in European tech startups so far in 2022, for the second year in a row, despite the recession, high inflation, and decline of fundraising rounds. The post-pandemic values are much higher than those of 2019 & 2020, showing an appetite for investing even in uncertain times.

Starting this year, 35% of European VCs focus more on social and environmental impact. 11 impact startups have become unicorns in 2022 out of a total of 31 up to now with the UK, France, Sweden, and Germany being home to 60% of all.

Currently, first-time unicorns are driving the success of the CEE ecosystems as they emerge in local startup communities and contribute to the public validation of the regional potential and founders willing to build something that matters. CEE is one of the fastest-growing regions for venture capital funding in Europe, regardless of all the challenges the region has recently faced.

"Europe is undergoing an accelerating digital transformation across all industries in all European countries. We see a growing interest in cross-border investment. European investors want geographic diversification, and we want to create a platform to help them do that," says Carmen Sebe, CEO of SeedBlink.

The most important investment trends in CEE:

• Despite the lower number of financing rounds raised at the regional level (606 rounds at the end of October 2022 compared to 816 in 2021), the volume of financing remains at the same level: €6.9bn forecast for 2022;
• The level of funding for Pre-Seed rounds has decreased over the years, but there is a steady increase in Seed and Series A rounds.
• A four-fold increase in funding volume between 2021 and 2022 in the security industry, despite a decrease in the number of rounds;
• More than €1.3 billion in funding expected to be raised by FinTech startups by the end of this year;
• Investments of around €443 million are expected this year for the Food Tech industry. Food Tech is one of the few industries to see a steady increase in funding volume and rounds every year;
• 59% less funding is expected for the Enterprise Software industry, ending the year with significantly less funding than in 2021.

Read the full report here for more information on the European tech startup ecosystem.

SeedBlink’s impact on the ecosystem

SeedBlink, the co-investing platform for European tech startups, has mobilized €150 million in ambitious companies. For their 3 years anniversary, the pan-European investment alternative has released an Annual Report in collaboration with Horvath consulting, an analysis of market trends, key players, and the platform impact in CEE and Europe.

"We believe SeedBlink offers a great product that allows individual investors to benefit from the value created by tech startups. These startups are at the forefront of innovation and can bring new technologies, business models, and approaches to the market. Given our competencies, we are in a strong position to help SeedBlink and its community of investors and we are looking forward to 2023."

Constantin Pelehra, Senior Project Manager at Horváth & Partners Management Consultants

The biggest rounds raised this year on SeedBlink included Druid, Brio, Finqware from Romania, and CEE startups such as Alcatraz AI (Bulgaria), Brainhero (Austria), Hunch (Serbia), PD Neurotechnologies (Greece). In 2022, SeedBlink consolidated its infrastructure and expanded its presence in Central and Eastern Europe (opened offices in Bulgaria, and Greece) and Benelux (through the acquisition of Symbid). In Greece, SeedBlink mobilized €16.8 million while in Bulgaria the amount is €2.69 million.

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About SeedBlink  

SeedBlink is a tech-specialized venture investment platform that enables business leaders to fund top-tier European tech startups and scale-ups alongside established institutional investors. SeedBlink’s mission is to build an efficient investment infrastructure for individual and institutional investors to work together to fund innovative European technology companies.  

SeedBlink Crowd SA is registered in the Register of the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), under number PJR28FSFPR/400001 as of 03.11.2022 and after, authorization passported in the EU.

About Horvath

Horváth, an independent German consultancy firm, with the aim of supporting investors with special reports, detailed analysis of the European tech investment ecosystem, and specific projects, providing better knowledge for decision-making. Horváth has offices in 8 countries and over 1,100 consultants with in-depth knowledge across different industries and top-level subject matter expertise in all company functions – with a focus on performance management and transformation. More info at https://www.horvath-partners.com/