Europe's median VC round swells as investors target larger deals

European venture deals continue to swell as investors focus increasingly on more mature startups and existing portfolio companies.

In H1, the median deal size reached €2.1 million (about $2.3 million), according to PitchBook's Q2 2023 European Venture Report, up from €2 million in 2022.  
As investment in European startups has fallen this year, VC investors are trending toward larger deals. Rounds under €1 million have seen their percentage of overall deal count decline while those over €5 million have increased their share.

Furthermore, some 70.4% of European VC deals were follow-on rounds, the highest percentage since 2020. Both venture growth and late-stage rounds have increased their share of deal activity at the expense of the angel and seed stage investments.

But while the median deal size is increasing, mega-rounds in Europe have had a significant drop with only 31 closing in H1 compared with 176 last year. At the current pace, the number of mega-deals will return to pre-pandemic levels.

Among the biggest mega-rounds this year is wellness testing company YgEia3's $750 million investment raised from undisclosed investors. Grocery delivery company Getir closed a $768 million Series E led by Mubadala Investment Company, while retail platform Cacashop.com secured $500 million in a round led by Goldman Sachs.

Featured image by alfexe/Getty Images

This article originally appeared on PitchBook News