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