Venture capital investment in Southern Europe is often overshadowed by the continent's biggest economies, yet countries like Spain and Italy have made strides in building up their startup ecosystems.

In the first six months of the year, Southern European startups raised €3 billion across 416 deals, according to PitchBook data. The region is on pace with last year in terms of capital raised—in H1 2021, €2.7 billion was invested—but a harsher fundraising environment for startups could see activity fall short of last year's record.
   
The increased activity demonstrates that VCs are casting a wider geographical net and finding promising tech startups. With close ties to Latin America, a high-caliber talent pool and robust domestic investment programs, the region has been producing more unicorns and larger rounds in the past year.

VC activity in the region remains concentrated, with Italy and Spain accounting for 80% of capital invested and 87.7% of deal count in H1. Lesser-known hubs like Greece and Malta have performed particularly well so far this year with the former already surpassing last year's total amount raised.

Here's a snapshot of the Southern European venture ecosystem that explores the data behind dealmaking, fundraising and exit activity.

Featured image of Madrid by Gustavo's photos/Getty Images

This article originally appeared on PitchBook News