From mega-rounds to early-stage deals, Europe had a strong start to the year
Anna Heim
8 hours
VC funding into Europe (including the U.K.) was up in the first quarter of 2022, CB Insights and Crunchbase data show. In other words, the region escaped the global quarter-on-quarter slowdown in startup investment.
But Europe isn’t the only place where VC funding didn’t decline. As we noted earlier this week, this was also the case in Africa – unlike the U.S., Asia, and Latin America. But Europe’s situation is perhaps more curious; after all, it is the closest to Russia and its war on Ukraine.
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It is also worth noting that Europe accounts for a much larger portion of global funding than Africa. As we reported, African startups only accounted for a 2% deal share last quarter, while their European counterparts typically account for one-fifth of global activity, both in terms of funding and deal volume. Q1 2022 was no different in that regard.
Do the quarterly numbers perhaps simply reflect activity that peaked in January, or even at the very tail end of 2021, when announcements were delayed by the holiday break? It is certainly a possibility. …
