European and UK Venture Funding Reaches New Highs

Preliminary data puts European startup investment at a record €11.5B in H1 2026, while UK startups raised £5.1B in the first nine months and £2B in Q3 rounds of at least £50M. AI-related businesses accounted for nearly three-quarters of the UK large-round total; defence and deeptech strengthened while fintech weakened. Fewer companies received funding, and investor survey intentions are not actual flows.