2022 wasn’t 2021 – but it was still the second biggest year on record for interest in European startups outside the continent.
International funds paid out $22.6 billion to European startups in 2022, according to Dealroom data (through December 19), compared to $36.2 billion in 2021 – and just $14.9 billion in 2020 .
The most important reason for the decline was a sharp reduction in the number of “megrounds” signed by international backers (rounds of $250 million or more), which contributed a total of $11.5 billion. external investments in 2021, and only $5.5 billion in 2022.
Early-stage global fund investment volumes were more resilient, recording much smaller declines. This distinction is not a big surprise, given that investors are becoming particularly beware of big bets on later-stage companies, due to the collapse of tech stocks in public markets.
So which global funds have invested the most in European startups this year? Sifted analyzed the data to bring you the top 10 (we didn’t include accelerators like Antler and Techstars, which have teams in multiple regions).
1/ Sequoia
Headquarters: San Francisco, USA
Objective of the fund: Multi-stage general fund.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: 18 (including Estonian rival Uber Bolt and legal start-up Fides)
Sequoia, which opened an office in London in 2020, launched an acceleration program in Europe for start-ups this year. He also built his London-based team, which now includes five partners.
2/ SOSV
HQ: Princeton, United States
Objective of the fund: Multi-stage fund investing in deeptech and “cross-border markets”, particularly in Asia.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: 15
3/ Y Combinator
Headquarters: San Francisco, USA
Objective of the fund: World-renowned accelerator investing $500,000 in early stage startups twice a year, with alumni like Reddit, Airbnb and Stripe.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: 14
Y Combinator was one of just two accelerators invest in European startups that several top VCs told us they rate.
=4/ Flagship cities
Headquarters: Boston, USA
Objective of the fund: Accelerator that funds and incubates startups in government, regulation and smart city technology.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: ten
=4/ Insight Partners
Headquarters: New York, USA
Objective of the fund: Growth-stage funds investing in software companies.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: ten
4=/ Animoca brands
Headquarters: Hong Kong
Objective of the fund: A metaverse-focused fund created following the success of the blockchain game Axie Infinity.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: ten
7/ GSD Venture Studios
HQ: San Francisco, United States
Objective of the fund: Independent industry accelerator supporting companies with global expansion plans.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: 9
8/ Capital Shima
HQ: San Francisco, United States
Objective of the fund: Seed fund supporting crypto and blockchain startups.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: 8
9/ Tencent
HQ: Shenzhen, China
Objective of the fund: The largest video game company in the world, which has invested in more than 800 game companies worldwide.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: 8 (including restaurant ordering software flipdish)
10/ Global emerging markets
HQ: New York, United States
Objective of the fund: Funds investing in private equity and venture capital, primarily in emerging markets.
Number of investments in European startups in 2022: 8
Tim Smith is Sifted Iberia’s correspondent. He tweets from @timmpsmith.
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