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Innovation
idea + capital
Funding is the lifeblood of innovation, turning bold ideas into reality. Without capital, groundbreaking technologies, transformative business models, and industry disruptors struggle to take off.
Investment fuels research, accelerates product development, and enables startups to scale, bringing new solutions to market.
In a fast-moving world, sustained funding ensures continuous progress, keeping innovation alive.
Female-founded companies in Europe raised
of venture capital funding in 2025
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5.76B
Total venture capital investment into female-founded companies has fallen but the decline is consistent with the overall market trend
Total venture capital invested (€B) into female-founded companies
Europe
48.8
48.8
88.4
54.5
43.1
104.7
4.52
11.04
9.08
6.56
5.76
Data source: Dealroom
5.76
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
12%
€48.8B
Capital raised by female-founded companies in 2025 represents 12% of €48.8B venture capital raised by all European companies
% of venture capital raised by female-founded companies to the total venture capital raised by European companies
Europe 2025
Data source: Dealroom
€48.8B
12%
€54.5B
€88.4B
€104.7B
€43.1B
Proportion of venture capital raised by female-founded companies is on the rise
% of venture capital raised by female-founded companies compared to the total venture capital raised
Europe 2020 to 2025
10%
10%
10%
12%
Data source: Dealroom
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
€48.8B
12%
More Seed stage female-founded companies reach Series A than the broader startup population
Cumulative share of companies that raised capital at subsequent funding stages
Europe
female-founded
European average
100%
18%
7%
3%
2%
Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D
100%
20%
7%
3%
2%
Data source: Dealroom
Proportionally female-founded companies are equally successful in raising VC funding as the overall company population
% of companies in a specific category that raised venture capital relative to the total number of companies in that category
Europe
female-founded
European average
5.9%
5.9%
7.9%
9.2%
11.1%
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
5.6%
5.6%
7.5%
9.9%
11.3%
Data source: Dealroom
'We bootstrapped for two years. It was a painful process, but selling to international enterprises from day one showed our investors not only that our AI was best-in-class, but also that it was already validated by early customers.'
Sara Jourdan, Genow.AI
Germany
Raised €1.65M in August
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The vast majority of ecosystem players believe that access to funding is essential for driving innovation
Do you believe that access to funding impacts a company's ability to innovate?
Yes
I don't know
No
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91%
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3%
Add a Title
6%
Source: Female Innovation Index Survey 2026
Add later
What key characteristics do you believe define successful founders right now?
Learning agility
Speed of execution & adaptability
Ability to recruit & retain top talent
Deep domain expertise
Focus on defensibility
Creative problem-solving
Resilience under uncertainty
Strong product mindset
Technical expertise
Clarity of vision
Source: Female Innovation Index Survey 2026
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72%
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51%
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29%
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23%
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21%
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14%
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13%
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10%
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4%
angel investors
VC investors
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60%
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34%
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33%
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19%
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20%
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22%
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12%
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13%
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0%
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4%
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0%
'We remain committed to investing in female founders and over 30% of our new investments had a female founder in 2024.
To support our efforts and dealflow, we have fund of fund investments in diverse Micro-GP funds alongside running our own female-founder retreats while engaging in many female-founder events.'
Marie-Helene Ametsreiter
General Partner
Speedinvest
The number of female-founded companies in Europe
that raised venture capital funding in 2025
1196
by female-founded companies in Europe in 2025
1305
The number of financing rounds raised
Data source: Dealroom
Fewer female-founded companies received funding and raised fewer rounds than last year, reflecting broader market trends
Number of female-founded companies that received funding, number of rounds raised
Europe
1878
2428
2200
1726
1305
1656
2125
1959
1589
1196
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
rounds
companies
Data source: Dealroom
1305
1196
2020
The number of unique investors backing female-founded startups remains strong
Number of unique investors that have participated in at least one investment round of a female-founded company
Europe
Data source: Dealroom
1299
2020
2255
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2369
2177
1884
1884
'The speed of our execution is our advantage. We’re a lean, capital-efficient team, able to iterate far faster than larger players. We test rapidly, keep what works, and immediately drop what doesn’t. That discipline lets us build a business that’s not only capital efficient, but also competitive.'
Simi Launay, Litehaus
Portugal
€1.46M in April
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Both venture capital and angel investors see more female-founded companies leveraging emerging technologies in their dealflow
Thinking about your dealflow, what change in the number of female-founded companies have you seen in the past 12 months?
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10%
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40%
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42%
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9%
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0%
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6%
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47%
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36%
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11%
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0%
angel investors
VC investors
Significantly more
More
No change
Fewer
Significantly fewer
Source: Female Innovation Index Survey 2026
Angel investors spend more time seeking investment opportunities in female-founded companies
Compared to 12 months ago, have you been allocating more or less time to actively seek investment opportunities in female-founded companies?
51%
of angel investors are spending more or significantly more time seeking female-founded dealflow
Source: Female Innovation Index Survey 2026
40%
of venture capital investors are spending more or significantly more time seeking female-founded dealflow
'Alignment on vision with VCs is essential, especially at an early stage. If investors don’t buy your vision, they won’t invest. We’re happy we found full alignment.'
Ariane Scheer-Danielsson, TrustNXT
Germany
Raised €1.6M in September
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VC and angel investors see higher-quality female-founded companies in their dealflow
How does the average quality of deal flow of female-founded companies compare with that of last year?
angel investors
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6%
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47%
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38%
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9%
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0%
VC investors
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6%
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40%
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51%
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3%
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0%
Significantly higher
Higher
No change
Lower
Significantly lower
Source: Female Innovation Index Survey 2026
The majority of female founders prioritise alignment of vision when choosing investors, while early-stage founders value existing relationships
Why did you choose your latest investor(s)?
female founders
Existing relationship
Alignment of vision
Industry expertise
Investor reputation
Size of investment
Deal terms
Follow-on capability
Operational support
Diverse team
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31%
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27%
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24%
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15%
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13%
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11%
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11%
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11%
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2%
Source: Female Innovation Index Survey 2026
early
growth
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10%
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46%
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20%
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30%
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13%
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12%
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24%
Add a Title
10%
Add a Title
2%
'We were fortunate to find true-believer investors. We had only a proof of concept, not a fully functioning product. They backed us because they believed in our strategy and our conviction in solving a major market gap.'
Katya Kinane, Nettle
United Kingdom
Raised €1.7M in April
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89%
11%
Early-stage female founders raised
in venture capital in 2025
0.66B
in venture capital in 2025
5.1B
Growth-stage female founders raised
Note: Early-stage defined as up to €5M in total funding, growth-stage as €5M+ in total funding.
Data source: Dealroom
The number of female-founded Seed/Pre-Seed companies receiving funding significantly declines
Number of European female-founded companies backed at early and growth stages
Europe
Seed/Pre-Seed
Series A+
391
2038
369
1834
307
1419
251
1054
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Data source: Dealroom
251
1054
Early-stage venture capital investment in female-founded companies is down, Series C holds steady, mega rounds see an increase in capital invested
Total venture capital invested (€B) into female-founded companies by stage
Europe
244
187
135
95
95
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Data source: Dealroom
The number of funding rounds for female-founded companies declines at most stages, bigger rounds remain resilient, with mega-rounds growing
Total number of investments into female-founded companies by stage
Europe
1598
1359
1027
784
784
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Data source: Dealroom
Investment deal size for female-founded companies is growing, with an average increase of 7% across all stages from last year
Median size (€M) of venture capital deals into female-founded companies by stage
Europe
2
2
2
2
2
1.9
2
1.8
2
2
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
female-founded
European average
Data source: Dealroom
'Deep tech requires funding, regulatory clarity, networks, mentoring, training, shared facilities, and an ecosystem that understands results take time. Innovation can only scale when all these elements align and support the long path from research to real-world impact.'
Gordana Djordjevic, Arsenale Bioyards
Italy
Raised €8.6M in February
The time to close a funding round shortens for both early- and growth-stage female founders
How long did it take you to close your latest financing round?
4.6 months
the time it took early-stage female founders to close their latest financing round in 2025
4.6 months
the time it took early-stage female founders to close their latest financing round in 2024
Source: Female Innovation Index Survey 2026
5.8 months
the time it took growth-stage female founders to close their latest financing round in 2025
5.8 months
the time it took growth-stage female founders to close their latest financing round in 2024
Slow fundraising pace is the top challenge for early and growth-stage founders
What investor support would you find most valuable?
female founders
Slow fundraising pace
Gaining investor traction
Managing workload
Meeting investor expectations
Dealing with rejections
Managing cashflow
Lack of investor feedback
Complexity of due diligence
Managing team dynamics
Source: Female Innovation Index Survey 2026
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51%
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35%
Add a Title
32%
Add a Title
28%
Add a Title
20%
Add a Title
17%
Add a Title
16%
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10%
Add a Title
4%
early
growth
Add a Title
39%
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23%
Add a Title
41%
Add a Title
20%
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5%
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22%
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12%
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17%
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7%
'We’re an interdisciplinary company — not only bioinformaticians who code, but also physicians, geneticists, and molecular biologists. We stay very close to the everyday struggles of people working in the lab to keep everything practical and applicable.'
Klaudia Szklarczyk-Smolana, Intelliseq
Poland
Raised €4.5M in January
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Coming up
idea + capital + scale
Who are the visionary founders shaping Europe's innovation landscape? What does it take to reach the peak of the innovation funnel?
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