A Close Look at Europe's Biggest Equity Funding Rounds of H1 2025: Healthtech Takes the Lead, While AI Continues its Reign

In the bustling startup scene of Europe, a €23.8bn combined equity funding in H1 2025 shows an inspiring story of resilience and innovation, despite a slight fall from the €26.95bn during the equivalent period last year. Among the funding frenzy of 2,143 deals were 46 mammoth rounds (€100m+), putting the continent on track to match or surpass the 94 significant funding rounds of 2024.

Central to investors’ faith and interest, the domains of Healthtech and AI prove to be a continuing trend. Four of the top ten funding rounds belonged to Healthtech startups, indicative of the three transformative shifts in the industry: the global healthcare system’s growing emphasis on cost-saving through preventative measures, the accelerated adoption of AI to fine-tune processes from diagnosis to drug discovery, and the upsurge in consumer adoption of proactive health management.

Topping the list is the defense AI startup, Helsing, which snagged a colossal €600m in June, more than doubling its valuation from the previous year to a stunning €12bn. Initially known for its battlefield AI software, Helsing has diversified into building strike drones and underwater surveillance systems. The round was generously funded by big names including Spotify cofounder Daniel Ek’s investment firm Prima Materia and Swedish defense giant Saab among others.

Close behind is the AI drug discovery venture, Isomorphic Labs, straight out of the globally recognized AI pioneer, Google DeepMind. Its $600m fundraise in March marks the company’s first external funding round. Accelerating drug discovery using the AlphaFold tech, with an aim to broaden its application to a range of biological targets, it has shown unimaginable potential.

Add another to the AI category, the Swedish data centres company, EcoDataCenter, locked in €450m in March, through its owner Areim. With a focus on sustainable infrastructure, EcoDataCenter, since opening its doors in 2019, has served big-league clients, welcoming AI company DeepL and carmaker BMW.

The list also includes the notable Green Flexibility, a German startup working on large-scale battery systems that stabilize the grid and support the energy transition. With a decade-long experience in the bag, this virtual power plant raised €400m in January, underlining Europe’s push for renewable energy solutions.

And lastly, let’s not forget about Verdiva Bio. Emerging from stealth in January with a monumental $410m Series A, a record-breaking raise for any European startup. Led by Forbion and General Atlantic with other significant players’ participation, the London-based biotech firm has undoubtedly made its mark.

The first half of 2025 underlines the unwavering faith investors have in Europe’s burgeoning startups and the testament to the continent’s tech prowess.