Europe’s merger and acquisition activity also experienced a boost in the first quarter, with that momentum continuing into Q2.
New data from Crunchbase has shown that in Q2 of 2026, European start-ups reported the strongest quarter in four years for venture funding. The region’s start-ups raised roughly $24bn in Q2, with figures having risen by a third, quarter on quarter and two-thirds higher than the $14.4bn during the same period in 2025.
Europe’s merger and acquisition activity was also shown to be improving steadily. Despite public market exits remaining subdued, in Q1 mergers and acquisitions picked up, with the momentum moving on into the second quarter.
The UK in particular was found to have had a successful second quarter for VC funding, as start-ups based in the region raised $10.4bn. This figure is not too far off the UK’s peak of $10.8bn in 2021 and also marks the third-largest funding quarter for the UK on record.
Other countries with a strong start-up performance for the quarter include Germany, which trailed behind the UK with $3.2bn, France with $2.4bn and Sweden with $2bn.
