Down rounds, corrections, and adjustments.
Venture capital firm Atomico had just released its annualState of European Tech report.
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This time around, the focus was much more on the challenges rather than the successes.
In the aftermath of lockdowns, however, companies saw that rapid fire growth stall.
Speedinvest primarily invests in early-stage funding rounds.
For VCs hoping to raise new funds from limited partners, that could be a good sign.
Anette Nordvall, partner at Butterfly Ventures, said that raising its most recent fund was difficult.
The generative AI craze of the last year has seized the attention of investors.
Eleven AI companies raised megarounds of above 100 million in 2023, according to Atomicos report.
Investors are clearly hoping to hitch their wagons to the futures brightest technology.
Thats good news if youre an AI startup but perhaps not if youre in a different field.
Nothacker said that sennder is now focused on reaching profitability.
Its tough to raise money.
Speedinvests Schwarzenbrunner said that climate tech is front of mind for investors too.
Similarly, the figures in Atomicos report bear this out.
These companies will need a lot more money to realise the potential of their businesses, Schwarzenbrunner explained.
Schwarzenbrunner leads much of Speedinvests climate-related investments.
Contrarian Ventures, another climate investor, is raising a 100 million fund.
Theres a lot of capital and there are a lot of new climate funds investing.
I think it will be a very critical, very key topic for Europe, Schwarzenbrunner stated.
He expects more startups to emerge in Europe aimed at tackling these industries.
Wait and see on tech IPOs
Going public remains elusive.
One investor told TNW that the vibe around IPO markets is wait and see.
The reality today is that companies will still list in the US, Wehmeier said.
Companies that are moving into an IPO, they need to do their homework, he said.
As we said before, like moving into profitability, reducing cost, etcetera.
Be ready when the window opens.
Im not sure if this is so soon but it will come.
Europes tech ecosystem believes the worst of the storm has now passed.
