Europe’s hottest tech funding rounds of 2024: Which startups raised the highest funding?

In 2024, Europe’s startup ecosystem recorded 6,316 funding rounds totaling $39.5 billion, marking a decline from $42.8 billion in 2023 and $62.2 billion in 2022. Despite this downturn, the European startup landscape continues to thrive, with AI proving to be a transformative force across industries such as defense technology, food tech, and retail.

Tech Funding News explored the year’s most notable funding rounds that stood out in this dynamic ecosystem. Here’s a closer look at the highlights!

Verkor

Founders: Benoit Lemaignan, Christophe Mille, Sylvain Paineau, Philippe Chain, Gilles Moreau, Olivier Dufour
Founded: 2020
Raised in 2024: €1.3 billion

Verkor, founded in July 2020 in Grenoble, France, is committed to accelerating low-carbon battery production to meet Europe’s increasing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and support the continent’s ecological transition. The company aims to become a leading manufacturer of sustainable batteries, reducing reliance on external suppliers and bolstering local production capabilities.

Technologically, Verkor focuses on developing battery cells with silicon-based anodes, which provide higher energy density and longer lifespans compared to traditional graphite-based anodes. Additionally, the company has introduced the Verkor Cell platform, designed for faster charging and enhanced energy efficiency.

In May 2024, Verkor secured over €1.3 billion in green financing from Societe Generale, Natixis, ING Group, La Banque Postale, and Banco Santander. This funding will drive the construction of Verkor’s first gigafactory in Dunkirk, France. With an initial capacity of 16 GWh, the facility will produce batteries for up to 300,000 electric vehicles annually, furthering the company’s vision of sustainable energy solutions.

Also read: USA biggest tech funding rounds of 2024: Which startups raised highest funding?

Nebius

Founder: Arkady Volozh
Founded: 2024
Raised in 2024: €667 million

Nebius, established in 2024 as a spinout from Yandex, is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company was created to meet the rising demand for AI infrastructure and services, with a vision to become a leader in this fast-evolving market.

Nebius focuses on developing an AI-centric cloud platform tailored for intensive AI workloads. It provides developers with the computing power, storage, managed services, and tools necessary to train, develop, and deploy their models effectively. To support its growth, the company is expanding its infrastructure by building new data centers across Europe and the United States and leveraging co-location facilities to rapidly scale capacity.

In December 2024, Nebius secured €667 million in funding from Accel, NVIDIA, and Orbis Investment Management. This investment will fuel the development of its full-stack AI infrastructure, including constructing large-scale GPU clusters and enhancing its cloud platforms to better serve the AI ecosystem.

Mistral AI

Founders: Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample, Timothée Lacroix
Founded: 2023
Raised in 2024: $643 million

Mistral AI, established in April 2023 in Paris, was founded by Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample, and Timothée Lacroix to offer open-source AI models as an alternative to industry giants like OpenAI and Google. The company aims to create efficient, cost-effective AI systems that prioritize community engagement and transparency.

Mistral AI’s models feature a mixed transformer architecture designed for producing clear, context-aware text. They incorporate the innovative Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture, as seen in their Mixtral 8x7B and Mixtral 8x22B models. This architecture selectively activates parts of the model during operation, optimizing both efficiency and performance.

In 2024, Mistral AI raised $643 million in Series B funding, elevating its valuation to $6 billion. The funding round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Nvidia, Salesforce, and Andreessen Horowitz. This investment underscores growing confidence in Mistral AI’s potential to rival established players, particularly in the open-source language model space.

Odoo

Founder: Fabien Pinckaers
Founded: 2002
Raised in 2024: €500 million

Odoo, initially established as TinyERP by Fabien Pinckaers in 2002, adopted its current name in 2014. The company specializes in developing open-source business management software designed to streamline operations and enhance efficiency for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Odoo’s mission is to make robust business tools accessible to organizations of all sizes.

The platform offers a comprehensive suite of applications, enabling businesses to manage CRM, accounting, inventory, and more within a single, integrated system. This is made possible through its three-tier architecture, which separates presentation, business logic, and data storage, ensuring scalability and flexibility.

In November 2024, Odoo secured €500 million in a secondary capital transaction, achieving a valuation of €5 billion. The funding round was led by CapitalG and Sequoia Capital, with participation from BlackRock, Mubadala Investment Company, HarbourVest Partners, AVP, and Alkeon. This investment underscores Odoo’s growing influence in the business management software market.

Poolside AI

Founders: Jason Warner, Eiso Kant
Founded: 2023
Raised in 2024: $500 million

Founded in Paris by Jason Warner, former CTO of GitHub, and Eiso Kant, a serial entrepreneur and founder of software analytics firm Athenian, Poolside AI aims to revolutionize software development by leveraging artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and accessibility.

The startup introduced Reinforcement Learning from Code Execution Feedback (RLCEF), an innovative method that enables its AI models to continuously learn and improve through developer interactions. With the capability to process 10,000 code executions per minute and support one million container images, Poolside AI showcases exceptional performance in enterprise-grade environments.

In collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Poolside AI deploys its models on platforms such as Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) and Amazon Bedrock. This partnership allows enterprise clients to customize Poolside’s generative AI assistant with their data while ensuring robust security and privacy compliance.

In October 2024, Poolside AI raised $500 million at a $3 billion valuation. The funding round was led by Adams Street Partners, with participation from eBay, HSBC, Redpoint, StepStone, DST Global, Bain Capital Ventures, Felicis, Citi Ventures, Nvidia, Premji Invest, StepStone Group, Capital One Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, Fin Capital, Schroders Capital, Motier Ventures, and BAM Elevate. This capital will be used to refine Poolside’s proprietary AI algorithms, expand its capabilities, and drive innovation in software development.

New AmsterdamPharma

Founders: Michael Davidson, John Kastelein
Founded: 2019
Raised in 2024: $453 million

NewAmsterdam Pharma, established in 2019 and operating from the Netherlands and the US, was founded by Michael Davidson and John Kastelein—both renowned experts in lipidology and cardiovascular disease research. The company is dedicated to enhancing patient care in areas where existing treatments are either ineffective or poorly tolerated.

NewAmsterdam Pharma’s flagship product, Obicetrapib (TA-8995), is a novel cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor. The drug is designed to lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and is particularly aimed at patients with Artery-Sclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) and Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH).

In December 2024, NewAmsterdam Pharma raised $453 million through an upsized public offering. The offering included ordinary shares and pre-funded warrants, generating $452.6 million in net proceeds after underwriting discounts and expenses. This capital will be instrumental in advancing the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials for Obicetrapib, supporting its goal of becoming a leading therapy for patients with elevated LDL-C levels.

Helsing

Founders: Dr. Gundbert Scherf, Niklas Köhler, Torsten Reil
Founded: 2021
Raised in 2024: €450 million

Helsing, a Munich-based startup founded in 2021 by Dr. Gundbert Scherf, Niklas Köhler, and Torsten Reil, aims to revolutionize defence technology through artificial intelligence. The company’s mission is to enhance national security and safeguard democratic societies by providing cutting-edge AI-powered military systems.

Helsing’s flagship system integrates data from diverse sensors such as electro-optical, infrared, and sonar, along with inputs from military assets like drones and fighter jets. It generates real-time visualizations of battlefield scenarios, enabling armed forces to make faster and more accurate decisions.

Recently, Helsing introduced the HX-2, a strike drone equipped with advanced onboard AI. This drone is designed for mass production and features swarm capabilities, electronic warfare resistance, and autonomous operation, all while ensuring human oversight.

In July 2024, Helsing raised €450 million in a Series C funding round. The investment was led by Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners, and Greenoaks Capital Partner, with participation from Saab Automobile, Elad Gil, and Plural. The funding will accelerate the development of Helsing’s AI-driven technologies, enhancing the performance of drones, fighter jets, and other defence systems.

Picnic

Founders: Michiel Muller, Frederik Nieuwenhuys, Bas Verheijen, Joris Beckers
Founded: 2015
Raised in 2024: €355 million

Picnic, a Dutch online grocery startup founded in 2015, set out to revolutionize grocery shopping by providing an app-based delivery service. The company identified a significant market gap, as only 1.5% of grocery shopping was online when Picnic launched.

The startup leverages AI to optimize logistics and delivery. Advanced algorithms plan delivery routes by grouping neighborhood orders, reducing delivery times and costs. Additionally, Picnic’s AI-driven demand forecasting ensures product availability while minimizing waste.

In January 2024, Picnic secured €355 million in funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust and Edeka, Germany’s largest supermarket group. The investment will bolster Picnic’s delivery infrastructure, enabling the acquisition of new electric delivery vehicles and the expansion of its network, all while maintaining its focus on sustainability.

Vinted

Founders: Milda Mitkutė, Justas Janauskas
Founded: 2008
Raised in 2024: €340 million

Vinted, co-founded in 2008 in Vilnius, Lithuania, by Milda Mitkutė and Justas Janauskas, emerged from Milda’s realization during a move to a smaller apartment that she had many unused clothes. What began as a platform to share clothes with friends quickly expanded into a thriving online marketplace for second-hand fashion.

The company’s tech stack integrates web and mobile development frameworks with AI-driven features to deliver a seamless and secure user experience. This approach has positioned Vinted as a key player in the circular fashion economy, emphasizing sustainability and community engagement.

In 2024, Vinted completed a €340 million secondary share sale at a €5 billion valuation. The funding round, led by TPG and joined by Hedosophia, Baillie Gifford, Invus Opportunities, FJ Labs, Manhattan Venture Partners, and Moore Strategic Ventures, will help Vinted expand into new markets, solidify its current operations, and enhance logistics and operational efficiency.

Electra

Founders: Aurélien de Meaux, Augustin Derville, Julien Belliato
Founded: 2021
Raised in 2024: €304 million

ELECTRA, founded in Paris in 2021 by Aurélien de Meaux, Augustin Derville, and Julien Belliato, focuses on developing a network of ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across major cities in France and Europe. The founders identified a key gap in the availability of reliable, quick charging infrastructure as the transition to electric vehicles accelerates.

ELECTRA’s charging stations offer rapid charging, allowing EVs to recharge in approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The company provides a fully digital customer experience through a mobile app for booking charging points, tracking progress, and handling payments seamlessly.

In January 2024, ELECTRA raised €304 million in Series B funding from Bpifrance, Eurazeo, Serena, Rive Private Investment, PGGM Investments, and 574 Invest. The funds will help install 2,200 ultra-fast charging stations, with 15,000 charging points across Europe by 2030.

Deepl

Founder: Jarosław Kutyłowski
Founded: 2017
Raised in 2024: €300 million

DeepL, based in Cologne, was founded in 2017 by Jarosław Kutyłowski, the creator of Linguee, a multilingual dictionary and translation search engine. The company’s goal is to offer a superior translation service that outperforms competitors like Google Translate.

DeepL utilizes neural machine translation techniques, combined with high-quality data and user-centric design, to deliver highly accurate translations. Its advanced algorithms and contextual understanding ensure precision for both individual users and businesses.

In May 2024, DeepL raised €300 million in Series B funding, valuing the company at $2 billion. The round was led by Index Ventures, with ICONIQ Growth, Teachers’ Venture Growth, and existing investors IVP, Atomico, and WiL also participating. The funds will be used to strengthen its market presence, enhance R&D, and expand its enterprise client base.