Report: AI startups took 32% of European VC funding in 2025

In short: Recent reports put AI startups at about 32% of European venture capital funding in 2025, not clearly “more than a third.”

What's going on

A claim circulating in coverage of Europe’s startup market says that more than a third of European venture capital deals in 2025 were in AI related companies, and that the total market was €66.2 billion. Based on available reports, those exact figures are not confirmed.

Nexatech Ventures reports that artificial intelligence and machine learning companies captured 32% of all European VC funding in 2025. Venture capital, or VC, is money investors put into young companies that are trying to grow fast (like giving a small business a big boost in exchange for a future payoff).

Separately, a 2026 tech outlook citing PitchBook data says “deep tech” made up 36% of European VC funding. Deep tech is a broad bucket for science and engineering heavy startups, and it often overlaps with AI, but it is not the same thing.

The same outlook also points to other Europe focused signals, like many AI founders choosing to stay in Europe and later stage funding rounds driving a lot of activity. It also mentions public support, including a €307.3 million allocation under the EU’s Horizon Europe program in January 2026.

What to watch

Expect continued debate about the exact size of Europe’s 2025 VC market and how much went specifically to AI. The big thing to watch is whether funding keeps shifting toward “AI-native” startups, meaning companies built around AI from the start and often powered by their own unique data (like having a private library no one else can copy).

Source: Financial Times