HumanX and Crunchbase say European AI startups raised $23bn in first half, with 73 per cent of capital going to 38 companies

Artificial intelligence startups attracted more than half of all European venture capital in the first six months of 2026 as investors poured record sums into a small number of fast-growing companies.

European AI firms raised US$23bn (£17bn) between January and June, up 130 per cent on the same period last year, according to the 2026 European AI Economy Report from HumanX and Crunchbase.

The total accounted for 55 per cent of all venture capital invested in European startups during the period.

Six companies raised more than US$1bn each, including autonomous driving developer Wayve and Alphabet-owned drug discovery business Isomorphic Labs.

Stefan Weitz, co-founder and chief executive of HumanX, said: “If the AI story was supposed to be a two-horse race, Europe didn’t get the memo.

“$23 billion is flowing straight into the industries Europe already leads: robotics, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, defense. This is a continent betting on its own strengths.”

The report, published today, also found funding was heavily concentrated, with 73 per cent of all AI investment going to just 38 companies that each raised more than US$100m.

The UK remained Europe’s biggest AI investment market, attracting US$12bn – more than half of all European AI funding. Germany raised US$3.5bn, followed by France on US$2.9bn.

Despite the investment boom, startups with at least one female founder secured just 10 per cent of the capital raised, although they accounted for 18 per cent of completed AI funding deals since 2023.

Gené Teare, senior research lead at Crunchbase, said: “European startups are increasingly competitive globally, especially in sectors where AI builds on the region’s longstanding industrial and scientific strengths.

“We’ve seen historic capital flow into European AI startups in the first half, with some concentration in frontier labs.”

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