In the first nine months of 2026, European AI startups secured €15.04 billion in Series A–C funding, up from €9.06 billion during the same period in 2025. The number of funding events rose from 203 to 232. Growth was primarily driven by large transactions, with rounds exceeding €88.9 million accounting for 74% of total disclosed funding in 2026, compared to 59% in 2025.
The middle market segment, covering rounds between €22.2 million and €88.9 million, saw its share of total funding drop from 29% to 16%. Meanwhile, smaller rounds under €22.2 million increased in frequency from 108 to 124. Overall funding for all rounds below €88.9 million grew by only 2.7%, reaching €3.86 billion.
Activity increased across all analyzed stages. Series A events grew from 133 to 148, Series B from 51 to 58, and Series C from 19 to 26. Median round sizes rose at every stage, with the most significant increase observed in Series C, where the median grew from €49.3 million to €93.3 million.
Large-scale announcements, such as NEURA Robotics' potential €1.24 billion Series C and Multiverse Computing's target of €500 million, influenced the overall growth figures. Excluding these two transactions, the total funding growth for the sample would have been 47% instead of approximately 66%.
