Fundraising and exit expectations recovering

VC exit outlook sentiment up 53 percentage points since early 2025, fundraising +31 PPs
Innovation, investment ops and founder ambition most favourable elements of the EU market

Brussels, Belgium, 8 October 2025 - Invest Europe, the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors, as well as their investors, has collaborated with European Investment Fund, Europe’s largest venture capital investor, to release the EIF Equity Survey 2025. The study takes the pulse of PE and VCs operating in Europe and finds an improvement in current market sentiment versus 2024 levels, as well as a recovery in future expectations, particularly for fundraising and exits, compared with early 2025 when the threat of tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty swept through markets.

VC sentiment around the current fundraising and exit climate remain negative, yet perceptions for exits have improved by 13 percentage points versus earlier this year, while fundraising perceptions are up 9 percentage points on 2024 levels. Views on current valuations, new investments and deal flow were all positive and up on early 2025 levels. Looking forward, expectations around all measures of VC activity were strongly positive, with fundraising expectations up 31 percentage points since early 2025 and exit expectations up 53 percentage points. Deal flow was the most strongly positive indicator among GPs, up 21 percentage points.
Almost one-third of respondents cited fundraising as the most significant challenge, followed by scale-up financing, highlighted by 16% of GPs. Two-thirds of GPs said that fragmented markets were the key or a major obstacle to scale-up financing, followed by access to capital, and risk appetite. Access to talent was not considered a key issue.

The survey included the US GP opinions, enabling for the first time comparisons of investors’ views on the strengths and weaknesses of the European VC ecosystem. While all respondents highlighted the European innovation and technology ecosystem, attractive investment opportunities, and founder ambition as the most favourable elements of the EU market, 35% of US & other non-European fund managers pointed to government-backed funding programmes, while 43% pointed to market size and 28% to attractiveness of valuations.

On the negative side, US GPs were aligned with the broader view, as approximately 60% of GPs highlighted the exit environment as the EU’s main weakness. A majority also considered the tax regime to be a weakness of Europe, while US VCs were critical of access to scale-up funding. As a result, the presence of US VCs among a start-up’s investors was seen influencing company management decisions to relocate to the US to access more funding and a better exit environment.

The survey also looked at all GPs’ opinions of the US VC market. While market size, founder ambition and access to capital were cited as significant strengths by over three-quarters of GPs, the US political situation and regulatory predictability were viewed as the main weaknesses.

Marjut Falkstedt, EIF Chief Executive, commented:

“We are delighted that the market environment for innovative startups is brightening. As innovative companies in Europe seek to scale up and internationalise, our goal is to help them along this path, with financial backing in the right volumes, in the right form and at the right time.”

Eric de Montgolfier, CEO of Invest Europe, added:

“The EU has a strong innovation ecosystem and is creating attractive investment opportunities, while the US market is beset by political and regulatory uncertainty. The EU has a golden opportunity to improve conditions for raising capital and scaling dynamic businesses. The result can be a stronger, more competitive, and more sovereign Europe that can create and keep its start-ups and scale-ups here on the continent.”

The EIF and Invest Europe’s Equity Survey 2025 explores the sectors that VCs in the EU are supporting compared with their US peers. While AI was the leading sector in which VCs intend to increase exposure, US GPs had greater appetite than EU GPs, and also greater focus on software. EU GPs had more focus on deep tech and cleantech, as well as defence technologies and agriculture investments.

The survey featured responses from 1,201 GPs in Europe and the US. Over three-quarters of participants operate across VC and growth, while a minority are active in mid-market buyouts and other private equity.

Click here to read the report in full.

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Invest Europe is the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors, as well as their investors. We have over 650 members, split roughly equally between private equity, venture capital and limited partners – with some 110 associate members representing advisers to our ecosystem. Those members are based in 57 countries, including 42 in Europe, and manage 60% of the European private equity and venture capital industry’s €1.25 trillion of assets under management. Businesses with private capital investment employ 11.2 million people across Europe, 5% of the region’s workforce.

Disclaimer: The content is for informational and research purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment guidance, or a solicitation to buy or sell any financial products or services. Invest Europe is a non-profit organisation dedicated to research, policy insights and reputation management. Any references to investment, finance, or related topics are based on specific and verifiable data and presented strictly within a research and educational context.