Startups are still raising — just not always from VCs. As equity rounds get tougher to close, more founders are turning to venture debt and convertible instruments to stretch runway and sidestep dilution.
This quarterly ranking spotlights the 15 most active venture debt players in European tech in Q1 2025 that backed at least two companies with financing. Sifted tracked all publicly announced debt deals in the quarter and contacted lenders to verify their activity. For this list, “debt” includes convertibles.
The count considers investments in European tech startups launched post-2005. For fund focus, we’ve categorised investments as “Early” for deals from pre-seed up to Series A, “Growth” for Series B and C and “Late” for investments from Series D onwards.
This list is updated quarterly and available to Sifted Pro subscribers. Investors are encouraged to fill out this sheet, and submit it to rankings@sifted.eu.
Available to Sifted Pro subscribers
27
Early
2007
Investment firm
8
Early, Growth, Late
1958
Public fund
8
Early, Growth
2015
VC fund
7
Early, Growth
2022
VC fund
7
Early, Growth
2023
Bank
5
Growth
2014
Investment firm
5
Early, Growth
2020
Investment firm
4
Early, Growth
2014
Bank
3
Early, Growth
1991
Bank
3
Early, Growth, Late
2018
Bank
3
Early, Growth, Late
2018
Bank
3
Early, Growth
2017
Bank
2
Early, Growth
2021
VC fund
2
Early, Growth
2022
Bank
2
Growth
1988
Asset manager
2
Early, Growth, Late
2010
Bank