Public money is still one of Europe’s secret weapons in tech. From helping early-stage startups get off the ground to backing bigger rounds alongside private capital, public funds continue to de-risk innovation and fuel competitiveness.
This quarterly ranking highlights the public funds that made the most bets — either with equity, debt or grant funding — on European tech startups this quarter. Sifted tracked all publicly announced deals in 2024 and contacted the funds to verify their activity. 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
29
Early, Growth, Late
2013
Public fund
23
Early, Growth
2019
Public fund
21
Early, Growth
2021
Public fund
13
Early, Growth
1977
Public fund
7
Early
2017
Public fund
5
Early, Growth
2020
Public fund
5
Early, Growth, Late
2014
Public fund
5
Early
2008
Public fund
5
Early, Growth
1958
Public fund
5
Early, Growth
1975
Public fund
4
Early, Growth
1982
Public fund
4
Early, Growth
2001
Public fund
4
Early
1991
Public fund
3
Early, Growth, Late
2018
Public fund
3
Early, Growth
1998
Public fund
3
Early, Growth
2023
Public fund
3
Early, Growth
2007
Public fund
3
Early, Growth
2021
Public fund
3
Early, Growth
1974
Public fund
3
Early, Growth
2002
Public fund
3
Early
2024
Public fund
2
Early, Growth
2018
Public fund
2
Early, Growth
2018
Public fund
2
Early
2023
Public fund
2
Early
2017
Public fund
2
Early, Growth
2003
Public fund
2
Early
2009
Public fund
2
Early, Growth
2006
Public fund
2
Early, Growth
1932
Public fund
2
Early, Growth, Late
2018
Public fund