The European Spinout Report 2025 analyses European value creation and trends in spinouts, highlighting the region’s leading academic institutions, countries, sectors, and founders. Launched by Atlantic.vc, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Dealroom.co, MITO Technology, Northern Gritstone, and Oxford Science Enterprises, it is the first comprehensive analysis of the academic spinout sector across Europe.

The report shows that the UK, Switzerland, France and Germany lead in spinout value creation, related to their size, and Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Nordics created notable value. Four universities lead the way for spinout value creation: the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). The Technical University of Munich (TU Munich) completes the top five.

The report’s key findings include:

• Deeptech and life sciences spinouts from European universities are worth $398  billion, having created over 167,000 jobs across more than 7,300 startups
• Since 2015, value creation has accelerated, with 39% of all spinout value deriving from companies founded thereafter
• 76 deeptech and life sciences spinouts have reached $100 million+ revenues and/or $1 billion+ valuation
• European-based deeptech and life sciences spinouts raised $7.9 billion as of November 2025 and are on track to reach $9.1 billion by year-end, compared with a total of $8.9 billion in 2024
• M&A activity for deeptech and Life sciences spinouts reached its highest level in 2024-2025, while IPOs all but disappeared after 2021
• 2025 is projected to be the second-strongest year for exit value, led by six $1 billion+ exits. Switzerland, UK and German universities made up all six $1 billion+ exits in 2025 among ETH, Oxford, EPFL, and the University of Tübingen
• US corporates and funds acquired most of the spinouts' value, nearly $24 billion since 2019. Acquisitions from European players made up the majority of the count and around ⅓ of the total value. Asia is also a strong exit route, especially to Japan
• European startups focused on quantum, photonics, nuclear, and life sciences have strong links to universities, while defence, space and robotics companies are less likely to be underpinned by academic research
• At the early stage, 86% of the capital for these companies came from within Europe. However, nearly 50% of late-stage funding for European deeptech and life sciences spinouts comes from outside Europe, mainly from the US
• Spinouts have become a larger part of the wider technology ecosystem, accounting for 40% of new deeptech and life sciences startups since 2019, 80% more than 2010-2018

The authors of the report have shared the following recommendations for European Universities to improve the spinout process:

• Establish standardised spinout terms: create guidelines and processes across Europe to improve deal efficiency and transparency of deal terms
• Reform success metrics: introduce a set of parameters more representative of value creation: number of spinouts reaching success milestones ($10 million funding; unicorns, $1 billion+ exits and $100 million+ revenues), combined enterprise value, and total funding raised
• Key support for spinout growth: PoC funding has been identified as key to overcoming the first “Valley of Death” for spinouts, but despite some EU and national programmes, funding availability for universities is limited. Increased funding for universities to run PoC could help significantly boost spinout creation in Europe
• Foster mindset change amongst academics: provide incentives and support to academics who don’t see entrepreneurship as a viable career option alongside academic publication

Yoram Wijngaarde, Founder & CEO, Dealroom.co: "The relationship between university research and innovation-driven entrepreneurship has long been acknowledged. But it has never been truly measurable. This first-of-its-kind report uncovers Europe's top universities, countries and sectors for spinout value creation. It lifts the lid on a crucial and potentially underleveraged part of the ecosystem, bringing transparency to help founders, investors, and policymakers accelerate spinout success. Europe's deeptech and spinout potential is enormous. It's not an exaggeration to say the continent's future security and prosperity rely on creating the optimal conditions for scaling science-backed ventures."

Dr Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner, Cambridge Innovation Capital: “Cambridge is at the forefront of deeptech and life science innovation in Europe and we are proud to be investing in the spinouts that come from the University of Cambridge. Fostering talent and innovation from university academics and championing entrepreneurship will help support Europe’s economic growth by developing the next generation of world-class companies.”

Duncan Johnson, CEO, Northern Gritstone: “The Northern Arc is home to some of the world’s top research-led universities, with more than 16,000 researchers, generating $1 billion in research funding annually. The region forms a crucial part of the UK and Europe’s tech ecosystem, and it’s great to see this reflected in the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield ranking among the top 10 UK universities for value creation. We are proud to be supporting spinouts with roots in the North, helping them scale globally and we are proud to be highlighted in the report as one of the top investors into deeptech and life sciences spinouts”

Prof. Massimiliano Granieri, Managing Director, MITO Technology: “Europe’s scientific ecosystem remains one of our most undervalued strategic assets – a deep reservoir of intellectual capital across deeptech and life sciences. The opportunity now is to translate that excellence into industrial scale and global competitiveness, ensuring Europe commercialises its breakthroughs at home rather than exporting ideas abroad. At MITO Technology, we are deploying capital to accelerate this transition by bridging the critical gap between research and market deployment. Our ambition is to transform Europe’s scientific strength into enduring industrial leadership.”

Christophe Maire, Founder & Managing Partner, Atlantic: "Spinouts are the new publication. Building companies, solving real problems and serving customers with the ambition to become global leaders now trumps publishing in academic journals. Europe’s scientific depth and IP creation have always been world-class. What has improved dramatically is founders’ determination to commercialise it, and the ecosystem ready to support them. At Atlantic, we’re first believers in scientific entrepreneurs venturing into the unknown, turning breakthrough research into tomorrow’s industries.”

Ed Bussey, CEO of Oxford Science Enterprises: "The opportunity to turn Europe's research excellence into world-changing companies is immense. Oxford is a world leading centre of scientific discovery, demonstrating what's possible when pioneering research meets a real commitment to commercialisation. At Oxford Science Enterprises, we are building a new company nearly every month, with a pipeline of over 125 companies attracting major investment and making real commercial progress. The continent's leading universities can unlock trillions in economic value, while strengthening Europe's technological sovereignty and leadership in industries that will define the future global economy."

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