What follows is our comparative view of where European tech momentum persisted, strengthened, and what to watch for in the future.

Resilient themes that survived the summer heat

As the summer came to an end and excitement cooled market trends, familiar outlines grew apparent. Most of the same niche markets, such as AI integration, healthcare, and climate innovation, continued to dominate the landscape. If anything, September proved the market's endurance more than redefining its leading players.

AI is in everything now

It should come as no surprise that AI held strong from the summer into September. It has experienced consistent growth across European tech industries, mainly as a key component of the tech stack and not the driving force. Qovery (France, €11.3 million Series A) applied AI to automate various multi-cloud deployment, Orbio AI (Spain, €6.4 million) built an AI-native HCM platform, and Vibe.co (France, €42 million Series B) applied ML to optimise advertising on connected TV performance further. Most investors viewed and treated these innovators as infrastructure plays within their respective verticals, rather than as separate AI developments.

You can see the same AI integrative pattern emerge throughout other European countries. Veezoo (Switzerland, €5 million) integrated agentic analytics into enterprise data tools, Supersonik (Spain, €4.2 million seed led by a16z), MEGA.AI (Denmark, €1.7 million pre-seed) developed conversational AI agents to boost sales and operations, and Light (UK, €25 million) rebuilt financial systems around streamlined AI automation. These examples reflected much of the same activity in September, demonstrating how AI is more of a horizontal layer that is present across all industries, priced rationally, and integrated in daily operations.

Health and climate tech round out market consistency

While AI added horizontal layers of integration, the pillars of the market that remained stable through September were health technologies and climate infrastructure. These are two domains most European investors feel comfortable exploring and funding.

The healthcare side of the coin maintained a steady, high-volume contour with market activity ranging from introducing new wearable devices to therapeutics and digital clinician tools. The Netherlands’ ViCentra (€72.4 million Series D) scaled its next-gen insulin pump, the Kaleido 2, and Belgium’s MRM Health (€55 million Series B) advanced microbiome therapeutics.

Looking down the healthcare tech stack are Simple (London, €33 million) and Teton.ai (Denmark, €17 million), both of which have extended lines of digital health and predictive care. Over to Ireland’s Aerska (€17 million seed), where they focused on RNA-based therapies targeting brain function, while France’s SafeHeal (€10 million Series C) honed in on a post-surgical colorectal device. Even when considering only the seed stage, you find engaging projects such as BoobyBiome (UK, €2.8 million) and ArcaScience (France, €6 million). These are strong examples of how blending biotech with AI-driven clinical data is attractive to investors. All such activities represent a solid, continual flow from the lab to the clinic, with financial growth support at every step.

On the other side of the coin is climate and energy infrastructure, another pillar of European tech investments. Terra One (Germany, €150 million) secured mezzanine financing from Aviva to further expand its already robust battery storage portfolio. The UK’s OXCCU (€23.7 million Series B) pushed into sustainable aviation fuel from captured CO₂. At the same time, the Netherlands’ Sympower (€19 million) enhanced flexibility services through broader M&A.

Complementary funding related to both industries grew in material development and agri-energy investment. Examples like LeydenJar (€13 million, silicon anodes), feld.energy (€10 million, Agri-PV), and Factor2 Energy (€7.7 million, CO₂-based geothermal) both demonstrated growth for underlying industry resources and material development. Then the market introduced some long-tail, smaller rounds that included viboo (CH, €3.3 million) for AI building controls and Renewcast (Italy, €1 million) in renewable forecasting, confirming how diverse the segment had grown at lower funding levels.

Investors signalled confidence in patient capital development and applied sciences, particularly where markets were regulated and asset-heavy innovation was prevalent. While this is the quieter backbone of the European tech market, it does represent stability.

From summer hints to September trends

Numerous early indicators emerged throughout the hot summer months, signalling the potential for a trend to continue into September and autumn.

Capital stacks grow with debt alongside equity

We first noted the rise in hybrid capital models back in August. September confirmed the pattern, with debt instruments sitting alongside equity rounds. Instead of being treated as defensive strategies or exceptions to the rule, they’ve become comfortable standbys. Revisiting Germany’s Terra One, the Aviva package bridged infrastructure finance and venture growth. DataCrunch (Finland, €55 million) utilised a combined structure of equity from Nordic VCs, including byFounders and Skaala, as well as debt from Nordea and Armada Credit Partners, creating a rare “AI-infra and bank leverage” strategy. Even consumer and SaaS models have layered funding sources. The UK’s Shop Circle (€84 million Series B) used a blend of quiet and strategic financing to grow.

These examples outline how hybrid funding has evolved from a new idea in the summer to a solid financing opportunity by September. As capital becomes more selective, venture debt and structured instruments are turning into a standard part of Europe’s funding stack. We can expect to see more of this as the year comes to a close.

Consolidation as an exit strategy

The summer months marked a notable uptick in corporate takeovers. By September, it became clear that consolidation is no longer a sign of a business in distress, but rather an indicator of scaling.

Major transitions reinforced this shift in tone, such as Workday (€928 million) acquiring Sweden’s Sana, turning a learning platform into the core of its enterprise knowledge and experience stack. Another would be NXP (€582 million) purchasing Austria’s TTTech Auto, improving automotive safety software with smart edge integrations. ESG and regtech used the same consolidation mechanisms. Position Green acquired Greenomy to ensure unified sustainability reporting across Europe. Aonic (€214 million) purchased Prime Insights, ensuring functional M&A in data and marketing becomes a natural liquidity path for scaling.

You can see other consolidation examples in mid-market rollups, further demonstrating how the European tech market is evolving into an ecosystem where knowledge, compliance, and integration have replaced speculation as the dominant exit rationale.

Sovereign European AI infrastructure solidified

The summer months amplified calls for ‘European AI sovereignty’ free from outside influence. That call was answered through solid funding pipelines in September.

Nscale (UK, €936 million Series B) built out a Europe-centric AI hyperscaler. As already mentioned, DataCrunch used its hybrid funding to link computer infrastructure with regional data governance. As for hardware development, IQM Quantum Computers (Finland, €275 million) furthered the development of superconducting quantum processors while Scintil Photonics (France, €50 million) focused on integrated photonic chips. Viewed at a macro level, this marks a quiet but notable shift: European AI infrastructure is moving from political slogan to investable industrial layer, supported by a visible pipeline of hyperscaler and deeptech plays.

Dual-use and defence

Defencetech, once treated as an exception over the summer, has now become a regular part of Europe’s venture logic. Consider Kreios Space (Spain, €8 million), co-funded by the NATO Innovation Fund and JOIN Capital to develop plasma propulsion for very-low Earth orbit. Then there is FERNRIDE (Germany, €18 million Series A, bringing total funding to €75 million), which expanded autonomous logistics across terminals and defence supply chains.

Orbotix (Poland, €6.5 million) highlighted the shared interest in civil and military applications of its AI-driven defence drones. Even the financing side of the market has normalised, with Belgium’s Sienna Hephaistos Private Investments closing the first stage of €500 million defence private credit funding, which includes €30 million from InvestEU. The dual-use segment can no longer be viewed as niche – it has matured into a recognised and investable asset class.

Where September introduced fresh market momentum

As summer closed and September brought in rainy weather and colder nights, new growth indicators and potential markets evolved, signalling fresh momentum.

Concentrated R&D deeptech rounds

One indicator we noticed in September was the unusual clustering of deeptech rounds. These were large rounds, driven by research, and rooted in hard sciences. You can see that activity reflected in the previously mentioned IQM Quantum Computers pushing toward fault-tolerant superconducting systems. We also saw this in Scintil Photonics (France, €50 million), focusing on its integrated photonics platform, which acts as a core enabler for AI and high-performance computing.

Even NVIDIA, an industry leader in deeptech, partnered with Scintil Photonics due to these developments. LeydenJar (Netherlands, €13 million) further advanced its 100% silicon anode technology for lithium-ion batteries, while enaDyne (Germany, €7 million) industrialised its plasma catalytic reactors for more carbon-neutral chemical production. Quantum, photonics, and advanced materials comprise Europe’s scientific backbone, which September indicates is accelerating due to fewer, heavier, and technology-based bets.

Early and deliberate US entry into EU markets

Another September trend was the confirmation that US investors are no longer willing to wait for European teams to scale. They are stepping in the moment the technology or team becomes attractive. Supersonik (Spain, €4.2 million seed led by a16z, backed by former DeepMind and Salesforce angels) to build autonomous and support agents. Light (UK, €25 million) received help from Balderton, Atomico, and other US investors for its AI-native finance stack. We’ve already mentioned how Nscale and Scintil Photonics partnered with NVIDIA.

These all indicate that the US is no longer viewing the European tech market as a potential opportunity, but as a strategic and coordinated hunt for promising Gen-AI and infrastructure streams at the start of their respective lifecycles.

Massive M&A growth

September marked changes in enterprise software giants, shifting the “knowledge stack” into core systems and data layers. Workday’s €928 million acquisition of Sweden’s Sana turned a standalone learning and knowledge engine into a connected resource for its entire product suite. Aonic purchased Prime Insights, and Position Green took over Greenomy. These moves demonstrate a need to strategically reorder layers. Once seen as ‘adjacent tools,’ knowledge, context, and regulatory logic have become core infrastructure for next-generation enterprise software.

Southern Europe made moves

While most of the European tech investment map in the summer centred on the UK, September saw several southern countries join the fray, producing several early-stage stories. Supersonik led the way in Spain, while Kreios Space positioned Iberia more firmly at the intersection of AI and deeptech. In Italy, Renewcast received €1 million SAFE funding for AI renewable forecasting, and Wayla Italia crowdfunded over €1 million for its mobility platform. There were also notable smaller rounds in Greece and Portugal, adding more momentum to climate and analytics tech. Ticket sizes remained moderate, but the geography shifted, making September point toward the south to find equity.

Conclusion: from momentum to maturity

The summer months built momentum in the European tech market, but it was September that clarified the storyline. With AI as its underlying infrastructure, climate and energy as its pillars, and healthtech’s steady pipeline holding firm, the market is maturing. Hybrid funding, combining debt with equity, helped companies reach functional M&A and ensured European tech could answer the call to create sovereign AI infrastructure.

New funds across AI, climate, and defence suggest Europe is beginning to underwrite its own investment cycle. For Zubr Capital, that reinforces the point. The market isn’t chasing trends or noise. It is building solid architecture to finance what it knows can and should scale.

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