The top 25 European tech funding deals of 2022

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness”

When looking back at 2022, the immortal opening of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities has never been more fitting. As noted by the Atomico State of European Tech 2022 report, it’s quite easy to see the year as one of two very different environments.

While H1 saw numbers and activity on par with the red herring that was 2021, the lens of H2 took a decidedly different turn. Having said that, scouring any number of the usual suspects when it comes to pure data, including Tech.eu’s own proprietary database, we’ve tracked numbers that are still clocking close to 2021 (what’s a couple million between friends?).

Keeping both halves of the years in mind, we’ve identified the top 25 rounds in terms of funding received, and factored by debt, equity, and convertible note functions. All figures are presented in Euros with FX conversions reflecting monetary values at the time of the announcement of the deal. 

This list is active and will change as end-of-year news continues to trickle in.

But before we get into the rundown:

- Despite the UK's "interesting" year in terms of politics and economic outlook, Blighty managed to take the cake in terms of top-grossing rounds, accounting for 8 of the top 25, with its nearest competitors, Germany taking 4, and France and Sweden garnering 3.

- In fact, of all the deals we tracked over the course of 2022, the UK never slipped from the top slot

 - The top 5 deals of the year were each north of €1 billion each.

- Fintech took the top spot (no surprise), however, only 7 of the top 25 tech funding deals of 2022 went to the vertical.

- The biggest deal of the year just might surprise you, read on!

And ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, we proudly give you:

The top 25 European Tech funding deals of 2022

25. France’s Qonto raised €486 million

Paris-based Qonto raised €486 million in a Series D funding round, which at the time, provided the company with a €4.4 billion valuation, a new record in the French scale-up space. 

24. Swiss data centre network Green bagged €490 million in a refinancing deal

Swiss data centre operator Green signed a refinancing agreement underwritten by Credit Agricole and ING Bank to free up around €490 million (480 million Swiss francs) aimed at helping the company expand its data centre capacity, driven by upgrades at two existing campuses as well as building systems in new Swiss locations.

23. Auxmoney borrowed €500 million

Düsseldorf-based consumer loan provider auxmoney secured another €500 million in debt funding via Citi and Natixis, bringing the company’s total debt funding to just over €3 billion.

22. Doctolib raised €500 million and became France's most valuable startup

In one of the strangest raises of the year, in terms of the announcement, French startup Doctolib raised €500 million in equity and debt funding. At the time of the announcement, with a valuation of €5.8 billion, it overtook Back Market and became the highest-valued French startup.

21. Relex Solutions raised €500 million at €5 billion valuation

Finnish supply chain automation and optimisation platform Relex Solutions secured €500 million in a round led by Blackstone Growth. The round was aimed at providing the company with capital to embark upon an aggressive recruitment campaign that sought to add hundreds more developers to its existing 400+ member team.

20. Tesla rival Croatian hypercar maker Rimac Group drove off with €500 million

Rimac Group, the Croatian EV supercar maker, announced that it has raised €500 million in a Series D round of funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. 

The Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer Porsche also invested an eight-figure sum and continued its 20 per cent holding of the company.

19. Octopus Energy Group raked in €542 million

London-based Octopus Energy Group raised a total of $550 (€542 million) million in a round aimed at improving its platform and expanding its renewables offer. $325 million arrived from existing shareholders, and CPP Investments backed the company with an additional $225 million.

18. Cazoo drove home €549 million

Publicly listed Cazoo saw an influx of capital to the tune of €549 million ($630 million) via a 2 per cent sale via convertible senior notes, that subsequently converted to Class A ordinary shares at a price of $5.00 per share.

As a reminder: Cazoo's initial share price was listed at $10, a common figure for most SPAC listings, with the market then determining how much the company is worth.

And we see how that panned out. 

17. Mainstream Renewable Power raised €575 million

Dublin-based Mainstream Renewable Power raised €575 million from Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in the form of new common shares, translating into a 27.5 per cent equity stake in the company. At the time, this round provided the company with a valuation of €2.1 billion.

16. Contentsquare puts the four corners around €588 million

Parisian customer experience platform Contentsquare raised $400 million in equity in a Series F financing round that saw an additional $200 million in debt financing. At the time, this raise provided the company with a $5.6 billion valuation and brought their total funding raised to $1.4 billion.

15. SumUp added €590 million to the war chest 

London-based payments firm SumUp raised €590 million in a funding round that saw the company obtain a valuation of €8 billion.

The round, which involved, "about a 50/50 split of debt and equity," according to Tech.eu sources, brought the total amount of capital raised by SumUp to €1.5 billion. 

14. Propel FInance piloted in €592 million

Out of £500 million, Citi structured a £275 million private securitisation facility. Quilam Capital provided an additional £35 million mezzanine and working capital facility to partially refinance Propel’s existing British Business Bank ENABLE, with the fintech promising £165 million of finance becoming available to SMEs across the UK. 

13. Swiss startup Climeworks raised €595 million

Climeworks raised a $650 million (approximately €595 million) round, marking the largest investment ever into a carbon removal startup. 

The round was led by Partners Group and GIC alongside a long list of other investors, including Baillie Gifford, M&G and Swiss Re, and brought the cleantech startup's total raised to over $800 million.

12. Bolt kicks off the new year with a jaw-dropping €628 million raise

Tallinn-based Bolt raised €628 million in a Series F funding round.

While the company started out life as a ride-hailing app (Taxify), they'd been rolling out a number of services that we count as standard today, but back in January, these services received some serious attention with this round.

11. Ocado raised €672 million to support automated warehouse division

British online grocer Ocado has raised £578 million (approximately €672 million) from investors on the public markets to fund the development of its technology division, which licenses its automated warehouse technology to other brands.

The company placed £575 million of shares on the market at a discounted 795p a share, raising an additional £3 million from senior management. In a separate deal, Ocado has raised £300 million (approximately €349 million) in a loan facility from banks, which, if one were to view the transaction as a combined figure would place Ocado within the top 5, or €1 billion+ category.

10. Getir housed €672 million and achieved decacorn status

While the buzz of late has been around Getir's acquisition of Gorillas, lest we forget that back in March the Turkish titans brought home $768 million in a Series E round that welcomed Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Alpha Wave Global, Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Global to Getir's cap table.

While the company revealed a devaluation in the process of the Gorillas acquisition, hey, who hasn't lost a bit of shine in H2?, at the time of the Series E round, Getir saw a decacorn valuation of $11.8 billion.

9. THE Klarna deal at €793 million, and the harbingers of war

Ok, now if we're not talking about pure numbers raised, this has to be the story of the year, and arguably very clear and present waving of a red flag that triggered H2. Or at least made everyone and their brother sit up, take notice, and realise, "shi*t, this isn't just a passing phase, this is for real."

To summarise, and there are many parts to this story, while BNPL kingpin Klarna raised a hefty chunk of capital, it did so at a valuation of a mere $6.7 billion. A figure down from $46 billion, signaling (at the time) the worst stock downturn in 50 years.

In a word: Valkyries

8. Enpal locks down €855 million

Despite a sharp increase in demand and a Europe-wide shortage of modules, Berlin-based solar panel provider Enpal said it could continue to deliver on its promise of driving solar power adoption. And assembled €855 million in a fresh financing round to do so.

7. Checkout.com checked out with €874 million

While checkout.com raised a hefty $1 billion at the beginning of this year at $40 billion, the company has made waves as of late due to its depreciating valuation. 

If you're starting to detect a theme here, you're not wrong.

6. Curve ups its lending game with €955 million debt facility

Announced in early December, London-based fintech throws a curve in the doom and gloom news cycle by breaking the news that it'd secured $1 billion in a funding deal provided by Credit Suisse aimed at helping the company scale its lending business, Curve Flex, across the UK, EU, and US markets.

And now for those €1 billion+ rounds, the top 5. Let's go!

5. Celonis taps into €1 billion

Munich-based process mining platform Celonis raised $1 billion (at the time of the deal: €€1,004,745,413) in funding at a valuation (at the time) of almost $13 billion.

The $1 billion in liquidity was split between a $400 million equity portion and leveraged a revolving credit facility to obtain access to as much as $600 million with a syndicate of leading global banks.

4. Northvolt charged up with €1 billion

Stockholm-based sustainable lithium-ion battery maker Northvolt signed a $1.1 billion convertible note deal aimed at supporting its expansion plans in Europe as demand for batteries soars. This €1 billion round arrived almost exactly a year after the firm announced $2.75 billion in equity funding.

As a reminder, Northvolt took the top deal slot of the year in 2021.

The company pointed out it had secured close to $8 billion in equity and debt to deliver on its plans to "establish a supply of sustainable batteries to enable the decarbonisation of society".

3. Delivery Hero ordered €1.4 billion in debt financing

Berlin-based local delivery platform Delivery Hero cobbled together a round of debt financing equivalent to €1.4 billion.

One portion of the debt financing solution arrived in the amount of $825 million, the second, a €300 million facility, both having a 5.25-year lifespan. the company is also entered an RCF (revolving credit facility) to the tune of €375 million with a consortium of banks, having an initial 3-year maturity, but also included two 1-year extension options.

2. Polestar shifted into high gear with €1.6 billion in financing support

Gothenburg-based EV maker Polestar received $1.6 billion (approximately €1.6 billion) in financing support from two of its major shareholders, Volvo Car Group and PSD investment.

As a part of the deal, Volvo Cars provided $800 million in a loan term for 18 months with an equity conversion option for Volvo Cars.

1. DAZN welcomed just shy of €3.8 billion. From one source.

Billionaire businessman Sir Leonard Blavatnik invested $4.3 billion (approximately €3.8 billion) into DAZN, with the online sports media company as it was exploring moving into the NFT, gaming and betting spaces.

According to our friends at UKTN, "Blavatnik’s multinational industrial group Access Industries, which is the principal shareholder of DAZN, has confirmed its acquisition of over $4bn worth of new shares in the London-based company.

Prior to the recapitalisation, DAZN was reportedly operating at a loss. The company has said that the new cash influx has cleared DAZN of all debts and that it will help it “maintain its strong commercial momentum”."

And there we have it folks, the top 25 European Tech funding deals of 2022. Stay tuned for a series of more focused snapshots of the industry — and find everything we've published so far over here.