Beyond the slowdown, a funding equilibrium The decrease in investment since 2021 is mainly due to a slowdown in growth stages. However, after a sharp drop right after the peak, there has been a stable total investment volume for the past 昀椀ve quarters. Two important things to note are: Firstly, early stage investment has stayed stable despite the ups and downs in investment volume in 2021. Secondly, if we exclude the overheated 18-month period from Q1 2021 to Q2 2022, we get a clearer view of the consistent long-term growth in investment in the European tech ecosys- tem. Total capital invested ($B) in Europe by stage and by quarter, 2014 to 2023 Growth stage Early stage 35 30 ) 25 B $ ( d e t s 20 e v n i l a t i p 15 a c l a t o T 10 5 0 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q1 Q3 Q Q Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Notes: Sources: Data is as of 30 September 2023. Powered by Excludes the following: biotech, secondary transactions, debt, lending capital, and grants. 39 | Executive summary