Deeptech cash surges
European deeptech’s market value hit a record $690 billion as VC share in the sector climbs — investors are pouring more capital into hardware, robotics and AI startups. At the same time Kleiner Perkins closed $3.5 billion for new AI‑focused funds, allocating $1 billion to early‑stage and $2.5 billion to growth‑stage companies. (tech.eu) (news.crunchbase.com)
Dealroom, Walden Catalyst and Lakestar published a 160‑page European Deep Tech Report in March 2026 that maps city‑level rankings, seven deep‑tech verticals and a set of policy recommendations to boost scale‑up capital. (dealroom.co) The report finds VC funding into European deep tech climbed to $20.3 billion in the latest year and that deep tech now accounts for roughly 32% of all VC investment in Europe. (startupticker.ch) Authors single out a handful of value drivers, citing Helsing and Synthesia as recent growth engines — Synthesia closed a $200 million Series E that valued the company at about $4 billion in January 2026. (lakestar.com) (techcrunch.com) The report quantifies a structural growth‑stage shortfall — an estimated $4 billion to $24 billion annual funding gap — and notes about 70% of late‑stage capital for European deep tech comes from non‑European investors. (waldencatalyst.com) Sector composition has shifted sharply: defence, security and resilience now represent roughly 43% of European deep‑tech funding, up from about 20% in 2022, reflecting rising sovereign‑capability spending. (startupticker.ch) In the same market context, Kleiner Perkins’ newest fundraising marks roughly a 75% jump versus its 2024 flagship (which was just over $2 billion), and the firm explicitly frames AI as a core company‑building tailwind across industries such as healthcare, autonomy and the physical economy. (news.crunchbase.com) (techcrunch.com) Kleiner’s recent track record underpins that strategy: the firm has led large late rounds including a $600 million Series F for Applied Intuition and a $356 million Series D for Chainguard, and it was an early investor in exits such as Figma and Brex. (news.crunchbase.com)
