European VC firms raised 2 billion euros in the second quarter of 2015. Twice as much as in Q1. Data from Dow Jones VentureSource, a global database on companies backed by venture capital and private equity, also show a 30 percent increase as compared to Q2 of 2014.
The money was raised by 25 European venture capital funds. The largest fund raised was Fund III of Index Ventures Growth based in London. The 650 million euro raised for this fund accounted for 32 percent of the total amount raised in 2Q 2015.
Compared with 2014, both the amount of euros raised and the number of fund closings improved (by 63 and 47 percent).
Almost half of the total amount was raised by venture capitalists that invest in early-stage startups. About one-third went into funds that invest in later-stage startups.
Local investors said to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the current increase is mainly due to the creation of new venture capital firms in Europe (and mostly London), such as Felix Capital, Google Ventures’ office in Europe, and Mosaic Ventures. But apart from this, established firms are also raising and investing more.
The increase in Europe still pales in comparison to the U.S., says WSJ – American VC firms raised almost six times more money than their European counterparts over the same period (11.8 billion euro that is).