byFounders, a Danish VC fund, have released their 2024 shape of the market update for the New Nordics. Key takeaways include:
- Investments: Total investments in 2024 in the new Nordics were EUR 1.18B compared to EUR 1.12B in 2023, showing a slight increase of 6%.
- Rounds: Across pre-seed, seed and series A, 217 investment rounds were completed in 2024, compared to 227 rounds in 2023, showing a slight decrease.
- Average round size: For pre-seed investments the median round size varied between EUR 0.5-1.8m, seed rounds varied between EUR 2-3m, and series A rounds varied between EUR 10-20m.
- Sector focus: B2B companies accounted for ~83% of funding rounds, with the vertical Energy & Climate at the top, Techbio & Bio in second place and Health in third place, based on invested capital.
- Diversity: Diversity in founds teams, were, however, slightly lower in 2024, with funding to startups with at least one female founder at 22% in 2024, compared to 24% in 2023, based on number of funding rounds.
This is elaborated on by the 2024 annual European venture report from Pitchbook, of which key takeaways include:
- Deal value: Deal value lagged behind in a European context with annual deal value seeing a decline of 7.9% year-over-year from 2023.
- Exits: Exits had a comeback with annual exit value increased 23.7% year-over-year, with AI and life science leading the exit values.
- Venture debt: Venture debt saw a rise in 2024 with annual venture debt deal value rising 27.3% year over year to EUR 17.2 billion, a sign that according to analysis show that venture debt will continue to be a key theme in 2025, even though it might not reach the 2024 highs.
