The European venture capital market is showing signs of recovery, particularly in the pre-seed and seed stages, with growth continuing through the third quarter of 2024.

This recovery is reflected in the median deal values, which are projected to exceed the full-year figures from 2023, driven by improved market conditions and a slowdown in inflation.

In the seed stage, median valuations have risen by 15.7% to €5.4 million, while median deal sizes have jumped 32% to €1.8 million, indicating a rebound from previous declines.

Despite this growth, median seed-stage step-ups have remained stable at 1.8x, although the time from founding to seed has slightly increased to three years.

At the pre-seed level, median deal sizes have increased to €800,000, up from €500,000 over the last two years, with the time from founding to pre-seed now averaging 1.4 years.

Median early-stage valuations have also climbed, rising 11.3% to €5.7 million, with deal sizes up 26.6% to €1.5 million, although the time to reach early-stage funding has extended to 3.1 years.

In terms of sector performance, SaaS valuations have surged by 48.4%, while fintech has seen a 12.1% increase, maintaining the highest early-stage valuation at €11.9 million.

Fintech's strong growth is further highlighted by a median late-stage valuation of €22.3 million, nearly double the European average, underscoring its pivotal role in the market recovery.

While AI companies have driven some of the largest deals in 2024, their early-stage valuations remain behind those of fintech and SaaS, with a median early-stage valuation of €5.8 million, reflecting a modest 5.9% increase from 2023.

In the late-stage segment, median AI valuations stand at €13 million, comparable to cleantech and SaaS, although this marks a 16.6% decline from the previous year.

Notable late-stage deals include DataSnipper valued at €908 million, along with The Sandbox and PennyLane, which have valuations of €755 million, showcasing innovation in fintech and emerging sectors like blockchain.

High-value deals in the early-stage sector include French firms Alon, Form3, and Akur8, with Moove achieving the highest early-stage valuation at €598 million.