About 80 of Europe’s deepest European universities have earned $1B or $100M in revenue in 2025.

Universities and research laboratories have long been European a deep tech economy. Now, academic spinouts have combined to become a $398 billion startup firm — and VC funding is following suit.

According to Dealroom’s European Spinout Report 202576 of the largest technology and life sciences companies have reached a valuation of $1 billion, a revenue of $100 million, or both. These include unicorns such as Iceye, IQM, Isar Aerospace, Synthesia, and Tekever, who are now raising funds to support the development of universities.

This month, two new funds emerged that will bring more funding to emerging talent in Europe’s universities of technology, adding to pipelines that include Cambridge, Oxford, and ETH Zurich.

PSV Hafniumfrom Denmark, recently closed its opening fund of €60 million (about $71 million), focusing on Nordic deep tech. I have offices in Berlin and London, as well as in Aachen, U2V (University2Ventures) is looking at the same investment for its first fund, which is due soon completed the first closing.

The two newcomers join a growing number of European companies that have university spinouts as a major part of their portfolio. A pioneer and the likes of Cambridge Innovation Capital and Oxford Science Enterpriseswhich is now mature, the group has become different again.

While it has often been funded by one or more universities, it now includes independent companies that only see spinouts as a return on investment – ​​and rightly so. Oxford Ionics, taken by US-based IonQit was one of six brands from Switzerland, the UK, and Germany that delivered more than $1 billion in revenue to their suppliers in 2025.

These products come with a lot of money. According to Dealroom, European University spinouts in deep tech and life sciences are on track to reach an all-time-high $9.1 billion in 2025. This contrasts with the total VC investment in Europe, which is down nearly 50% from the 2021 peak.

The major cycles closed in 2025 also show interest in spinouts in various sectors such as nuclear power – Proxima Fusion – and dual-use drones – Quantum Systems, now worth more than $3 billion. Often, these startups support research from specialized labs, which also explains why there is a long tail of European centers that can create spinouts.

Forming relationships with hubs outside of Oxbridge and leading countries can also be a way for newcomers to differentiate themselves and gain business opportunities. “Nordic research institutions have incredible, untapped potential,” said PSV Hafnium in a press release.

PSV Hafnium is itself a spinout from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and is also making initial investments in other Nordic countries. One of his nine checks so far has gone through We are SemitesA Finnish initiative to support ten years of research at the University of Turku to bring new clean technology to the surface of the semiconductor industry.

It is good news for groups like SisuSemi that there is more money to be made. It also comes in addition to offers, marketing support, and management agreements which helps create an encouraging environment for European spinouts. However, one sore point remains: economic growth.

As the authors of the report say, this difference “is not a unique process for spinouts, but something that affects the whole environment in Europe.” However, it is surprising that almost 50% of the investments that have been delayed in Europe for deep technology and life sciences come from outside Europe, mainly from the US.

Although this sector has decreased in recent years, Europe is not getting the value of its investments in technology and research unless this changes dramatically – but it is a big issue that needs to be solved.