The European tech industry saw $400-billion in value wiped out this year and an 18 per cent decline in venture capital funding, according to a report from venture capital firm Atomico.
Market pressures forced a number of Europe’s best-known companies to raise funds at a discount to their once sky-high valuations. For example, Swedish payments firm Klarna Bank AB raised $800-million at a valuation of $6.7-billion, an 85 per cent drop from its 2021 price tag of $46-billion. Venture capital funding in Europe was down to $85-billion for the year, based on data collected across 41 countries, an 18 per cent decline from the $100-billion raised in 2021.