Startup investments hit nearly $34B in Europe in 2019

By Bahattin Gonultas

BERLIN, Germany (AA) - The total startup investments in EU increased by 46% in 2019 to €31.1 billion (nearly $34 billion) compared to the previous year, and a huge decrease in these investments is expected this year due to the coronavirus.

Audit and consultancy firm EY on Tuesday published its report on startup investments in Europe.

Despite Brexit, the U.K. remained a leader in financing startups in the EU last year, with a total investments of startups increasing by 54% in 2019 to reach $11.1 billion compared to the previous year.

The total investments of startups in Germany, which has the largest economy in Europe, increased by 32% to €6.1 billion ($6.6 billion) and 50% in France to €5 billion ($5.4 billion).

"The coronavirus pandemic will not only lead to significantly lower investments but also will lead to high sales losses in many companies," said Hubert Barth, the CEO of EY.

"For now, 2019 was probably the last record year of the European startup ecosystem," he noted, adding this crisis is an existential challenge for the European startup ecosystem.

Pointing to the importance of protecting the foundations of the German startup ecosystem in the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, Barth commented: "The financial market for startups should not be completely dry."

Highlighting that the coronavirus crisis shows how important a stronger digitalization is in the economy, Barth noted that the companies that set up remote and internet conference systems are advantageous in the crisis.

*Written by Aysu Bicer in Ankara