Deep tech and life sciences European university spinouts are set to reach significant funding milestones by 2025. According to experts, these companies will go on to collectively raise almost an all-time high of $9.1 billion in capital. This dramatic increase is a clear sign of the growing interest and investment potential across these sectors. Over in the Nordic region, we’ve seen creative tech startups continually spin out from respected research universities.
One interesting new actor in this space is PSV Hafnium, a recently-founded venture capital firm headquartered in Denmark. Just this past week, PSV Hafnium closed its first fund at an oversubscribed €60 million (about $71 million). The enterprise and its partners Seed Capital, Inventure, and E.W. This commitment speaks to their commitment to leverage their region’s technological expertise.
PSV Hafnium is a technology transfer from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). That perhaps best illustrates its deep connection to the nation’s universities and research and innovation. The firm has already made nine investments, most prominently including a leading check to Finnish startup SisuSemi. This new company is based on the University of Turku’s ten years of research. They’re on the cusp of commercializing breakthrough surface contamination cleaning technology for the semiconductor industry.
Based on Dealroom’s European Spinout Report 2025, the wave in this phase is massive. To date, 76 deep tech and life sciences companies have celebrated successful exits. The first in their space to either hit a valuation of $1 billion, revenue of $100 million or both. This ample number is a good sign that a strong startup ecosystem is being both nurtured and pumped out from European tech universities.
Beyond PSV Hafnium, University2Ventures (U2V) is another player pushing the envelope in this funding space. Their first close and final funding target is about half the size of PSV Hafnium, and they recently closed on that first round. U2V is based in Berlin, London and Aachen. In particular, they focus on supporting deep tech startups that spin out of European tech institutions.
The downstream European university spinout consolidation has led to the world’s largest funnel of earlier-state startup value – $398 billion! But barriers still exist, especially when it comes to growth capital for these young firms. Almost half of all late-stage funding for European deep tech and life sciences spinouts is from outside Europe. Although much of this funding, ironically, comes from the United States.
The potential for growth in the Nordic region is particularly encouraging. Partners at PSV Hafnium emphasize that “the Nordic’s research institutions hold extraordinary, untapped potential,” indicating a strong belief in the capability of local talent to innovate and excel in competitive markets.
With these fund taking shape, increasing investments will be pouring into university spinouts. This boom will undoubtably strengthen the broader European startup ecosystem. Anna Heim, one of the authors of the report, states that this trend “is not a unique trend to spinouts, but something impacting the entire startup ecosystem in Europe.” That growing inter-connectedness has revealed that when specific companies win, they help propel a larger ecosystem of innovation. This, in turn, further fuels economic development.
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