Nearly 80 spin-outs from European deep-tech universities have reached a valuation of $1 billion or $100 million in revenue in 2025.

Universities and research laboratories have long been the A treasure trove of deep technology. Today, college spinouts have coalesced into a robust startup funnel worth $398 billion — and venture capital money is following.

According to Dealroom European Spin-Out Report 202576 of these deep tech and life sciences companies have reached either a $1 billion valuation, $100 million in revenue, or both. These include unicorns like Iceye, IQM, Isar Aerospace, Synthesia and Tekever, which are now generating more funds to support university spin-offs.

This month, two new funds emerged that will provide more funding for emerging talent from Europe’s tech universities, while expanding a pipeline currently dominated by Cambridge, Oxford and ETH Zurich.

PSV Hafniumbased in Denmark, recently closed its inaugural fund for an oversubscribed €60 million (around $71 million), with a focus on Nordic deep tech. With offices in Berlin and London, but also in Aachen, U2V (University2Ventures) is aiming for the same amount for its first fund, which it recently completed the first fence.

These two newcomers join the growing ranks of European venture capital firms that are putting university spin-offs at the heart of their investment thesis. Started by people like Cambridge Innovation Capital And Oxford Science Enterprisesnow fully mature, this category has also diversified.

Although it is still primarily funds backed by one or more universities and institutes, it now includes independent companies that simply view spin-outs as potential cash returns – and rightly so. Oxford Ionics, acquired by the American company IonQwas one of six spinoff companies from Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Germany that achieved outflows of more than $1 billion to their investors in 2025.

These exits are accompanied by an increase in financing amounts. According to Dealroom, European university spin-offs in deep tech and life sciences are on track to raise a near-record $9.1 billion in 2025. This contrasts with overall venture capital funding in Europe, which is down almost 50% from its 2021 peak.

Large funding rounds closing in 2025 also reflect the appetite for spin-outs in sectors as varied as nuclear energy — Proxima Fusion – and dual-use drones – Quantum Systems, now valued at over $3 billion. In many cases, these startups rely on research from specialized laboratories, which also explains why there is a long list of European sites capable of producing spin-outs.

Building relationships with centers outside of Oxbridge and major countries can also be a way for newcomers to differentiate themselves and find deals. “Nordic research institutes hold extraordinary and untapped potential,” said PSV Hafnium partners in a press release.

PSV Hafnium is itself a spin-off company from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), but is also making early investments in other Nordic countries. One of his nine checks to date went to We are Semitica Finnish startup that builds on a decade of research at the University of Turku to bring new surface cleaning technology to the semiconductor industry.

It’s good news for teams like SisuSemi that they have more funding. It is also in addition to subsidies, support for marketing and improvement of terms of the agreement which contribute to creating an encouraging environment for European spin-off companies. However, a sore point remains: growth capital.

As the report’s authors point out, this gap “is not a unique spin-out trend, but something that affects the entire startup ecosystem in Europe.” However, it is quite striking that almost 50% of late-stage funding for European advanced technology and life sciences companies comes from countries outside Europe, mainly the United States.

Although this share has declined over the years, Europe will not reap the full benefits of its investments in talent and research unless the situation changes more substantially – but this is a larger problem to solve.