The New Ambition in European Tech: Key Themes Ahead of Jefferies’ European Disruptive Tech Conference

Europe is entering a more ambitious phase of technology investment as sovereignty priorities and global capital help its startups scale into potential global leaders.

• European startups raised $42 billion in the first half of 2026, 50 percent more than a year earlier and the strongest first half for venture funding in four years.
• Jefferies’ European Disruptive Tech Conference has grown to 55 presenting companies and more than 200 investors, covering AI, quantum, defense, space, robotics, healthcare and energy.
• Sovereignty is supporting investment in strategic sectors: American hyperscalers control roughly 70 percent of Europe’s cloud market, while the EU’s ReArm Europe plan is set to mobilize €800 billion.
• European technology companies still face fragmented markets across 27 countries, but global investors are increasingly funding later-stage rounds; European unicorns are collectively worth more than €800 billion and the median Series E+ round has more than doubled in a year.
• Regulation may become less restrictive through the proposed 28th corporate regime and extensions of AI Act deadlines for high-risk systems to late 2027 and 2028.
• Quantum is presented as the most underappreciated opportunity: European quantum startups raised a record €1.5 billion in 2025, up about 170 percent, and Oxford Quantum Circuits raised €260 million in June.

Takeaway: Investors should watch whether Europe can convert public support and abundant global capital into companies that compete on performance, scale and price, with quantum positioned as the next opportunity before it attracts the same attention as AI.