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European Cybersecurity Report 2025

We’re excited to publish the second edition of our European Cybersecurity Report at Axeleo Capital, this year together with our friends at Oteria Cyber School.

As in the first edition, the goal is simple: step back from the noise and look at what is actually happening in the European cyber ecosystem — in funding, exits and technology shifts.

Here are the main takeaways.

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Funding is back, but driven by late-stage rounds

European cybersecurity startups raised €1.15bn in 2025, across 148 deals. That’s a strong rebound: +54% in capital deployed and +30% in deal count year-on-year.

That said, the recovery was not broad-based. A handful of large late-stage financings — including Exein (€100M) and Feedzai (€70M) — drove most of the increase, particularly in Q4.

Average deal size rose to €9.4M (+20%), reflecting a clear shift back toward Series A+ activity after a period dominated by smaller early-stage rounds.

From a thematic perspective, Identity & Access Management re-emerged as the top priority for investors, while Fraud and Financial Crime Protection saw renewed momentum, driven by regulatory pressure and the continued digitisation of financial services.

Geographically, the UK further strengthened its leadership position. Spain and Germany both doubled their deal count. France, by contrast, was the only major hub to decline, both in volume and total funding.

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Exit activity remains healthy, but Europe still struggles to build late-stage champions

Europe recorded 30 cybersecurity exits in 2025, broadly in line with historical norms following an unusually strong Q4 in 2024.

A positive signal is that 52% of exits were VC-backed, up from 40% the previous year — suggesting a gradual maturation of the venture-backed cyber ecosystem.

However, structural challenges remain. The average exit maturity was 8.4 years, and strikingly, half of exits occurred before Series A. In other words, many promising companies are still being acquired before reaching real scale.

Buyer geography reinforces this trend: US and UK acquirers accounted for around 60% of transactions, highlighting the continued difficulty for Europe to retain and grow independent cybersecurity leaders.

The full report, with detailed deal analysis, ecosystem mapping and founder perspectives, is available here : https://docsend.com/view/6886ugbrj6vzpniq