Venture & Growth Summit Wrap: European VC Navigating Growth, Challenges, and Opportunities

The IPEM Venture & Growth Summit highlighted a maturing but bifurcated European venture capital market, where financial returns remain paramount yet strategic considerations increasingly differentiate successful managers.

Whilst AI, defence, and cybersecurity sectors command premium valuations, anticipated market corrections since mid-2022 have largely failed to materialise.Limited partners emphasised portfolio management discipline and alternative liquidity strategies beyond traditional IPO and M&A exits, with the convergence of growth equity and tech buyout signalling fundamental shifts in how European venture portfolios achieve returns. Key challenges persist in navigating the decade-high exit backlog and competing with US mega-funds deploying capital earlier in European companies.

However, opportunities remain in capital-efficient businesses with clear profitability paths, vertical-specific AI applications in regulated industries, and geographic arbitrage through US commercialisation.