The winners and losers of Europe's fintech growth funding drought | Sifted

European fintech startups raising Series B and C rounds nearly halved over the past year, with the number of such deals falling roughly 50% as investors concentrated capital in a smaller group of standout companies. Total funding for these rounds dropped to about €2.9bn from €4.6bn a year earlier, a decline of around 22%, according to Sifted’s analysis. The pullback is sharpest in later-stage deals, where crossover investors and US funds have grown more selective, leaving growth-stage fintechs with fewer options. The shift matters because it threatens the pipeline of European fintech champions just as US rivals scale with deeper capital markets. Watch whether specialist fintech funds and US investors re-enter Series B and C deals, and whether affected startups cut valuations or extend runway to avoid down rounds.