Investment trend in Norway same as on European level: Big decline of investment in 2023
Dealroom has published the data report on European Tech in 2023 and the numbers show that VC investment in Europe is down 37% compared to 2022. Despite this decrease, the European share of global VC is at an all time high at 19.5%, double of what it was 5 years ago.
In the Nordics, Denmark is one of only four countries in Europe that experienced an increase in total investment in 2023, mostly due to the health tech sector that represents 58% of total funding. This comes after 2022 where Denmark, and Sweden, experienced a decrease of total investment. However both have had a good 2023 when compared to most of the other European countries.
Investment levels in Norway and Finland were hit hard in 2023 with a drop of more than the average European level of total investment. Both also experienced a decrease in the number of total funding rounds.
The data shows that Sweden and Denmark experienced their decreases earlier than Norway and Finland, and experienced a more positive development later in 2023. The first half of 2024 will for sure be tough both on a Nordic and European level.
Development the last five years
Over the last 5 years, Norway has experienced the biggest growth of VC investment in Europe with an increase of almost 200%, and despite the large drop in 2023, is now one of the top 10 European countries by VC investment. Domestic investors have taken a bigger share of the total investment made as international investors have decreased from 80% in 2022 to 60% in 2023. Still, Norway is reliant on international investment in order to keep up the positive development we have experienced the last 5 years and to reverse the trend that was experienced last year.
The domestic early-stage investment community has been flourishing, but Norway still only has a handful of investors investing in later-stage companies. It is important that we continue to work on strengthening the national investment community and continue to attract international investors to the North of Europe.
Are you interested in more insight? Have a look at the Oslo Business Region Insight page.
You can also visit the Oslo database for free and get dynamic data on the Oslo startup ecosystem.