iwoca bags £250M debt facility, what H1 2026 tells us about European tech, and Legora acquires 5th startup this year.

This week, over 50 tech funding deals worth more than €878 million and 10 exits, M&A transactions, rumors, and associated news stories took place across Europe. In addition to the week's top funding rounds, a H1 report for 2026 was released, which provides crucial data and insightful perspectives from investors, startups, and ecosystem leaders on the past six months and future expectations for the year.

The 2026 H1 report highlights some key insights about European tech and notable trends in venture activity, investor maneuvers, and emerging sectors influencing the current funding climate. One significant funding round involves SME lender iwoca, which secured a £250 million debt facility. Dwelly raised $170 million in Series B funding, while Drivalia obtained €48 million from EIB financing to enhance electric mobility in Italy and Finland.

Legora, a notable acquisition story from 2026, acquired legal AI startup Wexler, marking the fifth acquisition of the year. Other noteworthy acquisitions and mergers include Legora's acquisition of clean cells and InfoJobs' expansion of recruitment services through Viterbit. Cover Genius also acquired Berlin-based InsurTech company Friendsurance, and Clean Cells acquired Anaquant to broaden biopharma quality control with mass spectrometry expertise.

Highland Europe closed a £1.1 billion Fund VI to support European technology scaleups, while the UK Scale-up Fund allocated £1 billion to back science and technology businesses. Investment firm Nuggit unveiled a £5 million Creator Support Fund to assist UK YouTubers in converting their channels into scalable businesses.

In broader news, more capital has become available, but fewer deals have been executed. The H1 2026 report indicates several trends and developments in European tech, including the establishment of the UK government AI Taskforce chaired by Lord Vallance and the EU's call for tenders to establish the first AI gigafactories in Europe.

Noteworthy recommendations for readers include articles on French AI company Palantir, DFINITY's vision for sovereign computing, and CurvLabs' utilization of wearable technology to rethink back pain treatment. The Bologna Gathering emerged as an ecosystem builder, and European tech startups to watch include Perceptual Robotics, Beelzebub, 5U AI, Sigvi, and Kinematic Trees.