Venionaire’s European Venture Sentiment Index tracks investment activity and sentiment among top European investors at the end of each quarter and provides an outlook on what the industry expects. In the first quarter of 2026, the European venture capital market experienced a turnaround. “While the investment volume has risen to around $21.3 billion, this amount is being spread across fewer and fewer companies,” explains Berthold Baurek-Karlic, CEO of Venionaire Capital AG. The outlook for the second quarter could hardly be worse.