Europe Launches Dashboard to Close Deep Tech Funding Gap

Europe just took a major step toward fixing a problem that's been hiding in plain sight: women-led deep tech companies can't get the funding they need, and now there's finally data to prove it and tools to change it.

A new EU-backed study reveals that startups with at least one woman founder receive only 12% of total venture capital funding across Europe. In deep tech—the advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and climate systems that will power the continent's future—the gap gets even wider.

The European Commission launched the Gender Gap in Investments Dashboard, a first-of-its-kind data repository that tracks funding patterns across Europe in real time. It's not just about counting the gap anymore. It's about creating the pressure to close it.

"Once investors start benchmarking themselves, they want to improve," said Lucrezia Lo Sordo, Senior Research Officer at Invest Europe. "Data create peer pressure, and peer pressure works."

The numbers tell a stark story. Around 80% of deep tech companies are founded by all-male teams, which then attract nearly 90% of venture funding. Since deep tech requires massive upfront capital and years of development, these early funding decisions determine which breakthrough technologies Europe will actually be able to scale.

The research team didn't stop at spreadsheets. They conducted 81 in-depth interviews and engaged over 1,000 participants across 12 events in Europe, and the message from women founders was clear and consistent.

"We don't need more mentoring—we need money," said Maria Teresa Pérez Zaballos, founder of EndoGene. "Men get funding; women get advice."

The study identified a critical funding cliff. The EU's WomenTechEU program provides €75,000 in early grants, but in deep tech, that can run out in weeks instead of months. The next available EU instrument jumps to €2.5 million but requires far more technical maturity to qualify.

"There's a huge gap between €75,000 and €2.5 million," said Pérez Zaballos. "That gap is where many women-led deep tech companies fail."

The Ripple Effect

This isn't just about fairness in funding. Deep tech underpins Europe's green and digital transitions and reduces reliance on external technologies in energy, health, and security. Who gets funded directly shapes which innovations Europe can bring to market and which capabilities it develops or loses.

The dashboard gives public and private investors a shared benchmark to measure progress. Early programs in Estonia like HK Unicorn Squad already show how hands-on exposure to entrepreneurship and innovation can normalize risk-taking and experimentation from an early age, widening the pipeline before funding decisions even happen.

"Empowering women innovators is not just a matter of fairness—it is vital for Europe's competitiveness, resilience, and future growth," said Jean-David Malo, Acting Director for the European Research Area and Innovation at the European Commission.

Europe is building the infrastructure to turn visibility into accountability, and accountability into real capital flowing to the technologies and founders that have been overlooked for too long.