European private equity and venture capital fundraising reached €45.6 billion in the first half of 2018, a 40% increase on the second half of last year, according to new data from Invest Europe.

This figure makes it the third highest six-month period since 2007, according to the European private equity and venture capital association. Invest Europe CEO Michael Collins will present the data on Friday at Invest Europe’s Venture Capital Forum in Paris. At this annual event, institutional investors meet the venture capital fund managers backing Europe’s innovative global leaders of the future. Venture capital investment in European start-ups surpassed €3 billion, reveals the new data, in the highest half-year result since 2007.