In 2021, impact startups raised a record €39B in venture funding, surpassing the full calendar year 2020 by €16B. Europe is the region with the highest share of impact investing as a total of VC investment, while North America attracts the highest amount of impact funding compared to other geographies. Climate-aware startups dominate, with startups tackling the Climate Action and Affordable and Clean Energy UN SDGs combined raising €100B+ since 2017. However, startups addressing the people-related UN SDGs are underfunded.
