Research & Insights
Finch Capital publishes research on critical technology for Europe's regulated industries and functions
Market Pulse
July 2026 Edition
Executive Summary
European Pulse-sector funding fell sharply in July, down 81% month-on-month to €494m across 82 rounds (June: €2,668m / 130 rounds) — the lowest value and the lowest volume of the trailing twelve months. One deal carries the month: Bridgepoint's €200m growth investment in Skello is 41% of the Pulse total and lifts CFO & Workforce SW to a 67% share (€333m). Excluding it, the remaining 81 rounds raised just €294m.
Public comps moved the other way. Median EV/Revenue rose in all six baskets from Q2-26 to Q3-26 and the Finch Pulse Composite gained 6.0% in the month, though it remains -17.5% LTM against +15.9% for the S&P 500 and +20.8% for the Nasdaq 100.
On the deal front, Finch-backed Fourthline and Veridas signed a merger on 16 July, combining institutional-grade KYC/AML orchestration with a proprietary biometric and anti-fraud stack into a European identity champion expecting c.115m verifications in 2026 across 50+ countries. Cap Markets & DA still leads on fundamentals with the highest median Rule of 40 (52) and the premium EV/Revenue multiple (5.5x).
€494m
July Pulse funding, 82 rounds (-81% MoM)
67%
Share taken by CFO & Workforce SW (€333m)
-17.5%
Finch Pulse Composite LTM vs. +20.8% Nasdaq
115m
Verifications expected from Fourthline × Veridas in 2026
July's Hot Topics
Finch-backed Fourthline and Veridas merge into a European identity platform
Identity and compliance consolidates: Fourthline and Veridas combine into a European identity champion
Fourthline (Amsterdam) and Veridas (Pamplona) signed a merger agreement on 16 July, pairing Fourthline's institutional-grade KYC/AML compliance orchestration across Northern and Central Europe with Veridas's proprietary biometric and anti-fraud stack in Southern Europe, the US and Latin America. Consideration was not disclosed.
Finch Capital, an existing Fourthline investor, is part-funding the transaction alongside new investor Rabo Investments; Veridas shareholders including BBVA roll into the combination. Both businesses are EBITDA-positive and expect c.115m verifications in 2026 across 50+ countries. Close is expected in H2-26, subject to regulatory approval.
115m
Identity verifications the combined platform expects to run in 2026 across 50+ countries; signed in Jul 2026, close expected H2-26
Funding falls to €494m, the weakest month of the LTM window, while public multiples re-rate upward in all six baskets
Pulse-sector funding fell 81% MoM to €494m across 82 rounds (June: €2,668m / 130 rounds); the lowest value and the lowest volume of the trailing twelve months.
One deal carries the month: Bridgepoint's €200m growth investment in Skello is 41% of the Pulse total and lifts CFO & Workforce SW to a 67% share (€333m). Excluding it, the remaining 81 rounds raised €294m.
The public comps moved the other way: median EV/Revenue rose in all six baskets Q2-26 → Q3-26 and the composite gained 6.0% in the month; though it is still -17.5% LTM against +15.9% for the S&P 500 and +20.8% for the Nasdaq 100.
€494m
Pulse-sector funding in July: -81% MoM and the weakest month of the LTM window · 82 rounds · Skello alone is 41%
Sources: Fourthline / Veridas merger announcement, 16 Jul 2026; Bridgepoint / Skello announcement, 6 Jul 2026; PitchBook deal data & comps (Jul-26); Finch Capital analysis.
Finch Pulse Index: July Rebound, Still -17.5% LTM
Equal-weight composite of the six baskets, indexed to 100 (LTM to Jul-26)
Finch Pulse Composite vs. major indices
Indexed to 100 at Aug-25
LTM total return by sector
Total return over the last twelve months to Jul-26
Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 24-Aug-2026. Sources: PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Finch Capital analysis.
Valuation Multiples: All Six Baskets Re-Rate in Q3-26
Equal-weight median TTM EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA per comp basket, quarterly
Median EV / TTM Revenue
Median of liquid public comps per basket
Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 24-Aug-2026. Sources: PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Finch Capital analysis.
Rule of 40: Cap Markets & DA Still Leads, at 52
Median NTM revenue growth % + EBITDA margin % per basket
Median Rule of 40 by sector
Quarterly, Q4-24 to Q3-26
Rule of 40 vs. EV/Revenue (Q3-26)
Quality is being paid for: higher Rule of 40 scores earn premium multiples
Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 24-Aug-2026. Sources: PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Finch Capital analysis.
VC & Growth Funding: July Falls 81% to €494m
European rounds across the six Pulse sectors and seven regions, Aug-25 to Jul-26
Funding value (€m) by sector
Monthly, Aug-25 to Jul-26
Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 24-Aug-2026. Sources: PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Finch Capital analysis.
Top 15 VC & Growth Deals: Europe, July 2026
The month's most notable VC & growth deals across the six Pulse sectors
| # | Company | Description | Sector | Country | Stage | Amount (€m) | Lead investor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skello | Frontline workforce scheduling | CFO & Workforce SW | France | Later VC | 200 | Bridgepoint Group |
| 2 | Velocity | Multi-asset treasury & payments | CFO & Workforce SW | United Kingdom | Early VC | 33 | Dragonfly Capital, FirstMark Capital |
| 3 | Risk Ledger | Supply-chain cyber risk | Legal, Risk & Comp. | United Kingdom | Later VC | 28 | Axiom Equity, Mercia Ventures |
| 4 | LemonEdge | Private-capital accounting | CFO & Workforce SW | United Kingdom | Later VC | 23 | Blackstone Innovations Investments |
| 5 | Young Platform | Retail crypto exchange | Cap Markets & DA | Italy | Later VC | 23 | Azimut Holding |
| 6 | Aria | Embedded B2B credit | Payments | France | Later VC | 22 | 115K, 13books Capital, Adevinta |
| 7 | Ominimo | AI motor underwriting | Banking & Ins. SW | Hungary | Early VC | 20 | EBRD Venture Capital Investment Programme |
| 8 | sherpa AI | External workforce AI agents | CFO & Workforce SW | Germany | Seed | 16 | Seedcamp |
| 9 | Skalar | AI tax & accounting automation | CFO & Workforce SW | Germany | Early VC | 12 | Headline, futurepresent, QED Investors, ... |
| 10 | Thought Machine | Cloud-native core banking | Banking & Ins. SW | United Kingdom | Later VC | 11 | Undisclosed tier-1 bank |
| 11 | Kintai | SME merchant cash advance | Banking & Ins. SW | Spain | Later VC | 10 | Barlon Capital |
| 12 | Intropy AI | Parts & equipment pricing AI | CFO & Workforce SW | United Kingdom | Seed | 10 | Felix Capital |
| 13 | Datapizza | AI consulting & tech recruiting | CFO & Workforce SW | Italy | Later VC | 9 | Nextalia SGR |
| 14 | Mach42 | Neural simulation acceleration | CFO & Workforce SW | United Kingdom | PE Growth | 8 | IP Group |
| 15 | Kord | KYC & AML onboarding | Legal, Risk & Comp. | United Kingdom | Early VC | 8 | Guinness Ventures, Beringea, SFC Capital |
Top 15 Exits: Europe, July 2026
The month's most notable M&A and IPO exits across the six Pulse sectors
| # | Acquiree | Description | Acquirer | Sector | Country | Exit type | EV (€m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quantios | Trust & corporate services SaaS | Vista Equity Partners | Cap Markets & DA | United Kingdom | Merger/Acquisition | 469 |
| 2 | Fourthline | KYC/AML identity verification | Veridas (merger) | Legal, Risk & Comp. | Netherlands | Merger/Acquisition | n/a |
| 3 | Paydock | Payments orchestration | Coles Group | Payments | United Kingdom | Merger/Acquisition | n/a |
| 4 | Amarris Contact | Outsourced accounting services | Arkéa Capital | CFO & Workforce SW | France | Buyout/LBO | 39 |
| 5 | HMM Deutschland | Healthcare payments workflow | Banyan Software | Payments | Germany | Buyout/LBO | n/a |
| 6 | Pflegia | Healthcare staffing marketplace | UCA | CFO & Workforce SW | Germany | Buyout/LBO | n/a |
| 7 | FNZ Switzerland | Private-banking core software | Objectway | Banking & Ins. SW | Switzerland | Buyout/LBO | n/a |
| 8 | Send | Commercial insurance underwriting | Duck Creek Technologies | Banking & Ins. SW | United Kingdom | Buyout/LBO | n/a |
| 9 | Greiðslumiðlun | Icelandic payment services | Siminn | Payments | Iceland | Merger/Acquisition | 19 |
| 10 | WIZE | Wealth management software | Banyan Software | Cap Markets & DA | Switzerland | Buyout/LBO | n/a |
| 11 | Alkimii | Hotel workforce management | August Equity | CFO & Workforce SW | Ireland | Buyout/LBO | n/a |
| 12 | Úrs Cz | Construction cost estimating | MidEuropa | Real Assets Tech | Czech Republic | Buyout/LBO | n/a |
| 13 | Toba HR Solutions | Benelux human capital software | Ortec | CFO & Workforce SW | Belgium | Merger/Acquisition | n/a |
| 14 | Viterbit | Recruitment automation software | InfoJobs | CFO & Workforce SW | Spain | Merger/Acquisition | n/a |
| 15 | Friendsurance | P2P digital insurance | Cover Genius | Banking & Ins. SW | Germany | Merger/Acquisition | n/a |
Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 24-Aug-2026. Sources: PitchBook, press.
Archive
Archive — Past Market Pulse Reports
Browse previous editions of the Finch Capital Monthly Market Pulse.
Market Pulse - August 2026
Mastercard closes BVNK as stablecoin infrastructure goes mainstream; funding slips 16% to €413m.
Market Pulse - July 2026
Finch-backed Fourthline and Veridas merge into a European identity platform as funding falls 81% to €494m.
Market Pulse - June 2026
Clearwater Analytics taken private at $8.4bn as the Finch Pulse Composite steadies against major indices.