European tech and the UK sector in particular are in rude health while investment in the US drops off, according to new reports.
British investment bank GP Bullhound produced data to suggest that $5billion (£3.5bn) was raised in the region in the first quarter of this year across 769 deals, a 66% increase since last April and the highest level of activity for five years.
That tallies with a Tech.eu report which claims that 790 deals worth €4.8bn (£3.3bn) were completed across Europe, Israel and Turkey in Q1.
The UK was the most active nation, with companies based there raising €1bn (£694m). Fintech was the most popular area for investment.
In comparison, US venture investments reached $12.1bn in 969 deals between January and March, down 5% from the final quarter of 2015 and 11% on Q1 in 2015.
That Q4 in 2015 itself saw the lowest level of funding for any quarter in the previous four years.
Europe is leading the way in artificial intelligence and virtual reality talent, areas in which Silicon Valley halo brands such as Facebook and Apple are acquiring companies rapidly in the race to dominate those markets.
The robustness of European tech amid more cautious investment, particularly from the US, shows the region is able to compete with the west coast of the States.
However the US has more than 100 unicorns – billion-dollar companies – compared with Europe’s 40.