2026 Report: Looking ahead to 2026: Funding, exits and hiring

‍_{This blog is taken from a section of our Finance Leaders in Tech Report 2026. To read the report in full, click here.}

Funding

2025 was a year of macroeconomic unpredictability defined by geopolitical instability and persistent high borrowing costs, impacting funding and exit aspirations across the tech sector. According to PitchBook’s Q3 2025 European Venture Report, overall venture funding across Europe is expected to be down by approximately 6% by the end of 2025 compared to 2024. However, PitchBook notes that first-time deal value in 2025 was pacing 11.8% above 2024, indicating stronger support for new companies, especially in the AI field.However, follow-on deals have slightly declined compared to 2024, buoyed significantly by Mistral AI and Nscale’s mega rounds of $1B +. There has been a distinct shift in investor attention throughout 2025 toward AI-driven ventures, leaving some sectors struggling to stand out as capital gravitates toward perceived technological winners. Caution also persists within private markets, where funds managing illiquid portfolios have become more conservative and selective about how and when they deploy capital.

Despite this slightly challenging backdrop, when asked about raising capital in 2026, 40% of CFOs in our data set stated they would be looking to raise in 2026, and 84% of them said they were feeling confident about their upcoming raise, despite the aforementioned market challenges. VC investment was the most popular type of funding being sought, followed by Debt and PE funding.

At first glance, an 84% confidence rating across our respondents may feel high given current market conditions. It is possible our data is slightly skewed by the stage of clients we support, who may have better odds of securing capital this year. Alternatively, it may reflect a degree of optimism bias among the CFO cohort surveyed. In our 2026 report, we will ask whether the CFOs planning to raise in 2026 were successfully able to do so over the year ahead.
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“In a world of moreselective capital, the most impactful finance leaders are those who haveinternalisedthe new environment. They are running muchtighterfundraising processes, arriving inthe marketwith cleaner data, sharper narratives, and inspiringgrowthand efficiencymetrics. With such a fully shaped story one can be confident about raising a strong round in 2026.”

Andrei Brasoveanu, Partner at Accel

Exits

The muted exit activity across Europe has undeniably been a headline across the tech industry over the last few years.As mentioned earlier in this report, seeking better returns from an exit event is the third most common reason for CFOs looking for a new role this year.But our data suggests that CFO confidence is also building across the ecosystem.Of the CFOs planning an exit in this cohort, only 8% said that an exit was unlikely.

49% of CFOs selected 2-4 years as the most likely timeframe for an exit event in their business. When split by company stage, the trends were broadly in line with our estimations: longer expected exit windows at the early stages, with shorter windows as a company matures.Notably, 34% of CFOs within PE-owned businesses believe their exit window to be within 1-2 years, which could be a good indication of renewed optimism in the sector.
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When analysing this data by company sector, 11% of CFOs in the e-commerce sector said that an exit was unlikely, compared to 3% in SaaS and 0% in both marketplace and payment sectors. E-commerce was one of the sectors most impacted by the new trade tariffs introduced in 2025 and the subsequent pressure on global supply chains. Looking ahead, this commercial upheaval might be reflected in longer anticipated exit windows.30% of marketplace and SaaS CFOs selected 1-2 years as their estimated exit window, compared with only circa 10% of their peers in e-commerce or payments.
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“Notwithstanding some volatility going into the end of the year, the overall funding and exit environment for Technology companies took a leap forward in 2025, and the backdrop is very positive for 2026. Technology M&A has been a primary driver of a market that saw US deal values rise about 45% to $1.6 trillion, and the IPO market has shown a strong rebound from recent lows. We expect to see the market open for some very large private technology companies to list in the US, which could be a very positive driver for further activity.But, this is not a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’ environment. Companies that are "AI-native" or havedemonstrableAI tailwinds are taking the vast majority of the capital and attention. In 2025, AI-related investments accounted for a dominant share of global venture capital deal value, with some quarters showing it drove over 70% of US VC activity. And in every transaction, the viability of every company is now scrutinised heavily through a rapidly changing AI lens. And closer to home, the IPO market in Europe is still very nascent and favours larger, global platforms that will be very liquid public companies, leaving a sale of the company the most likely exit option. Therefore, while we see scope for significant fundraising, IPO and strategic activity, the impact will be highly varied on a company-by-company and sector-by-sector basis.”
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Cliff Marriott- Managing Director, TMT Europe, Goldman Sachs.

Hiring

When asked about expanding their teams in 2026, it’s clear that many CFOs surveyed are planning to grow their teams this year, with 59% intending to hire in 2026. On average, each of these CFOs said they would be hiring three new team members.
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As the cornerstone of any finance team, FP&A and Accounting roles were the front-runners for this cohort of CFOs. The third most common position was Data & BI, highlighting a growing trend where this function sits more commonly within the finance remit. In our experience, CFOs often advocate for this structure, arguing that a finance team is a more neutral space for this type of work and responsibility.

The number of AI specialist roles also piqued our interest. We believe this is a specialism to track within the finance remit over the coming years as AI adoption increases. This will be a data point we revisit again in our 2026 report to see whether the need for this skill set has materially increased.

“In 2026, my focus will be on how the finance leadership will shift from AI experimentation tostrategic implementation, reimagining the department’s DNA. Expansion focuses onaugmentation, integrating specialised roles likeAI Product OwnersandData Architectsto ensure efficient, auditable workflows.This transformation redefines the junior talent market; by automating manual tasks, firms empower agile, curious professionals to assume strategic responsibilities much earlier in their careers. The winning 2026 strategy prioritiseshuman leadership over tool adoption, nurturing a tech-fluent team capable of leading AI to drive high-level business value.”
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Emmanuel Thomassin- CFO at Wise

‍_{This blog is taken from a section of our Finance Leaders in Tech Report 2026. To read the report in full, click here.}

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