The number of women (co-)founded startups active in Luxembourg has grown consistently over the past decade, reflecting a gradually strengthening presence of women entrepreneurs in the national innovation landscape. 

According to Dealroom-powered data, 98 women (co-)founded startups are currently active in the country, representing 12% of Luxembourg’s global startup ecosystem. Among them, 74 startups are headquartered in Luxembourg.

Growth has significantly accelerated over the past three years, marked by the creation of 35 new women‑founded startups. This reflects the broader momentum observed across the global ecosystem in our Startups & Scaleups - Facts & Figures study. 

This expansion is encouraging and demonstrates a positive trajectory that should be maintained and strengthened in the years ahead.

Figure 1: Number of women-founded startups & scaleups in Luxembourg by launch year
Source of data: Dealroom

Figure 2: Women (co-)founded and total startup funding rounds across ticket sizes
Source of data: Dealroom

Women (co-)founded startups active in Luxembourg have collectively raised €617 million, representing 8% of all funding secured by the national startup ecosystem*. Despite this relatively modest share of total capital, these ventures account for 21% of all funding rounds, indicating that women-led companies are active fundraisers but tend to secure smaller ticket sizes.

More than half (51%) of women (co-)founded startups have disclosed positive funding. Yet their average round is approximately €3 million, significantly below the global startup average of €8 million. This gap suggests that while women entrepreneurs are attracting investors, they often face challenges in securing larger, scale‑enabling rounds. This is consistent with broader international findings showing structural funding disparities, especially in deep‑tech domains, as highlighted in a 2024 report by Supernovas, and once again in a 2025 study by Founders Forum Group.

The distribution of round sizes illustrates this dynamic: the disparity increases with the ticket size. Up to Series B, women co-founded startups maintain a consistent share of 18–21% of rounds. However, their participation drops by half at Series C and falls to 0% beyond €100 million rounds. This pattern aligns with the 2025 European Commission report on the Gender Investment Gap, which similarly observes sharper disparities at higher ticket sizes.

Funding sources also differ meaningfully. Women (co‑)founded startups in Luxembourg rely more heavily on grants and support programmes than the broader ecosystem. In terms of number of rounds, 47% of all rounds raised by women-founded startups come from public instruments or support schemes, compared with only 36% across all startups.

*All types of rounds are included, also grants and support programmes. All startups are active in Luxembourg (HQ, founded and regular office).

A comparison between Luxembourg and Europe reveals two distinct dynamics in how women (co‑)founded startups participate in fundraising. 

At the European level, the share of rounds involving women‑founded companies has followed a steady upward trajectory, increasing from 9.3% in 2015 to 14.4% in 2024, with limited volatility. Over the same period, women’s share of VC amounts rose gradually from 6.9% to 12%, demonstrating slow but consistent progress toward narrowing the gender gap.

Figure 3A: Europe - Share of VC funding to women‑founded teams (rounds vs amount, 2015–2024)
Source of data: The Gender Investment Gap affecting both women‑led companies and women‑led investment funds - Final Report (Nov 2025).

Figure 3B: Luxembourg – Women (co-)founded startups: share of rounds vs share of funding (2015–2025)
Source of data: Dealroom

In contrast, Luxembourg displays a more fluctuating pattern. The share of rounds oscillates widely, from 13% in 2015 to peaks of 21% in 2016, 2022, and 2023, before settling at 19% in 2025. This variability likely reflects the smaller size of the Luxembourg ecosystem, where a limited number of deals can significantly influence annual proportions. Similarly, the share of VC amounts raised by women‑founded startups in Luxembourg ranges from 3% in 2015 to highs of 14–15% in recent years.

Overall, the comparison suggests that whereas Europe shows stable structural improvement, Luxembourg exhibits a higher ceiling but also greater volatility. Women startup founders in Luxembourg participate in a higher proportion of rounds than the European average, but this does not translate consistently into proportional funding amounts.

In terms of absolute counts, health (19), enterprise software (17) and fintech (16) remain the most active verticals for women founders. However, their share relative to the total number of startups in those industries varies significantly: women represent 20% of health startups, but only 8% in enterprise software and fintech, indicating that while women are present in these sectors, they remain underrepresented in more technical or capital-intensive domains.

Notable examples include healthtech companies such as Hale-X and AutiHD and enterprise software pioneers like Elora and Karimi. In the fintech sector, companies like Moniflo, whose creator, Ala Presenti, was awarded the “Startup Award” at the 2025 Women in Tech Europe Awards, and Fundcraft. The space sector also ranks highly as the fourth largest industry for women (co-)founded startups, featuring innovative companies such as WEO and AIRMO.

By contrast, several smaller industries show exceptionally high shares of women-led companies, even with lower absolute counts. Fashion stands out with 43% of startups being women (co-)founded, followed by education (27%) and wellness & beauty (27%).

It is interesting to note that two deeptech sectors show above-average female representation: robotics (24%) and space (19%).

Figure 4: Women co-founded startups by industry - absolute count and share of the Luxembourg ecosystem
 Source of data: Dealroom
*One startup can be classified in up to 2 industries

Sam Staincliffe
Co-founder & CEO of Uplift360

Uplift360

Founded with the vision to lead the way in circular economy innovation and to create secure advanced materials for Europe, Uplift360 has rapidly become one of Luxembourg’s most compelling deeptech scaleups. 

Co‑founded by Sam Staincliffe, a leading female innovator in circular‑materials science, the company operates between Luxembourg and the UK and develops advanced materials regeneration technologies that strengthen European supply chains. 

In early 2026, Uplift360 secured a €7.4 million seed round, bringing its total funding to €9.4 million, a strong endorsement of its scientific foundations, commercial potential, and strategic relevance for Europe’s industrial resilience.

Now a team of 21 employees, Uplift360 is scaling its technology platform and expanding partnerships with major aerospace, defence, automotive and energy OEMs. Uplift360 already works with major industrial partners such as Babcock on Eurofighter Typhoon end-of-life materials recovery, Leonardo on turning Merlin helicopter blades into UxV components and a project with Rolls-Royce.

Partao

Founded in early 2025 by Virginia Strong and Alex Ootes, Partao has quickly become one of Luxembourg’s standout startups in the agri‑tech sector. The company is modernising the fragmented agricultural machinery parts market through a specialised e‑commerce platform built with an AI‑first approach. 

In just a few months, the company secured a €3 million pre-seed round led by Mangrove Capital Partners — a strong vote of confidence in both the market potential and the execution capabilities of its founding team. 

Supported by Luxembourg’s innovation ecosystem, Partao was incubated at the Luxembourg-City Incubator, graduated from Fit 4 Start, and is now progressing through Fit 4 Scale as it accelerates its expansion.

With a team of 25+ employees, Partao is already scaling its marketplace, operating in 27 countries, onboarding suppliers and serving farmers, dealers and mechanics who have long lacked a modern digital solution. 

Virginia Strong
Co-founder & COO of Partao