European technology companies have undeniably entered the global stage to compete with tech made in Silicon Valley. While the United States is still home to 4 times the amount of tech companies worth more than 1 billion USD (so-called “unicorns”), Europe is catching up at speed and breeding unicorns faster than the US ever did. The growth rate in 2021 outpaced the rate of its peers overseas by a staggering 100%.

A study published by tech M&A advisor i5invest and venture builder i5growth also reveals the importance of US capital invested into European unicorns, with US investors making up 48% of unicorn cap tables in Europe. A look at the continent’s soon-to-be unicorns reveals hints at what to expect in 2022 including some interesting trends.

European Unicorns

With 85 new unicorns created in 2021, Europe currently counts 132 tech companies that have a valuation of at least 1bn USD. Comparing numbers to the historical development of unicorns in the US, Europe’s total account is almost at the level of US unicorns in 2020 (152). Europe’s top 5 highest valued unicorns are Klarna (EUR 37.5bn; Sweden), Checkout.com (EUR 35.4bn; UK), Revolut (EUR 27.8bn; UK), Northvolt (9.7bn; Sweden) and Global Switch (EUR 9.6bn; UK), revealing a clear FinTech focus at the top. With 41 unicorns in the UK, 25 in Germany, 23 in France, and 6 in Sweden and Austria, these countries are the Top 5 home countries of European unicorns. Looking at all European unicorns, FinTechs have the highest average valuation with EUR 3.89bn, followed by their peers from EdTech, Marketing, and HR, on average valued at EUR 2.70bn.

On average, a European unicorn has a valuation of EUR 3.1bn, funding of EUR 562.7M, created 1,027 jobs, and is 10 years and 4 months old. Within just 10 months, Gorillas, a grocery delivery service founded in Berlin, went from 0 to 1bn in valuation and stands out as the fastest unicorn ever created in Europe.

The report also reveals that 48% of the investors on unicorn captables originate from outside of Europe, predominantly from North America. US funds with the most European unicorns in their portfolio are Accel (19 unicorns), Index Ventures (12), Tiger Global (10), and TCV and General Atlantic (9 each).

European Soonicorns

While data on unicorns can be researched online with reasonable effort, data on soon-to-be unicorns is much harder to find while being a more interesting gauge when trying to look into the future. The publishers of this report have asked European investors to name the expected soon-to-become unicorns from their portfolio, resulting in a list of 253 names with the potential to achieve a valuation of USD 1bn within the next 24 months. On average, a European soonicorn has a valuation of EUR 285.8M, funding of EUR 121.5M, created 311 jobs, and is 8 years and 7 months old.

The predominant industry focus among soonicorns is FinTech, followed by AI & Big Data and Life Science & HealthTech, and the UK dominates the ranking of countries home to the most soonicorns (73), followed by Germany (52), France (32), Switzerland (19), the Netherlands (13) and Austria (12). 

On average, unicorns are 21 months older than soonicorns in Europe, hinting at how quickly we might expect a sharp increase in the number of unicorns. 39% of the investors on soonicorn captables originate from outside of Europe, with US VCs Index Ventures (15 soonicorns), Accel (12), FJ Labs (10), Tiger Global and Salesforce Ventures (both 7) leading the ranking of most soon-to-be unicorns in their portfolio.

Regional Insights: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg 

With 3 new ones created in 2021, the total number of unicorns in the region rises to 8 - Mollie, Mambu, MessageBird, Bunq, and Bitfury in the Netherlands, Collibra and Odoo in Belgium and OCSiAI in Luxembourg. On average, a unicorn in the region has EUR 3.1bn in valuation, raised EUR 437.3M in funding, created 689 jobs, and is 13 years and 2 months old.

The region is also home to 20 promising companies with the potential to enter the unicorn club in the next 24 months - Bux, Catawiki, dott, Fairphone, Lumicks, Mosa Meat, SendCloud, Shypple, Studocu, Tiquets, Trengo, VanMoof, and WeTransfer in the Netherlands; and Cowboy, Deliverect, Drylock Technologies, eTheRNA Immunotherapies, Promethera, Showpad and Univercells in Belgium. On average, they have a valuation of EUR 248.4M, raised EUR 103.21M in funding, created 354 jobs, and are 9 years and 3 months old.

The investors with the most regional unicorns in their portfolio are US funds Tiger Global and TCV, with two investments each. Dutch funds Peak and HPE Growth lead the soonicorn ranking with 3 investments each.

“In total, uni- and soonicorns in BENELUX have created an incredible 13,000 jobs to date. Given the very promising soon-to-be unicorns in the pipeline, we will see a stronger than ever the economic impact of tech startups in the region in the next 24 months”, Herwig Springer, CEO of i5invest, predicts.

Regional Insights: The UK and Ireland

With 27 new unicorns created in 2021, the total number of unicorns has risen to 44, setting the region far ahead of any other country in Europe. The region’s most valuable unicorn is Checkout.com (EUR 35.4bn), followed by Revolut (EUR 27.8bn), Global Switch (EUR 9.6bn), Hopin (EUR 6.6bn), and Howden Group (EUR 4.3bn). On average, a unicorn in the region has a valuation of EUR 3.5bn, has raised EUR 534M in funding, created 941 jobs and is 10 years and 5 months old.

The region is also home to 73 companies with the potential to enter the unicorn club in the next 24 months. On average, a soonicorn in the region currently has a valuation of EUR 316.3M, funding of EUR 122.9M, has created 279 jobs, and is 9 years old.

The investor with the most regional unicorns in its portfolio is Balderton (7), while LocalGlobe leads the soonicorn ranking with 10 investments made.

“In total, uni- and soonicorns in the UK and Ireland have created an incredible 63,000 jobs to date. Given the very promising soon-to-be unicorns in the pipeline, we will see a stronger than ever the economic impact of tech startups in the region in the next 24 months”, predicts Herwig Springer, CEO of i5invest.

Regional Insights: Estonia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Romania

With 3 new unicorns created in 2021, the total number of unicorns in the region rises to 4 - Bolt in Estonia (the region’s most valuable unicorn with a valuation of EUR 74bn), Rohlik.cz in Czech Republic, Vinted in Lithuania, and DocPlanner in Poland. On average, a unicorn in the region has a valuation of EUR 4.0bn, raised 651.9M in funds, created 1799 jobs, and is 10 years and 9 months old. To compare, Romania’s former unicorn UIpath was valued at EUR 35bn before it went public in April 2021.

The region is also home to 4 promising companies with the potential to enter the unicorn club in the next 24 months - PVcase in Lithuania, Brainly in Poland, DRUID in Romania and Oradian in Croatia. On average, they are valued at EUR 272.8M, have raised EUR 40.4M in funding, created 188 jobs, and are 8 years old.

The investors with the most regional unicorns in their portfolio are Russian funds enern and Kaya with two investments each, while German fund Point Nine leads the soonicorn ranking.

“In total, uni- and soonicorns in Eastern Europe have created 8,000 jobs to date. Given the promising soon-to-be unicorns in the pipeline, we expect to see a continued economic impact of tech startups in the region in the next 24 months”, predicts Herwig Springer, CEO of i5invest.

Overall, Eastern Europe sees significant influence by non-local investors with nearly a third of the region's investors coming from the US. Local investors headquartered in the region only represent a fifth of all investors.

Regional Insights: France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain

With 13 new unicorns created in 2021, the total number of unicorns in the region rises to 28 (23 in France, 4 in Spain and 1 in Greece). A tremendous start into 2022 also saw 4 more companies* in Spain make the jump to unicorn status (TravelPerk, Paack, Fever & Domestika**) in January.

The region’s most valuable unicorn is French Back Market (EUR 5.1bn), followed by Qonto (EUR 4.4bn), Sorare (EUR 3.6bn), Mirakl (EUR 3bn), and Cabify (EUR 2.6bn). On average, a unicorn in the region has 1.8bn in valuation, raised 478M in funding, created 1,014 jobs, and is 9 years and 11 months.

The region is also home to 43 promising companies with the potential to enter the unicorn club in the next 24 months. On average, a soonicorn in the region is valued at 216.5M, raised 114.4M in funding, created 247 jobs, and is 7 years and 8 months old.

The investors with the most regional unicorns in their portfolio are bpi france and kima ventures with 10 investments each, while eurazeo leads the soonicorn ranking with 12 investments made.

“In total, uni- and soonicorns in Southern Europe have created an incredible 39,000 jobs to date. Given the very promising soon-to-be unicorns in the pipeline, we will see a stronger than ever the economic impact of tech startups in the region in the next 24 months”, predicts Herwig Springer, CEO of i5invest.

Regional Insights: Germany, Austria

German unicorns und soonicorns 

With 25 tech unicorns, Germany lands in second place in the European ranking of most unicorns. The most valuable domestic startup is Celonis with a valuation of over 9 billion euros, followed by N26 with 7.7 billion euros and Personio with 5 billion euros. Together, Germany's Unicorns have created over 57,000 jobs to date.

Herwig Springer, CEO of Tech M&A Advisor i5invest: "Germany particularly stands out with speed. 4 of the top 5 companies that have achieved a valuation of over a billion the fastest after founding come from Germany. While food delivery company Gorillas had the fastest sprint at 10 months, Flink, Razor Group and Seller X took about 15 months each. That's really quite impressive." 

There are a total of 11 companies in Germany that have so far achieved an exit, i.e. company sale or IPO, with a valuation of more than one billion USD. In 2021, these were Atai Life Science, Mytheresa, Signavio, Auto1, About You and Deposit Solutions. These are thus no longer unicorns in the established definition, but continue to grow strongly. Together they have created over 35,000 jobs to date.

"That Germany's place at the European unicorn top will not remain a snapshot is shown by the impressive number of those companies that investors believe have the potential to also reach a billion valuation in the next 24 months," says Simona Hübl, CEO of tech investor i5growth. The 52 domestic companies on the leap to the unicorn have already created more than 26,000 jobs. "Many of them have closed large financing rounds in 2021, which is why we will see even stronger growth here in the coming months."

What makes Germany's Soonicorns also stand out Hübl is particularly pleased: "Soonicorn founding teams include a total of 11 female founders - that's the most in Europe and shows that Germany's elite tech startups are finally becoming more female." 

Austrian Unicorns

Austrian Unicorns and Soonicorns 

"In 2021, we in Austria have finally managed to show up in international headlines," comments the managing director of M&A advisor i5invest Herwig Springer on Austria's 4th place in the unicorn ranking with a total of six tech companies.

Among them, in addition to the companies Bitpanda, GoStudent, TTTech and Tricentis, which are financed with a lot of venture capital, are two "hidden champions": Copa-Data, a manufacturer of industrial automation software based in Salzburg with annual revenues of €64 million in 2021; and Loxone, a manufacturer of smart home solutions based in Upper Austria. Both companies have grown so far without raising venture capital, and are valued at over a billion based on their financials as well as investor assessments. "In total, the six Austrian unicorns have created over 6,000 jobs, and will likely continue to show strong growth in 2022," Springer adds.

The "That Austria's place at the European unicorn top will not remain a snapshot is shown by the impressive number of those companies that investors believe have the potential to also reach a billion valuation in the next 24 months," says Simona Hübl, managing director of tech investor i5growth. The 12 domestic companies on the verge of becoming unicorns are Adverity, Anyline, blackshark.ai, IXOLIT, Logsta, Meister, PlanRadar, Refurbed, Storebox, TourRadar, Tractive and USound. Together, these Austrian companies have already created more than 1,500 jobs. "Many of them have closed major financing rounds in 2021, so we will see even stronger growth here in the coming months. The impact of technology companies on the domestic economy can already no longer be understated. What Austria's most promising startups urgently want is simplified access to the labor market for foreign professionals," Hübl sums up many conversations with founders.

Regional Insights: Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden)

To the existing number of 5 unicorns in the region in 2020, a total number of 14 new unicorns were created in 2021 to join the unicorn club. However, we also saw 5 unicorns exiting, leading to the total number of unicorns remaining at 14 (6 in Sweden, 3 in Norway, 2 in Denmark & Finland, and 1 in Iceland). The region’s most valuable unicorn is Swedish FinTech Klarna (EUR 37.5bn), followed by Northvolt (EUR 9.7bn), Trustly (EUR 7.5bn), Pleo (EUR 4.2bn) and Alvotech (2bn). Looking at median figures, a unicorn in the region has 1.7bn in valuation, raised 345.5M in funding, created 552 jobs and is 9 years old.

The region is also home to 26 promising companies with the potential to enter the unicorn club in the next 24 months. On average, a soonicorn in the region has 261.5M in valuation, raised 107.3M in capital, created 192 jobs and is 8 years and 8 months old.

The investors with the most regional unicorns in their portfolio are Life Line Ventures Voima Ventures and Northzone with 4 unicorn investments each, while Creandum leads the soonicorn ranking with 5 investments.

“In total, uni- and soonicorns in Northern Europe have created an incredible 22,000 jobs to date. Given the very promising soon-to-be unicorns in the pipeline, we will see a stronger than ever economic impact of tech startups in the region in the next 24 months”, predicts Herwig Springer, CEO of i5invest.