Sifted’s latest DACH & CEE leaderboard — which ranks the region’s 100 fastest-growing startups by revenue growth — features 27 profitable companies.
That’s a strong showing. By comparison, the UK & Ireland leaderboard had 25 profitable companies this year (up from just 12 in 2024). And — spoiler — the soon-to-launch France & Southern Europe leaderboard features 32.
The profitability push
Profitability remains a complicated benchmark. Investors have increasingly prioritised it over the past three years, moving away from growth-at-all-costs and nudging founders toward more sustainable financial models.
Yet when we speak to founders, many still downplay profitability in favour of top-line sales, market share and expansion. Even breaking even isn’t always considered a strategic milestone.
Still, profitable startups are gaining ground. According to Sifted data, fewer nearly a quarter of Europe’s fintech unicorns are profitable — and the shift is increasingly notable among younger, leaner companies.
AI is accelerating that shift: as teams automate, streamline and reduce headcount, revenue goes further — and profits become more attainable.
So, who in DACH & CEE is not only growing fast but also profitable?
- Germany’s AI note-taking assistant tl;dv leads the list, as the fastest-growing profitable B2B SaaS startup.
- Romania’s digital banking startup Finqware tops the fintechs.
- EHOSS, from Slovakia, is the highest-ranked profitable climate tech startup.
- Orqa, from Croatia, is the only profitable deeptech name on the leaderboard.
12 of the profitable companies also featured on our leaderboard last year — and were profitable then too. (Three companies chose not to disclose profitability in 2024.)
Built different: bootstrapped leaders
Notably, several names are bootstrapped — operating without VC backing and reaching profitability out of necessity. Among those publicly disclosing their profitability status are fintechs wflow (Czech Republic) and spotixx (Germany), and the HR tech FRATCH (Germany).
Note: Four profitable companies chose not to disclose profitability status. The table below details the remaining 23.
