Balderton Capital has recruited founders from some of Europe’s biggest tech companies — including Revolut, Mistral and Wayve — to launch a new campaign aimed at boosting the continent’s startup ecosystem.
On Monday, the VC firm unveiled “Built in Europe”, an international campaign spanning London, Paris, Stockholm, Berlin and Munich, backed by more than 100 founders and CEOs from across the region’s startup scene. The campaign includes billboards, digital advertising and a jobs platform aggregating open positions from 1,000 European startups.
The initiative comes at a time when European tech investors and founders are increasingly pushing back against long-running narratives that Europe struggles to produce globally significant technology companies. Backers of the campaign say the region now has the talent, capital and experience needed to compete with the US and China in areas such as AI and fintech.
The campaign features founders from AI startups including ElevenLabs, Lovable and Synthesia, alongside deeptech companies such as Quantum Systems, The Exploration Company and Proxima Fusion.
Alex Kendall, cofounder and CEO of Wayve, said: “If you think about what’s going to matter in the next 100 years, it’s the really hard, deep technology, and startups are where that’s built. It’s the most adventurous, exciting thing you could do — build or join a startup in Europe.”
Anton Osika, cofounder of Lovable, added: “There has never been a better time to build from Europe than now. The talent is here, the capital is here, the ecosystem is here. And we have the ambition to match.”
The campaign coincides with a number of major European tech events taking place this month, including London Tech Week and VivaTech in Paris.
A central part of the initiative is BuiltInEurope.com, a jobs platform developed in-house by Balderton using API integrations and direct data feeds from startups. The firm says the site is designed to become Europe’s largest startup talent hub, listing roles from companies across sectors including AI, fintech, climate and healthtech.
Suranga Chandratillake, general partner at Balderton, said the campaign was intended to shift the narrative around European tech. “If you think about what’s going to matter in the next 100 years, it’s the really hard, deep technology, and startups are where that’s built,” he said. “It’s the most adventurous, exciting thing you could do.”
Balderton, one of Europe’s longest-standing venture firms, has previously backed companies including Revolut, Wayve, Darktrace and Depop.
