Rankings

Europe’s startup unicorns

Unicorns aren’t the rare beasts they once were in European tech — despite the long odds that companies shooting for that milestone still face.

Europe is now home to more than 150 unicorns, according to Sifted’s criteria. 47 of Europe’s unicorns graduated in 2022 — a small dip compared to the 69 the continent saw the year before but still more than triple the 15 born in 2020.

As well as being a privately held, VC-backed company valued at $1bn, to be classed as a unicorn startups must have reached a $1bn valuation on any round prior to IPO or acquisition, been founded after 2005 and be both founded and headquartered in Europe.

Companies valued at $1bn at IPO but never at any prior financing stage are not considered unicorns as they are no longer privately held at that valuation.

To help you keep track of it all, Sifted’s team has compiled a list of Europe’s unicorns using data from European Startups and our own research — with valuation estimates from Dealroom. We’ll update the list whenever a new company hits the $1bn valuation.

Note: if there is anyone missing from this list, or something needs updating, please let us know by email at rankings@sifted.eu

For an in-depth analysis of the latest unicorn cohort check out our Pro briefing on Europe's 2022 unicorns.

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Istanbul, Turkey

2019

Series C

€250m

€450m

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Stockholm, Sweden

2005

Growth Equity VC

€727.3m

€3.8b

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Paris, France

2006

Convertible

€104.5m

€510m

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Lausanne, Switzerland

2012

Late VC

€95.5m

€307.7m

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Bristol, United Kingdom

2016

-

-

€620m

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London, United Kingdom

2015

Secondary

-

€782.5m

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London, United Kingdom

2012

Late VC

€101.8m

€785.5m

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Austin (previously Germany), United States

2007

Series B

€150.2m

€150.2m

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Ellon, United Kingdom

2007

Late VC

€2.5m

€147.3m

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London, United Kingdom

2015

Secondary

-

€1.6b

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Berlin, Germany

2013

Series E

€818.2m

€1.6b

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Munich, Germany

2011

Series D

€363.6m

€1.6b

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Tallinn, Estonia

2013

Series F

€628m

€1.7b

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Berlin, Germany

2012

Series E

€72.7m

€432.7m

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Madrid, Spain

2011

Late VC

-

€368.9m

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

2011

Series C

€72.7m

€182m

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Zurich, Switzerland

2016

Late VC

-

€148.2m

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Munich, Germany

2013

Series G

€295.4m

€805.5m

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London, United Kingdom

2015

Late VC

€454.6m

€1.2b

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London, United Kingdom

2005

Late VC

€272.7m

€706.9m

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London, United Kingdom

2012

Series D

€909.1m

€1.7b

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London, United Kingdom

2008

Seed

-

-

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London, United Kingdom

2016

Secondary

-

€700m

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London, United Kingdom

2011

Debt

€750m

€39.1m

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Berlin, Germany

2015

Series D

€363.6m

€1.2b

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Leudelange, Luxembourg

2010

Growth Equity VC

€90.9m

€95.5m

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Impington, United Kingdom

2014

Series D

€545.5m

€896.4m

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Stockholm, Sweden

2016

Convertible

€1b

€5b

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Amsterdam-Duivendrecht, Netherlands

2015

Series D

€600m

€900m

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Vilnius, Lithuania

2008

Series F

€250m

€483.4m

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London, United Kingdom

2010

Series E

€265.4m

€595.2m

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Paris, France

2016

Series C

€209.1m

€269.5m

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Levallois-Perret, France

2013

Debt

€250m

€487.2m

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Bristol, United Kingdom

2008

Growth Equity VC

€240m

€277.2m

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Berlin, Germany

2009

Debt

€80m

€728m

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London, United Kingdom

2019

Support Program

-

€928.7m

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Paris, France

2012

Series F

€363.6m

€1.1b

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Paris, France

2013

Late VC

€266m

€447.8m

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Solihull, United Kingdom

2012

Growth Equity VC

€240m

€240m

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London, United Kingdom

2014

Growth Equity VC

€252m

€260.9m

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Berlin, Germany

2018

Series D

€181.8m

€532.2m

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London, United Kingdom

2011

Series G

€283.6m

€481.2m

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Stockholm, Sweden

2014

Debt

€145.4m

€655.4m

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London, United Kingdom

2015

Growth Equity VC

€204.6m

€1.6b

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Espoo, Finland

2016

Series A

€209.1m

€300m

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London, United Kingdom

2006

Debt

€454.6m

€181.8m

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

2011

Series C

€727.3m

€1b

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Paris, France

2012

Series E

€504.6m

€861.8m

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London, United Kingdom

2012

Late VC

€90.9m

€279.6m

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London, United Kingdom

2007

Secondary

€2.5b

€600m

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Paris, France

2014

Series E

€463.6m

€926.2m

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London, United Kingdom

2006

Secondary

€160m

€336.4m

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Stockholm, Sweden

2018

Series D

€104.5m

€423.3m

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Helsinki, Finland

2016

Series D

€190.9m

€381.8m

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San Francisco, United States

2018

Series A

€504.6m

€504.6m

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Saint-Mandé, France

2018

Series B

€618.2m

€669.6m

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Paris, France

2016

Series E

€183m

€492.8m

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Munich, Germany

2014

Series E

€163.6m

€282.4m

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Altrincham, United Kingdom

2011

Series E

-

€281.3m

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

2012

Series A

€193m

€237.9m

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Aarhus, Denmark

2015

Late VC

€28.5m

€416.2m

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Barcelona, Spain

2015

Series E

€101m

€371.9m

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London, United Kingdom

2018

Series C

€45.5m

€254.6m

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Berlin, Germany

2005

Growth Equity VC

€90.9m

€409.1m

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Paris, France

2011

Series C

€90.9m

€233.4m

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London, United Kingdom

2016

Series E

€118.2m

€246.8m

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Berlin, Germany

2020

Late VC

€227.3m

€373.3m

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London, United Kingdom

2017

Series C

€172.7m

€246.9m

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Vienna, Austria

2016

Series D

€309.1m

€593.4m

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London, United Kingdom

2017

Series B

€75.5m

€107.5m

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Berlin, Germany

2015

Series D

€72.7m

€292.7m

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London, United Kingdom

2016

Series C

€136.4m

€232.3m

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Berlin, Germany

2013

Series D

€181.8m

€428.6m

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Berlin, Germany

2018

Series C

€250m

€1b

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London, United Kingdom

2019

Series C

€336.4m

€570.5m

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Berlin, Germany

2016

Series D

€227.3m

€560m

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Copenhagen, Denmark

2015

Series C

€181.8m

€387.4m

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London, United Kingdom

2012

Series D

€318.2m

€439.3m

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Paris, France

2013

Growth Equity VC

€136.4m

€186.4m

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Paris, France

2016

Growth Equity VC

€163.6m

€231.8m

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Berlin, Germany

2020

Series B

€664m

€900.3m

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Munich, Germany

2015

Late VC

€43.9m

€703.6m

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Munich, Germany

2006

Series C

€127.3m

€273.4m

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London, United Kingdom

2014

Series D

€145.4m

€508.8m

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London, United Kingdom

2014

Late VC

€156.6m

€1b

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Vienna, Austria

2014

Series C

€239.1m

€450.9m

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Hinckley and Bosworth, United Kingdom

2019

Late VC

€48m

€277.1m

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Oslo, Norway

2007

Late VC

€218.2m

€244.6m

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Warsaw, Poland

2011

Late VC

-

€125.9m

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Berlin, Germany

2017

Debt

€70m

€251m

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Hampton, United Kingdom

2007

Late VC

€59.1m

€113.6m

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Chaumont-Gistoux, Belgium

2005

Secondary

€112m

€207.6m

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Paris, France

2009

Growth Equity VC

€190.9m

€587.8m

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

2011

Series E

€235m

€388m

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Berlin, Germany

2013

Series F

€159.1m

€302m

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Oslo, Norway

2013

Debt

€66m

€338.3m

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Munich, Germany

2018

Late VC

€27.3m

€236.4m

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Stockholm, Sweden

2009

Growth Equity VC

€409.1m

€463.2m

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Paris, France

2013

Series F

€322.7m

€633.2m

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Prague, Czech Republic

2014

Series D

€210m

€539.4m

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London, United Kingdom

2007

Growth Equity VC

€272.7m

€272.7m

Logo

Amsterdam, Netherlands

2009

Secondary

-

-

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Montpellier, France

2016

Late VC

-

€296.2m

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Istanbul, Turkey

2015

Series E

€750m

€1.6b

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Madrid, Spain

2009

Debt

€227.3m

€799.6m

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Paris, France

2013

Series D

€200m

€289.1m

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Paris, France

2014

Series C

€345.4m

€432.1m

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Berlin, Germany

2020

Debt

€363.6m

€148.4m

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London, United Kingdom

2014

Series D

€54.5m

€104.5m

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Berlin, Germany

2007

Late VC

€22m

€137.6m

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Frankfurt, Germany

2015

-

-

€114.5m

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London, United Kingdom

2012

Series D

€318.2m

€439.3m

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Berlin, Germany

2016

Late VC

€40m

€385.1m

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Bærum, Norway

2016

Late VC

-

€204.6m

Logo

London, United Kingdom

2011

Late VC

-

€445.4m

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

2011

Series C

€118.2m

€118.5m

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Saint Julian's, Malta

2017

Early VC

€36.4m

€38.1m

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Milan, Italy

2013

Series D

€320m

€475.3m

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Zurich, Switzerland

2009

Late VC

€500m

€706.8m

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London Borough of Islington, United Kingdom

2012

Series D

€45.5m

€202.8m

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Berlin, Germany

2008

Series D

€272.7m

€289m

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London, United Kingdom

2017

Series B

€105.5m

€183.4m

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Oslo, Norway

2018

Series B

€63.1m

€72.2m

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Croix, France

2015

Series D

€304.6m

€424.1m

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Bruchsal, Germany

2011

Series E

€165.4m

€699.5m

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Paris, France

2015

Series E

€254m

€433.5m

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Paris, France

2016

Late VC

€5m

€626.6m

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Fågelvikshöjden, Sweden

2016

Secondary

-

€138.1m

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Dublin, Ireland

2015

Late VC

€87.3m

€134.8m

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Barcelona, Spain

2016

Series C

€109.1m

€198.8m

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Tallinn, Estonia

2015

Series C

€90.9m

€174.8m

Logo

Zurich, Switzerland

2009

Series D

€136.4m

€247.9m

Logo

London, United Kingdom

2012

Series D

€181.8m

€264.9m

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Paris, France

2019

Series C

€257.3m

€379.2m

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Helsinki, Finland

2005

Growth Equity VC

€500m

€712.3m

Logo

Paris, France

2016

Series C

€100m

€261.3m

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London, United Kingdom

2018

Series B

€90.9m

€214.4m

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Milan, Italy

2019

Series B

€24.6m

€399.1m

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Dublin, Ireland

2019

Lending Capital

€230m

€214.7m

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Paris, France

2009

Late VC

€60m

€386.2m

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Paris, France

2007

Growth Equity VC

€454.6m

€667.6m

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Vernier, Switzerland

2008

Late VC

€374.6m

€415.5m

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Chemnitz, Germany

2014

Series E

€106m

€284.9m

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Berlin, Germany

2016

Series D

€200m

€296.4m

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Letterkenny, Ireland

2008

Late VC

€63.6m

€114.6m

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Berlin, Germany

2015

Debt

€324m

€216.6m

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London, United Kingdom

2018

Series C

€164.6m

€254.8m

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London, United Kingdom

2021

Series A

€90.9m

€110m

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Berlin, Germany

2018

Series B

€100.9m

€249.7m

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Vilnius, Lithuania

2012

Late VC

€90.9m

€90.9m

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London, United Kingdom

2021

Early VC

€300m

€407.3m

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Ghent, Belgium

2018

Series D

€136.4m

€215.4m

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Nottingham, United Kingdom

2018

Secondary

-

-

Logo

Paris, France

2019

Late VC

€300m

€300m

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Vienna, Austria

2018

Late VC

€259.1m

€259.1m

Logo

Oslo, Norway

2013

Late VC

-

-

Logo

London, United Kingdom

2018

Growth Equity VC

€172.7m

€172.7m

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Stockholm, Sweden

2015

Convertible

€11m

€320.8m

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Sveta Nedelja, Croatia

2009

Series D

€500m

€800m

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Oulu, Finland

2013

Late VC

-

€140.5m

Logo

Stockholm, Sweden

2015

Secondary

€104.5m

€133.7m

Logo

London, United Kingdom

2019

Early VC

€91.8m

€91.8m

Istanbul, Turkey

2012

Series D

€116m

€160m

London, United Kingdom

2016

Series D

€210m

€395m

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Cologne, Germany

2009

Late VC

€100m

€100m

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London, United Kingdom

2016

Series E

€120m

€340m