Like it or not, startup ecosystems are partly defined by how big their unicorn herds are; in other words, by how many companies have hit the billion-dollar valuation mark.
In Europe, the unicorn count is steadily growing. Since the beginning of 2020, at least 10 new unicorns have been ‘born’. There are plenty more fast-growing startups likely to join the list soon.
Others will leave: Europe has also seen several IPOs this year, including The Hut Group (although Covid has slowed things here) — and is likely to see many more in 2021.
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 billion-dollar valuation.
To make the list, companies must hit the following criteria: headquartered in Europe; founded in 2000 or later; private (not listed or acquired). Please let us know if we’ve missed any!
Key
Year founded
Amount raised
Last funding round
Valuation
Employees
2018
€527m
GROWTH EQUITY
€2bn
100-500
2018
€302m
SERIES A
10-50
2016
€1,524m
GROWTH EQUITY
€2bn
500-1000
2016
€418m
SERIES D
€2bn
100-500
2016
€269m
SERIES C
€1bn
1000-5000
Arrival
transportation / vehicle production
arrival.comLondon, United Kingdom
2015
€210m
GROWTH EQUITY
€3bn
500-1000
2015
€210m
GROWTH EQUITY
€3bn
500-1000
2015
€836m
SERIES D
€5bn
1000-5000
2015
€260m
SERIES D
€1bn
500-1000
2015
€342m
SERIES C
€1bn
500-1000
2015
€452m
SERIES E
€1bn
1000-5000
2015
€241m
SERIES B
€2bn
100-500
Oxford Nanopore
biotech / health
nanoporetech.comOxford, United Kingdom
2015
€723m
GROWTH EQUITY
€2bn
100-500
2015
€723m
GROWTH EQUITY
€2bn
100-500
CMR Surgical
robotics / medical devices
cmrsurgical.comImpington, United Kingdom
2014
€351m
SERIES C
€1bn
100-500
2014
€351m
SERIES C
€1bn
100-500
2014
€266m
SERIES D
€1bn
1000-5000
2014
€199m
LATE VC
€1bn
50-100
2013
€274m
PRIVATE PLACEMENT
€2bn
100-500
Darktrace
security / cybersecurity
darktrace.com/enCambridge, United Kingdom
2013
€210m
SERIES E
€1.5bn
1000-5000
2013
€210m
SERIES E
€1.5bn
1000-5000
2013
€277m
LATE VC
€1bn
100-500
2013
€577m
SERIES C
€2bn
1000-5000
2013
€237m
LATE VC
€1bn
1000-5000
OakNorth
fintech / banking / mortgages & lending
oaknorth.comLondon, United Kingdom
2013
€783m
LATE VC
€2bn
500-1000
2013
€783m
LATE VC
€2bn
500-1000
Gousto
food / food logistics & delivery
gousto.co.ukLondon, United Kingdom
2012
€189m
SERIES F
€1bn
100-500
2012
€189m
SERIES F
€1bn
100-500
2012
€240m
GROWTH EQUITY
€1bn
500-1000
AUTO1 Group
transportation / ecommercce
auto1-group.comBerlin, Germany
2012
€1,002m
CONVERTIBLE
€3bn
1000-5000
2012
€1,002m
CONVERTIBLE
€3bn
1000-5000
2012
€345m
SERIES B
€5bn
500-1000
ContentSquare
marketing / enterprise software
contentsquare.comParis, France
2012
€302m
SERIES D
€1bn
500-1000
2012
€302m
SERIES D
€1bn
500-1000
2012
€99m
GRANT
€1bn
100-500
Deliveroo
food logistics & delivery /
deliveroo.co.ukLondon, United Kingdom
2012
€1,303m
SERIES G
€2bn
5000+
2012
€1,303m
SERIES G
€2bn
5000+
Improbable
gaming / enterprise software
improbable.ioLondon, United Kingdom
2012
€547m
GROWTH EQUITY
€2bn
500-1000
2012
€547m
GROWTH EQUITY
€2bn
500-1000
MessageBird
telecom / enterprise software
messagebird.comAmsterdam, Netherlands
2011
€236m
SERIES C
€3bn
100-500
2011
€236m
SERIES C
€3bn
100-500
2011
€510m
LATE VC
€2bn
1000-5000
2011
€360m
SECONDARY
€5bn
1000-5000
Greensill
fintech / financial management solutions
greensill.comLondon, United Kingdom
2011
€1,550m
GROWTH EQUITY
€3bn
500-1000
2011
€1,550m
GROWTH EQUITY
€3bn
500-1000
2011
€171m
SERIES E
€1bn
100-500
2011
€394m
SERIES E
€3bn
1000-5000
2011
€334m
SERIES C
€2bn
1000-5000
2011
€182m
SERIES C
€1bn
100-500
2011
€369m
SERIES E
€1bn
1000-5000
2009
€728m
CONVERTIBLE
€1bn
500-1000
2008
€320m
SERIES F
€2bn
500-1000
2008
€232m
SERIES E
€1bn
500-1000
OVO Energy
energy / energy providers
ovoenergy.comBristol, United Kingdom
2008
€240m
GROWTH EQUITY
€1bn
1000-5000
2008
€240m
GROWTH EQUITY
€1bn
1000-5000
2008
N/Am
SEED
€1bn
1000-5000
2007
€147m
LATE VC
€1bn
500-1000
Infobip
marketing / enterprise software
infobip.comLondon, United Kingdom
2006
€182m
SERIES A
€1bn
1000-5000
2006
€182m
SERIES A
€1bn
1000-5000
2006
€405m
GROWTH EQUITY
€2bn
500-1000
2005
€1,564m
GROWTH EQUITY
€10bn
1000-5000
2005
€1,130m
SERIES E
€9bn
1000-5000
2004
€121m
SERIES B
€1bn
100-500
2001
€84m
GROWTH EQUITY
€2bn
1000-5000
2001
N/Am
€3bn
1000-5000
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