Sifted AI 100 (2026)
Ranking the most promising European AI-native startups in 2026
Our second annual Sifted AI 100 ranks Europe’s most promising AI-native startups valued under $1bn. A year on from our first edition, 13 of last year’s 100 have become unicorns, including seven of the top ten.
The capital has arrived. European AI startups have raised €29.6bn so far in 2026, more than double the whole of 2025, and Europe’s strengths increasingly lie further up the stack. Vertical applications make up 51 of this year’s 100, compared with 41 last year, while the number applying AI in the physical world has grown from 11 to 14.
Top of the ranking is Stockholm-based Tandem Health, an AI assistant for clinicians, which has climbed 22 places since last year. Together, the 100 have raised €4.6bn, and 62 of them have already raised in 2026. The cohort is young, with an average launch year of 2023, and lean, averaging 92 employees. The UK, France and Germany make up 70% of the ranking, with London home to 40 companies, though the list now spans 17 countries, against 12 in 2025.
Sifted identified 1,500 eligible companies, all AI-native, founded in 2019 or later, independent and headquartered in Europe. A data-driven scoring model narrowed these to 175, which judges from Sifted’s intelligence team, Sifted journalists and N47’s investment team scored on market opportunity, competitive differentiation and momentum.
Download the full report for the complete ranking, interviews with the founders and investors behind Europe’s AI boom, and the trends shaping its next chapter.
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