Top 10 European unicorns by valuation in 2024

Revolut has finally secured a UK banking license after waiting for three years. It’s also the most valuable unicorn in Europe. BestBrokers gives their insight in their recent report on what unicorns are and the surge of these valuable companies…

What is a unicorn company?

A unicorn company is a privately owned company that is valued over $1 billion. This term ‘unicorn’ is used as it is rare and exceptional and much like a mythical unicorn! Currently, there are 1,241 unicorns, or privately held companies valued at $1 billion or more, globally. Their combined value totals a colossal $3.89 trillion, with some of the most valuable companies on this list being European. To learn more about the current state of Europe’s startup environment, the team at BestBrokers examined data from the business analytics insights for private startups valued at $1 billion or more.

Top 10 European unicorns by valuation in 2024

According to this report, there are 202 unicorns in Europe, with a combined valuation of $561.7 billion, up $20.7B since June 2023. Appraised at a substantial $33 billion, the UK’s fintech giant Revolut is the most valuable unicorn in Europe. It is also 7th globally and is aiming for a valuation of more than $40 billion in an employee share sale this summer.

Here are some key insights from the report:

The European Unicorn Leader board begins with the UK, home to 54 unicorns, with a total valuation of $177.82 billion. Next, Germany follows second with 31 companies. France takes the third spot, while Israel is 4th.

The other countries with 5 or more unicorns are the Netherlands (9). Ireland (7). Sweden (6). Switzerland (6) and Spain (5).

Europe is home to 5 Decacorns (private companies valued at $10 billion or more.) – the UK’s Revolut, Global Switch, and Checkout.com, German Celonis and Israeli Wiz.

Newcomers join the top 10 European Unicorns in 2024

16 companies globally joined the unicorn ranks in 2024, 6 of which are European. Interestingly, from this year’s newcomers, the Italian AI mobile software developer Bending Spoons has the highest valuation of $2.55B on the old continent.

Even more curiously, the Netherlands is the only country in Europe with 2 new additions. The Dutch Mews ($1.2B), a cloud-based software company is the second-highest-valued European unicorn. The other private startup from the Netherlands is DataSnipper ($1B).

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