Nine years ago we launched Titans of Tech to showcase the progress of the European tech ecosystem and raise the ambition levels of founders in creating world-leading tech companies. Since then, the European technology ecosystem has seen a record 10-year wave of growth as technology continues to outperform every sector.
But the technology sector globally has reached the end of its most recent bull market – a run propped up and extended by post-pandemic macroeconomic factors. Companies need to adapt to the new environment. For those that can pivot and get their priorities and funding in order, value-creation opportunities will continue to exist.
In the face of the downturn, 34 trailblazing Unicorns were formed and lifted the aggregate value of European Unicorns above $1tn. We see a positive trajectory for the next decade in hitting $2tn and believe that the next wave of value creation, societal gains, and technology disruption will be found in AI, climate tech, and workplace productivity software – all areas gaining momentum and billions in funding as of Q1 2023. One out of four Unicorns in the past year were ML- or AI-enabled, investment in climate tech remains in line with bull-market levels at $3bn, and 15% of new Unicorns were HR software businesses.
This report explores the technologies, business models, and companies that will build on Europe’s track record of value creation, now and into the future. It’s the end of a bull run, but far from the end of the story, and we are proud to celebrate the continued resilience of Europe’s technology ecosystem.