There are more than 150 unicorns in Europe, up from 132 in 2021. The United Kingdom leads with 44, followed by Germany (29), France (25), and Sweden and Spain tied (8). Italy is at one with Scalapay
Investors Club has identified 16 companies founded by Italian tech entrepreneurs that, according to its analysis and that of i5invest, could achieve unicorn status in the coming years
How many unicorns are there in Europe? And how many startups founded by Italian entrepreneurs are ready to obtain the title? These are some of the questions attempted to be answered by a new survey by the Investors’ Club. It was an opportunity to take a snapshot of the industry and elaborate on three tips for founders who intend to join the pack and venture capitalists who dream of investing in startups with a valuation of more than a billion euros.
How many unicorns are there in Europe?
There are more than 150 unicorns in Europe, up from 132 in 2021. The United Kingdom leads with 44 unicorns, followed by Germany (29), France (25), and Sweden and Spain tied (8). On the other hand, Italy is stuck at one with Scalapay, accompanied by a dozen or so “soonicorns,” companies ready to join the herd. And the gap with its European “cousins’ ‘ is also evident in terms of capital raised. French unicorns raised more than 10 billion euros in 2021 alone, counting 35 billion over the past ten years. The Spanish, on the other hand, exceeded 4 billion euros last year for a total of 10.4 billion in the decade. As for the Belpaese, investments in Italian startups touched 1.25 billion euros in 2021, while in the decade, they came close to 4 billion euros.
What are the 16 future Italian unicorns?
Tricolor flagships are the ten unicorns founded by Italian tech entrepreneurs around the world: Yoox by Federico Marchetti, King by Riccardo Zacconi, FaceIT by Niccolo Maisto, Kong by Augusto Marietti, Advanced Accelerator Applications by Stefano Buono, Depop by Simon Beckerman, Scalapay by Simone Mancini, MutuiOnline by Marco Pescarmona, Truelayer by Francesco Simoneschi, and Sysdig by Loris Degioanni. The Investors Club also identified 16 companies founded by Italian entrepreneurs that, according to its analysis and that of i5invest, could achieve unicorn status in the coming years: Satispay, Credimi, Prima Assicurazioni, Soldo, Yolo, Moneyfarm, Medical Micro Instruments, Genenta Science, Enthera, Newcleo, Roboze, D-Orbit, Musixmatch, Everli, Casavo, and Planet Smart City. Five of these companies boast a nearly 500 million euros valuation, with the fintech and insurtech sector dominating with six startups.
Unicorns: three tips for founders
Cross-referencing data on the ten unicorns founded by Italian entrepreneurs around the world along with data on the 132 European startups with a valuation of more than 1 billion as of 2021, the researchers then came up with three tips for founders and investors:
- Don’t rush, considering that the average time to obtain unicorn status is around ten years from founding;
- aim for a global or European strategic and financial vision: in fact, 9 of the ten unicorns founded by Italian entrepreneurs in the world under analysis operate in international markets. In addition, European unicorns have raised an average of €300 million, 40 percent of which comes from investors across borders;
- accumulate experience: the average age of founders reaches 40. In addition, four out of 10 in Italy have prior experience as executives, and six out of 10 have already found at least one startup.
