There is more than one “corn“!
Even though China and US remain to be accelerating most unicorn companies around the globe, you would be surprised to see how fast Europe is catching up. Before diving into the 5 largest European unicorns, first things first – we must renew our unicorn vocabulary. With the new funding dynamics and types of companies appearing on the market today, we’ve officially entered the age of decacorns and hectocorns.
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As of August 2018, there are more than 270 unicorns (and other “corns”) around the world. And Europe’s tech scene is hotter than ever with over 30 unicorn startups on the market!
Largest venture capital-backed unicorn companies in Europe in 2018, by market value (in billion euros):
Let’s take a look at the top 5 largest
unicorns in Europe in 2018:
Spotify
Digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs.
Headquarters: Luxembourg City
Founded: 2006
Employees: 3000+
Adyen
Global payment company that allows businesses to accept e-commerce, mobile, and point-of-sale payments.
Headquarters: Netherlands
Founded: 2006
Employees: 880
Farfetch
Online luxury fashion retail platform that sells products from over 700 boutiques and brands from around the world.
Headquarters: England
Founded: 2007
Employees: 2000
Auto1 Group
Europe’s leading car trading platform.
Headquarters: Germany
Founded: 2012
Employees: 3500+
Telegram
Cloud-based instant messaging and voice over IP service.
Headquarters: Germany (initially)
Founded: 2013
Despite the industry variety of aforementioned unicorns, they all have one thing in common – being digital, being tech and being innovative. It’s all about disruption – the old processes efficiently transformed into the upgraded digital platforms, systems and offerings. This is the world today, wherein Unicorns, Decacorns and Hectocorns almost always go with the suffix “tech”.
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Stay tuned for more industry insights and digital sneak peeks!
Yours, Catapult team.