StartupBlink

Top Unicorn Startups in Western Europe for 2026

In Western Europe, we rank 179 unicorn startups based on an algorithm that considers factors such as total investment, quarterly employee count, and website traffic. Unicorns in Western Europe are falling behind the performance of their global counterparts.

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Top Unicorn Startups in Western Europe for 2026

1st
Klarna logo
KlarnaSB Score: 844

Klarna provides online payment solutions, known for its "buy now, pay later" service, allowing consumers to shop with flexibility and security.

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Website
www.klarna.com
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$3B
National Rank(Sweden)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
DeepL logo
DeepLSB Score: 832

DeepL is a pioneering deep learning company based in Cologne, Germany, founded in 2009. It harnesses artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance language translation services, including the bilingual dictionary Linguee and the advanced machine translation tool DeepL, providing users with accurate and efficient translation solutions.

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Website
www.deepl.com
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$400M
National Rank(Germany)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
Revolut logo
RevolutSB Score: 823

Revolut is a financial superapp that provides low-fee global spending, currency exchange, and financial services. Users can manage their money easily without the typical high banking fees.

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Website
www.revolut.com
Employee range
10,001+
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$1.9B
National Rank(United Kingdom)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:172

Most Valuable Unicorns in Western Europe for 2026

The top three most valuable unicorns in Western Europe have raised total funding of more than USD 2.23T. Among the top three funded unicorns, the most popular industry, based on total funding, is Fintech.
1st
Revolut logo
RevolutSB Score: 823

Revolut is a financial superapp that provides low-fee global spending, currency exchange, and financial services. Users can manage their money easily without the typical high banking fees.

View Full Page
Website
www.revolut.com
Employee range
10,001+
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$1.9B
National Rank(United Kingdom)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
Klarna logo
KlarnaSB Score: 844

Klarna provides online payment solutions, known for its "buy now, pay later" service, allowing consumers to shop with flexibility and security.

View Full Page
Website
www.klarna.com
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$3B
National Rank(Sweden)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
Celonis logo
CelonisSB Score: 641

Celonis has one very simple goal: to analyze today’s processes to make tomorrow’s world more efficient. We are dedicated to pursuing this vision with passion and purposefulness. In our opinion, any company can achieve great things, regardless of its size, industry, or history. Celonis process mining is the new standard in Big Data Analytics designed to help companies around the world save valuable time and money through improved process transparency and efficiency. We hope you will join us on this journey.

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Website
www.celonis.com/de
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$1.8B
National Rank(Germany)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
4th
Global Switch logo
Global SwitchSB Score: 179

Global Switch operates cutting-edge data centres in Europe and Asia-Pacific, providing secure and reliable infrastructure for businesses worldwide.

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Website
www.globalswitch.com
Employee range
251 – 500
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
National Rank(United Kingdom)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
5th
Checkout.com logo
Checkout.comSB Score: 765

Checkout.com offers secure online payment solutions for businesses, empowering them to seamlessly process digital transactions while safeguarding against fraud. Their advanced technology optimizes payment operations, providing a streamlined and efficient experience for both merchants and customers.

View Full Page
Website
www.checkout.com
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$1.8B
National Rank(United Kingdom)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
6th
Talkdesk logo
TalkdeskSB Score: 588

Talkdesk offers an enterprise contact center platform that allows companies to make the customer experience a competitive advantage. With its performance and consumer-like ease of use, Talkdesk easily adapts to the evolving needs of sales and support teams and their end customers, resulting in increased customer satisfaction, productivity, and cost savings. Over 1,400 innovative enterprises around the world, including IBM, Acxiom, and Zumiez rely on Talkdesk to power their customer interactions. The San Francisco, California-based company was formed by Cristina Fonseca and Tiago Paiva in 2011.

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Website
www.talkdesk.com
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$497.5M
National Rank(Portugal)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
7th
Northvolt logo
NorthvoltSB Score: 580

Northvolt develops sustainable lithium-ion batteries in conjunction with R&D, industrialization, and recycling to support clean energy. It provides electrification and renewable energy storage designed for lithium-ion battery plants to produce batteries for electric vehicles. Northvolt's product is an environment-friendly battery manufactured with a minimal carbon footprint and with recycling technology without compromising important ecosystems, enabling the auto industry to replace fossil fuels with electricity in an efficient manner. The company aims to establish a supply of sustainable battery cells and systems.

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Website
www.northvolt.com
Employee range
5,001 – 10,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$6.4B
National Rank(Sweden)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
8th
Rapyd logo
RapydSB Score: 627

Rapyd's Fintech-as-a-Service platform seamlessly integrates local fintech and payment solutions into applications for global scalability.

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Website
www.rapyd.net
Employee range
501 – 1,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$1.3B
National Rank(United Kingdom)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
9th
Sumup logo
SumupSB Score: 624

SumUp is a global fintech company empowering small businesses in 32 markets worldwide. They are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed in pursuing their passions.

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Website
sumup.com
Employee range
101 – 250
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$53.7M
National Rank(United Kingdom)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
10th
Personio logo
PersonioSB Score: 714

Personio is a comprehensive HR software designed for companies with 10 to 2000 employees. Simplifying HR processes without any fuss or exaggeration, Personio offers great HR solutions.

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Website
www.personio.com
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$724M
National Rank(Germany)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:172

Top Hiring Unicorns in Western Europe by Employee Number

The top three hiring unicorns in Western Europe have an average employee size that is smaller than to the global average. Among these, the Fintech industry features the unicorn with the largest workforce.
1st
Revolut logo
RevolutSB Score: 823

Revolut is a financial superapp that provides low-fee global spending, currency exchange, and financial services. Users can manage their money easily without the typical high banking fees.

View Full Page
Website
www.revolut.com
Employee range
10,001+
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$1.9B
National Rank(United Kingdom)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
Howden Group Holdings logo

Howden Group Holdings is a global insurance intermediary with broking and underwriting operations in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, the USA, and Latin America. Specializing in insurance services, they provide coverage and solutions for clients worldwide.

View Full Page
Website
www.howdengroupholdings.com
Employee range
10,001+
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
National Rank(United Kingdom)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
Odoo logo
OdooSB Score: 715

Odoo, an open-source suite of business applications, is supported by Odoo SA. It offers customizable programming and a global community for support. Join the network for integrated solutions and services.

View Full Page
Website
www.odoo.com
Employee range
5,001 – 10,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$14.1M
National Rank(Belgium)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
4th
Picnic logo
PicnicSB Score: 702

Picnic is a cost-effective online supermarket that delivers groceries to your doorstep for free. They utilize software and data-driven strategies to lead a grocery revolution, making shopping convenient and affordable for everyone.

View Full Page
Website
picnic.app/nl
Employee range
5,001 – 10,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$1.9B
National Rank(The Netherlands)
Regional Rank(Western Europe)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:179

Explore More Top Startups

Best Countries for Startups

StartupBlink ranks the startup ecosystems of more than 100 countries and 1,000 cities. Download our latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
Global RankCountryTotal ScoreAnnual Growth

Access subscores for 1000 cities and 100 countries

Quantity Score
Quality ScoreBusiness Score
1st
0
United States
314.096
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
2nd
0
United Kingdom
80.114
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
3rd
0
Israel
71.462
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
4th
0
Singapore
68.043
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
5th
0
Canada
49.534
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
6th
0
Sweden
40.781
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
7th
0
Germany
37.644
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
8th
+
1
Switzerland
36.108
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
9th
+
3
Australia
35.438
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
10th
0
The Netherlands
34.514
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
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