Leaderboards

Sifted 250
The fastest-growing
European startups in 2024
In partnership with
 Sifted 250 The fastest-growing
European startups in 2024
We gave ourselves an ambitious project this year — to take a first swing at determining the fastest-
growing startups in Europe.

And so we ventured through 2024, receiving and scoring hundreds of applications and publishing seven
regional leaderboards. Here we present the top 250 companies, Europe-wide.

The list is a tour, taking you from London to Paris, Berlin to Kyiv, with many stops in between. Cutting
edge companies in fintech, climate tech, deeptech, consumer, healthtech and many other sectors got
in touch.

Recognisable names make the final cut. German solar giant Enpal is here. So too are fellow unicorns
Wayflyer, CMR Surgical and Factorial. Happily, there are also tens of companies readers likely won’t have
discovered yet. There’s more than one surprise in the top 10.

This report has interviews with the founders/CEOs of the top 10 companies and a breakdown of the
50 investors that pop up most frequently in the 250 cap tables. Elsewhere, we present 50 high-growth
European companies which — while not meeting our criteria this year — warrant mention regardless:
they feel like ones to watch. We also poll the 250 companies and share their leaders’ thoughts on
future growth.

Finally, the all-important criteria required to get on these Sifted leaderboards is laid out in the
methodology section.

Get in touch
Would you like to partner with Sifted on the next report on your sector?
Contact us via reports@sifted.eu.
Looking for vital market intelligence? Visit sifted.eu/sifted-pro to learn how
Sifted Pro can help.
 Sifted 250 3

Contents
4
FOREWORD

Raising unicorns

6
Sifted 250 highlights

8
CHAPTER I

The top 10

19
CHAPTER II

The full 250

26
CHAPTER III

What the Sifted 250 tells us about European tech

31
Ranking Europe’s 250 fastest-growing startups
4

FOREWORD

Raising unicorns
Transforming Europe’s
startup landscape with Zoom

This Sifted 250 report represents more than just a The federated approach makes Zoom AI Companion
ranking of the fastest-growing startups in Europe stand out compared to other solutions. Instead of
— it’s a testament to the innovation, resilience, and betting on one model, we utilise different third-party
entrepreneurial spirit that defines this region. These and internal AI models. This gives us the flexibility to
companies are reshaping industries and demonstrating not only pick the best solution for a specific task but
the agility and vision necessary to thrive in today’s fast- to also adhere to the requirements of our customers
paced and dynamic global economy. — without sacrificing quality. A recent evaluation
conducted by TestDevLab highlights Zoom as a leader
At Zoom, we understand the critical role collaboration, in AI performance, with superior transcription accuracy,
flexibility, and innovation play in this journey. Over the faster in-meeting question response times, and more
past decade, we have been privileged to witness — and stable conversational AI capabilities compared to tested
support — the remarkable growth stories of some of competitors.
Europe's best startups. The unique challenges they
face, from scaling teams across borders to maintaining Collaborating seamlessly is crucial for startups. They
cohesion in a hybrid working world, demand tools navigate a complex landscape of remote teams,
that are as adaptable and forward-thinking as the international clients and global investors. Zoom
startups themselves. Workplace and Zoom Business Services go beyond
traditional communication tools, providing a suite of
This is where Zoom excels. We are more than a integrated solutions that span meetings, messaging,
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at every stage of their journey. At the heart of our These solutions foster an environment where ideas
platform is federated AI, a game-changing technology flow freely, decisions are made faster and teams remain
that delivers secure, context-aware insights to boost aligned, no matter where they work.
productivity and drive decision-making. In Zoom
Workplace, AI is not something that is bolted on. We Flexibility is a cornerstone of startup success, and
follow an AI-first design, integrating the technology we design our products with adaptability in mind. As
in sustainable and meaningful ways across all our startups grow and evolve, so too can their use of Zoom.
products. Zoom AI Companion is designed to reduce Whether a team needs to onboard new employees
friction, enabling teams to focus on what matters most: across continents, deliver a pitch to investors, or
innovation and execution. And it's included with eligible host a virtual launch event for a global audience, our
paid plans at no extra cost. platform scales with them, supporting their ambitions
 Sifted 250 5

at every turn — all with our well-known, well-loved, and Here's to the Sifted 250 — a celebration of Europe's
easy-to-use platform — both for users and admins. brightest ideas and boldest entrepreneurs. We look
forward to supporting their journey and witnessing their
The European startup ecosystem is a vibrant and continued success.
diverse landscape, and the Sifted 250 showcases
its very best. From fintech disruptors to deep- We are pleased to extend complimentary access to
tech pioneers, these startups are united in their Zoom's 7th Work Transformation Summit EMEA on
determination to solve complex problems and create January 16th, 2025. This event, themed "Navigating
lasting impact. Zoom is proud to play a role in their Next-Gen AI: Real-World Strategies for Business Growth
stories, enabling them to dream bigger, execute faster & Success," offers an opportunity to explore AI's impact
and collaborate better. on business growth, network with industry leaders,
and learn how teams are effectively adopting AI in the
As you explore this inaugural ranking, we hope you’ll be workplace. We look forward to your participation.
as inspired as we are by the incredible achievements of
these startups. They represent the future of innovation,
not just in Europe, but around the world. At Zoom, we Andy Aveyard
Head of Mid-Market, EMEA, Zoom
remain committed to providing the tools, technology
and partnership to deliver limitless human connection.
6

Sifted 250 highlights

Reykjavik

The UK’s Allica Bank, a Europe’s top 3 tech hubs London is home to 57
fintech for SMEs, tops — the UK, Germany and companies in the 250;
the 250. Kompasbank, a Danish France — are home to 15 of the top Paris has 19; Stockholm 16; Berlin
bank for SMEs, is ranked second, 20 companies. 13; Milan 11.
followed by Artios Pharma, a
developer of novel cancer therapies.

B2B SaaS is the dominant Digital banking The average two-year

vertical (75 companies). dominates the top 250 revenue CAGR is 205%.
The next most-represented with 18 companies, followed by The top 15 companies surpassed
industry is fintech (64 companies), payments (11) and foodtech, the 500% CAGR mark; 73 others
followed by climate (41), consumer digital health, HR tech and circular were above 200%; 118 are between
(38), healthtech (21) and economy with 9 companies apiece. 100-200% and the remaining 44
deeptech (11). companies are in the <100% zone.

There are 7 unicorns 72 companies in the top The most common last
in the 250: Zilch (#11), 250 have raised so far in funding round is Series A
Marshmallow (#31), Enpal (#95), 2024, including, most recently, The (79 companies), followed by seed
Factorial (#116), Wayflyer Exploration Company’s (#53) $160m stage (51) and Series B (43).
(#154), CMR Surgical (#158) and Series B led by Balderton Capital
Lunar (#226). and Plural. 94 companies last raised
in 2023; 60 last raised in 2022.

Factorial has the most The 15 oldest companies The average launch year
full-time employees (938) in the 250 were founded in is 2018 and the average
of any company on the list, followed 2014. The 17 youngest companies number of employees (in the latest
by CMR Surgical (918) and fintech were launched in 2021. financial year) is 101.
platform Smart (673).

The 250 companies EIT (22), Tech Nation 1,735 investors have
average €17m in annual (20) and Plug and Play backed the top 250 in
revenue, contributing to a collective (16) are the most active investors total. 15 of them have at least 6
€4.2bn in revenue in their latest in the ranking followed by portfolio companies to boast about
financial year. Bpifrance and Innovate UK with 10 here — including Kima Ventures
investments apiece. (8), Balderton Capital (7) and Index
Ventures (6).
 Sifted 250 7

Reykjavik

Bergen

Oslo 5

16
Bergen Helsinki

2
Stockhol
Oslo 5
Gothenburg
16 10

Tallinn
Stockholm

Aarhus 2
Kiel

Edinburgh 6

Copenhagen
Riga
Belfast Aarhus 2
Durham
Kiel
Kiel
Manchester
Edinburgh 6
Vilnius
2
Dublin 3
Copenhagen Binbrook Grudz
3
Hamburg
Belfast Cambridge
Durham
Milton Keynes 5 Amsterdam 13
Babraham The
Manchester Delft
Oxford Hague
Eindhoven Paderborn
2 Stroud
Dublin 3 57 FolkestoneAntwerp
Berlin
Binbrook Grudziądz Düsseldorf
Hamburg Ghent 2 2 Dresden Liberec
Bristol
Cambridge Guildford
Southampton 3 Cologne
5 Amsterdam Brussels
Milton Keynes 13 Aachen
2
Babraham The
Nivelles Frankfurt 5
Oxford Hague Brno
Eindhoven Paderborn London Warsaw
57 Antwerp Sulzbach
Berlin Heidelberg Prague
Düsseldorf Luxembourg
Ghent 2 2 Liberec Munich
Bristol
Guildford 3 Cologne Stuttgart
19
Brussels Ludwigsburg
Aachen 9 Vienna 3
Nivelles Frankfurt 5 Zürich Kyiv
London Rennes Brno
Sulzbach Paris Neuchâtel Bud
2
Prague
Luxembourg Munich Graz

19 Nantes Zug Spilimbergo

Bern
Ludwigsburg
9 Vienna 3 Udine
Zürich Zagreb
Rennes Grenoble
Neuchâtel 11 Arco
Paris 2
Graz 2
Bordeaux Avignon
Nantes Zug Spilimbergo Turin Milan
Bern
Udine
Montpellier
Grenoble
11 Arco
2 Marseille
Donostia Bucharest Rome
Avignon Milan
Turin
Gondomar 3
Braga 8 Naples
Matosinhos

Marseille
Donostia 2 Rome Barcelona

Gondomar Madrid 3
Braga 8 Naples
Matosinhos 2 Lisbon

2 Barcelona

Madrid

2 Lisbon

Athens
8

CHAPTER I

The top 10
Here are the fastest-growing
startups in 2024
 Sifted 250 9

Since writing its first loan in 2020, But it’s the time he served at two

juggernaut Allica has served about 13k SME

customers to whom it also offers
unicorn digital banks — Revolut
and as the first chief of OakNorth

blows current and savings accounts, and

cards. This year, the company said
Bank — that have helped him turn
Allica into a success. On lessons

away the it had provided more than £2bn learned at Revolut, Davies says:

competition
of lending. “Their ability to deliver on multiple
fronts at pace, and with real quality,
So what’s behind this turbocharge? is world-class.”

“
Allica Bank’s had a helluva year. “I put a really high value on
This growth can’t last… Can it?
execution and squads are a
big part of how we do that,”
UK lender Allica Bank is Europe’s says CEO Richard Davies. This
fastest-growing company, organisational structure — which We think we
according to this year’s Sifted 250. divides employees into small,
nimble groups, so they can stay can more than
The company, which uses a bright
orange bowler hat in its advertising
close to a given product and
customer need while avoiding
triple our size in
— a prop that says “we’re a bank distractions — will be familiar to the UK.”
but we do things differently” — has many. Tech companies like Revolut,
Richard Davies, CEO, Allica Bank
been storming startup charts all where Davies previously worked
year and topped Sifted’s UK and as COO, and Amazon — which
Ireland leaderboard in March. calls this concept the “two-pizza Can Allica’s super-growth last?
team” — swear by it. “We have 20 It’s unlikely to keep rising at
of them and they keep us on track,” such a dizzy pace, ”that’s just a
says Davies. Allica also has lower fundamentally difficult thing to
overheads than its high street sustain”, Davies says. But he’s
competitors because it doesn’t bullish on how far it can go: “We
operate branches. think we can more than triple our
size in the UK.”
Revolut and Monzo changed
banking for retail customers;

1
Starling and Tide for
microbusinesses. But SMEs
“have been underserved”, says
Davies, and banks have faced FINTECH DIGITAL BANKING

criticism for pulling back from small Bank focused on SMEs

business lending. “A decision on a
commercial mortgage — be it for a
shop, a hotel or a factory — takes 0 London ? 2018 + 269
forever but this should be instant
FYE: Dec 22 PROFITABLE: Yes
for the majority of cases,” he added.
TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
€386m €48.3m
Davies’ banking background is LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:

D RICHARD DAVIES strong — he previously held senior

€100m Series C
(Dec 2022) 1438.91%
roles at HSBC, TSB and Barclays.
10

This Danish The secret sauce: technology that

bank is also automates a lot of the grunt work

banks need to do when researching
2
outpacing prospective clients. “By the time
a customer has their first meeting
FINTECH DIGITAL BANKING

its rivals with us, we already know a lot

about them. The big banks — the
Digital bank for SMEs

A second digital lender left its Barclays, HSBCs, Danske Banks

mark in 2024 0 Vedbæk ? 2021 + 77
— have a hard time executing at
speed because of the complexity FYE: Dec 23 PROFITABLE: PND

Like Allica, Denmark’s kompasbank of their legacy tech systems,” TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
€64m PND
is a digital-first bank for SMEs that’s says Andersen.
LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:
moving at a pace established rivals €5.5m Series B
(Sep 2024) 1149.73%
struggle to keep up with. The bank’s net interest and fee
income grew by more than 36%
“The customer tells us their in the first half of 2024, it reports,
needs and we aim to execute while profits improved by more than To hammer home how important
within 48 hours: this is tens of 60%. The company has around 70 its customers are, an ad that aired
multiples quicker than incumbent full-time staff. on Danish TV last year showed
banks,” says Michael Hurup a kompasbank employee riding
Andersen, kompasbank’s founder Andersen, who has spent his career around to different houses on a
and co-CEO. in finance and studied at Oxford moped. “We wanted to show that
University, says he took the big we meet our customers where they

“
decision to start a bank in 2021 are,” Andersen explains.
because, “I was really convinced
it was a good idea. For me, this is
absolutely necessary for European
By the time growth,” he says.

a customer “This is a very competitive game

has their first and if we don’t have people
[stepping] up to the plate, we will
meeting with struggle. One country can choose

us, we already Brexit, another one might soon be

choosing tariffs; we need to stay
know a lot competitive. SMEs account for two-
thirds of all growth in Denmark: this
about them.” is a huge industry that’s not getting
Michael Hurup Andersen, founder and
the love and attention it should be D MICHAEL HURUP ANDERSEN
co-CEO, kompasbank getting.”
 Sifted 250 11

A cancer Before Artios, Martin was been wholly different,” he said in a

specialist cofounder and COO of Cambridge

University spinout Mission
2019 interview with biotech news
site Labiotech.

— and Therapeutics, a company focused

on commercialising research He has carried the lesson forward:
fundraising into treatments for neurological “We’re determined here at Artios

star — at
diseases and cancers. Martin not to sell ourselves too soon and
helped Mission raise more than too short, and actually prove that

no.3
$108m in Series A and B financing. we have something clinically that’s
worth taking forward.”
He also previously ran cancer
Selling a previous company
specialist KuDOS Pharmaceuticals
to AstraZeneca taught Artios’

3
founder never to sell “too soon from 2008 to 2010. At Kudos,
and too short” again Martin and his team had notable
success when they developed
Lynparza, a drug for treating HEALTHTECH DRUG DISCOVERY

Artios Pharma uses the body’s DNA advanced ovarian cancer. The Developer of novel
repair capabilities to fight a broad company was snapped up by cancer therapies
range of cancers. AstraZeneca.
0 Babraham ? 2016 + 86
Specifically, the biotech has This huge success is surprisingly
FYE: Dec 22 PROFITABLE: No
created so-called DNA damage tinged with some regret for Martin. TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
response inhibitors, a class of “If Kudos had held out rather than €247.1m €13.2m
drugs that kill cancer cells by be sold for £120m, it would have LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:

sabotaging their ability to repair been £300–400m six months

€139.1m Series C
(Jul 2021) 697.38%
damage to their own DNA. later. Our valuation would have

CEO Niall Martin founded the

company in 2016; since then,
Artios has raised $320m, including
a $153m Series C financing round
in 2021.

That Artios has become a hot

ticket for VCs is hardly surprising
when you look at Martin’s CV: 30
years in both biotech and pharma
worlds, with highlights that include
big fundraises, the discovery of
a cancer drug and a previous D ARTIOS PHARMA FOUNDING TEAM
company sold to a pharma giant.
12

The secret
of Finn’s
success?
Less is more
The car subscription startup’s
founder on the value of not doing
too many things
D FINN TEAM

Some free advice from the founder

“
of Finn: listen to your mother.
Finn is also active in the US,
“We received a four-star review but expanding at a moderate
from her once,” says Maximilian pace, as it faces higher costs
Wühr, who is also CEO of the We’re lucky to there. “German customers are
car- subscription company, which more valuable to us. We’re at a
offers an alternative to buying be in an industry higher scale here; marketing is
or leasing for those who want to
drive new vehicles. “She knocked
where there is cheaper because people know
us; insurance is cheaper; supply is
a star off because it took too long a lot of change cheaper because we have higher
to reach one of our customer negotiation power,” says Wühr.
care operators. I appreciated happening.”
that feedback.” Maximilian Wühr, cofounder and CEO, Finn One big tailwind for Finn’s growth is
a customer base that is curious to
Germans are prudent, goes the try electric vehicles but too scared
well-worn cliché — and, like all His answer: don’t do too much. “We to take the plunge and buy. “We’re
clichés, there’s some truth here. The have a totally different philosophy lucky to be in an industry where
Finn boss certainly comes across [than Cazoo] when it comes to there is a lot of change happening,”
like a pretty steady hand on the capex. They had their own delivery Wühr says.
tiller. “My ambition is to be a lasting trucks; they did refurbishments and
business; to be around for 20-25 other services. We simply focused
years,” he says. The company, on creating the digital face for the
which currently manages more than customer. The logistics and other

4
25k subscriptions in Germany and operations are all areas where there
the US, raised a €100m Series C in are established players already, so
January, which valued the company we try to concentrate on what we
at €600m. can do best.” CONSUMER MOBILITY

Monthly all-inclusive
Wühr has steered Finn along what’s Oh, and as far as spending goes, car subscriptions
proved a very bumpy road for car maybe “don’t sponsor [several]
subscription companies. Sifted Premier League football teams 0 Munich ? 2019 + 300
asked him how he’s avoided the at once”, Wühr adds, in reference
FYE: Dec 22 PROFITABLE: No
potholes that totalled other big to Cazoo’s truly vast sponsorship
TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
online car players of recent years — strategy (it also had partnerships €1.3bn €125.4m
like UK retailer Cazoo, for example, with football teams in Spain and LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:

which went into administration in France, and was involved in horse

€100m Series C
(Jan 2024) 697.05%
May 2024. racing, darts, snooker and cricket).
 Sifted 250 13

The not-so- fertile and viable eggs, hatcheries

little chicken can cut some costs).

5
r r MRI imaging has been around
DEEPTECH FOODTECH
nuggets on how AI is transforming for decades, of course, but it has
the poultry business Combines MRI with AI to
“been super slow, complicated and
scan and classify objects
expensive to use. Hospitals are the
only place where you can justify the
costs”, Gómez says.
0 Munich ? 2019 + 54
“Chatbots are cute but they don’t
solve important problems.” FYE: Dec 23 PROFITABLE: Yes

Orbem says it’s able to scan up to TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:

€40.5m PND
So says Pedro Gómez, cofounder 24k eggs per hour, much faster
LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:
and CEO of Munich-based than existing MRI processes. €30m Series A
(Sep 2023) 650.97%
company Orbem, which uses AI to Unwanted eggs can then be
rapidly make sense of MRI scans. destroyed before the point at
which, according to studies, the
This technology, born out of PhD embryo feels pain. “We have a few key things going
research at the Technical University for us: we know what we’re talking
of Munich, is primarily being used "We believe our AI tech will be a about for one thing, as we’re
to determine the sex of a chick huge enabler to solve the industry’s led by scientists who know AI,”
before it hatches, which crucially toughest challenges,” Gómez says. Gómez says.
eliminates the need to destroy
young males. You see, the egg The company, which launched in And the opportunities in poultry
industry keeps some grisly secrets: 2019, raised a €30m Series A round are broader than you might think.
because male chicks don’t lay eggs in October 2023 and is finding “It’s massive — so many products
or produce valued meat, these customers in Germany and France, contain eggs, from mayonnaise and
newborns are killed in their billions which have both outlawed chick pastries to pasta,” he says. But the
each year. Orbem’s so-called in-ovo culling. Italy aims to follow suit company isn’t content to stop here:
sexing technology helps avoid this with a ban in 2027 and is another Orbem hopes its method could be
outcome (and by incubating only promising market, Gómez says. used in the construction indsutry,
for example, to scan materials and
ensure their structural integrity.

“
We believe
our AI tech
will be a huge
enabler to solve
the industry’s
toughest
D ORBEM TEAM challenges.”
Pedro Gómez, cofounder and CEO, Orbem
14

ir i

“
longer interests him. Eventually, he

the biggest crossed paths with Simon Bager,

who has a PhD in sustainable

blaze of all land use. Klimate grew out of this

meeting of minds.
You can do
These carbon-removal specialists
are eyeing the UK as their next
something with
The company’s pitch is that a lot
big opportunity of good money is being wasted €40-50k — but
Fun fact about Klimate cofounder
on bad carbon offset projects. “It
comes down to super hard work —
that’s a lot of
and COO Mads Emil Dalsgaard: he verifying data and automating the money for an
has a driver’s licence for a firetruck. management of these projects,”
Military service is mandatory for all he says. “We have clients with tens SME.”
physically fit men over the age of of millions of revenue and they Mads Emil Dalsgaard,
18 in Denmark. “You have to queue probably only have one person cofounder and COO, Klimate

up and they pull numbers out of a working on carbon removal. So

wooden tombola — if the number there’s a lot of added value you can
is between 1 and 5000, you have to bring with software.” Klimate is one of two Danish
serve. I pulled a very low number,” companies in the top 10; not
says Dalsgaard. Klimate is eyeing expansion to bad, even if Dalsgaard wishes
the UK, where “there are more big risk taking and entrepreneurism
Though actually, if you really don’t companies to work with”, he says. were bigger features of Danish
want to do it, you can join the It raises the question: is carbon life. “It’s a humble culture. For
fire service instead. That’s what removal an activity that’s just for Nordic companies there is this
Dalsgaard did. the big companies? For now, it feeling that you’re not allowed
seems the answer is yes. “One to stick your neck out,” he says.
From there, his was a roundabout company, Microsoft, is 70% of the “So we don’t want to be the first
route into carbon offsets — there carbon-removal market,” Dalsgaard to do something; we want to
was time spent in Berlin at a says. “You can do something with see someone else doing it first
blockchain company, for example, €40-50k — but that’s a lot of money and if they don’t get in trouble,
a technology Dalsgaard says no for an SME.” we’ll follow.”

6
CLIMATE CARBON TECH

Carbon credit and

removal services

0 Copenhagen ? 2020 + 10
FYE: Dec 23 PROFITABLE: PND
TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
€5m PND
LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:

D KLIMATE FOUNDERS €3.5m Seed

(Oct 2023) 645.36%
 Sifted 250 15

This
company
started over
steak frites
Kovalee’s founders had a meeting
of minds in a Paris steakhouse

A plate of steak and chips

“changed my life”, says Damien
Soulard, cofounder of mobile app D KOVALEE TEAM
publisher Kovalee.

It was a Wednesday night in Paris

in 2020, at popular steakhouse 100,” says de Keating. The team As for the relationship with
Hippopotamus — still the most also experiments with AI tools, cofounder Soulard, it’s still going
famous hippo in the French capital, using them to help simplify coding strong, says de Keating. “He’s a
sorry Moo Deng — and Soulard work and improve app content. rock. Technically he’s amazing —

“
had just hashed out a business idea it’s the first time I’ve seen a tech
to help consumer apps climb the team deliver before deadline and
charts with Vincent Hart de Keating, without bugs.
the cofounder of Homa Games,
a Paris gaming app developer.
Like any good startup origin tale,
Today we work “He’s more calm than me. If I’m
really pissed about something, he’ll
there were scribbles on a napkin with 10 apps — help me settle down.”
that night.
next year, it’ll
According to de Keating, who
is now Kovalee’s CEO, “Damien
be 100.”
said to me: are you stupid? You’re Vincent Hart de Keating,
cofounder and CEO, Kovalee
developing these gaming apps
[with Homa] and ignoring the wider 7
consumer market. Mobile gaming One of the apps Kovalee has
was not growing much any more, promoted is Bend, which helps B2B SAAS MARKETING & ADTECH

it’s true; the number of casual users stretch in the morning. App developer and
gamers has really quietened down.” Another is called Peptalk, which publishing platform
offers daily motivational content.
Kovalee’s bread and butter is to Kovalee says it has pushed several 0 Paris ? 2020 + 24
help apps get discovered more apps within the top 50 across many
FYE: Dec 23 PROFITABLE: PND
quickly online. “We work with any different app store categories
TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
vertical and use our technologies in less than six months. In some €9.1m PND
to make them number one and later cases, apps’ annual recurring LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:

share the profits. Today we work revenue increased from $0.2m to

€8m Series A
(Jul 2022) 626.00%
with 10 apps — next year, it’ll be $2m+ in less than a year.
16

‘I didn’t past, but if you have one eye on should be handled. “Now we have

want to run an exit, you don’t build a great

company. And I wanted this to be
a big European market without
British competitors,” Benady says.

a French big: we didn’t want to be [just] a

French company,” he says. Swan
Not that he relishes the situation:
“everyone has lost out,” he adds.

company’ opened an office in Milan in June

— the company’s fourth base And if the sudden arrival of hotshot
Nicolas Benady was a restless outside Paris. Parisian AI companies like Dust,
founder, but has embraced life as poolside and Mistral has made
a CEO
When Sifted chatted to Benady, he recruitment a bit harder for Swan –
was reflecting on a strong year for “we see AI startups trying to steal
Nicolas Benady, the French founder European fintechs, with whopping our best engineers” — Benady also
and CEO of fintech Swan, is raises from the likes of Revolut doesn’t appear particularly fazed
unashamedly ambitious. “We want and Monzo. “Fintechs have thrived by the challenge. “I don’t put us in
to become a major European retail thanks to the Payments Service the same league [as Revolut] at the
bank,” he says. “[And] I think we’re Directive,” he says, showing an moment,” he says. “But I’m sure we
going to make it and compete with uncommon amount of love for a will get there in the coming years.”
[fintechs like] Adyen and Stripe.” piece of EU legislation. Known as
PSD2, the EU rule requires banks

8
The company, which he cofounded to create digital portals that tech
in 2019, provides infrastructure companies can use to harvest
so that ecommerce and other basic client data. “For once, politics
software platforms can provide had a good effect on tech.” FINTECH DIGITAL BANKING

financial services, including Helps companies create

payments, lending, insurance or Still, politics has since found financial products
even accounting, into their tech a way to make life harder for
systems without having to build fintechs again. Brexit threw sand 0 Paris ? 2019 + 105
these themselves. in the gears, introducing licensing

“
FYE: Dec 23 PROFITABLE: No
problems for EU companies that
TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
want to operate in the UK (and for €58m PND
UK companies that want to operate LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:

in the EU), as well as increased

€37m Series B
(Jun 2023) 558.17%
We want to costs and confusion over how data

become a major
European
retail bank.”
Nicolas Benady, cofounder and CEO, Swan

Swan is Benady’s fourth company

but his first CEO position. He’s
enjoying the role, calling it, “an
addictive job with the good and
the bad.

“It’s okay if founders want to D SWAN FOUNDERS

do an exit, like I’ve done in the
 Sifted 250 17

This Latvian approach here,” says cofounder

company and CEO Toms Niparts.

9
took a hard The nice thing about the city is that
the founders all know each other.
FINTECH DIGITAL BANKING

road to get But that can make hiring a delicate

Credit assessment
using alternative data

here
manoeuvre. “I have a gentleman’s
agreement not to headhunt other 0 Riga ? 2019 + 31
people’s talent,” says Niparts. “But
i i the arrangement we’ve come to FYE: Dec 23 PROFITABLE: Yes
d r di
is this: if someone from your team TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
right partners €6.2m €6.6m
approaches me, I will not not have
LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:
that conversation. It would be a €2m Seed
(Jul 2024) 551.70%
Jeff App, the company that creates suicidal move if I was to say ‘I’d
alternative credit scores for never consider hiring someone
“underbanked” people in emerging from a friendly founder’s team’.”
economies, is doing well these days The company does alternative
— but it’s been a painful journey to Recruitment is one issue; data scoring for financial service
get this far. fundraising, however, was the main providers, which helps them to
headache. “We went out to raise in reach more potential customers.
Being from a tiny place like Riga 2022 and it took us two years. We Before raising a $2m round in July
— population 619k — presents realised we were six to nine months this year, Jeff was close to signing
its own challenges. “If I was to late to the party. deals with two different sets of
think about hiring a marketing or investors. Both were drawn-out
commercial head, there’s maybe “We also underestimated how many affairs that ended acrimoniously.
less than 10 people I could assholes there are in VC.”
“[The worst one] was the VC that
tried to strong-arm us at the end,”
says Niparts. “We didn’t expect
that.” Eventually, Jeff found a match
in Prague’s Presto Ventures, which
led the company’s latest round.

Jeff wants to use its fresh funding

to expand into countries including
India, Mexico and Indonesia. “There
are still plenty of places in the world
where people have hardly any
financial records and so can’t easily
open bank accounts,” says Niparts,
D JEFF FOUNDERS who has spent half his year in Asia,
meeting prospective clients.
18

Why cats are

the next big
battleground
for pet
insurers
Dalma’s cofounder talks about
eye-watering vet bills and staying
ahead of the competition

D DALMA TEAM
Launched in 2021 by Alban de
Préville, Raphaël Sadaka and Harry
Belinga, Dalma is the fastest-
growing pet insurer in Europe. The
company offers a digital, user- to spend more money on these But the cat is where the next
friendly insurance, with promises of furry beasts. Private equity money market opportunity lies, he
payouts in under 48 hours. Its app is piling into vet clinics, which is explains. “It’s an under-penetrated
also promises “unlimited access” to pushing the industry to find profits. market,” says de Préville. “So we’re
vet advice and tips. Costly treatments drive demand for looking for a way to better serve
insurance while making life trickier the cats.” There’s potential, he feels,
Dalma had two successive for actuaries, who have to factor to get ahead of the competition
fundraises in 2021 and 2022 — a suddenly massive inflation into and offer differentiated coverage
€2m seed and a €15m Series A. their pricing. for city cats — which live largely

“
“We experienced massive growth in sheltered lives — and countryside
[both years],” says de Préville. “And cats, which probably face more
demand — though not as crazy risks on average. “Our actuaries are
now — is staying strong.” looking into it.”

This is due to vet bill inflation being It’s an under-

huge. “It’s been rising 15% a year
in Europe for the past few years,”
penetrated 10
de Préville says. Or higher: vet bills market.”
in Germany increased by 20% on CONSUMER PET TECH
Alban de Préville,
average in the past 18 months, cofounder and CEO, Dalma Subscription-based
he adds. pet health insurance

There are several reasons for this: The big pet insurance clients are 0 Paris ? 2020 + 65
animal science and treatment dog owners. Dogs go to vets more
FYE: Dec 23 PROFITABLE: PND
are improving — ”the equipment than cats, which “are more robust”,
TOTAL FUNDING: LATEST REVENUE:
is moving towards what you’d says de Préville (felines are also €15.4m PND
find in human clinics,” de Préville frequently terrible car passengers, LATEST FUNDRAISE: 2-YR REVENUE CAGR:

says — and pet attachment has so owners would probably prefer to

€13.2m Series A
(May 2022) 549.08%
grown, alongside a willingness avoid a trip with a cat).
 19

CHAPTER II

The full 250

All of 2024’s
top performers
20

The
The Sifted 250 ranks Europe’s 250 startups with the highest percentage
revenue growth over the past three financial years, calculated using a two-
year compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Companies were required to

Sifted 250
submit signed documentation to support disclosed financial information not
publicly available.

2-YR REVENUE 2-YR REVENUE

COMPANY HQ CAGR COMPANY HQ CAGR

1 Allica Bank London 1438.91% 27 Veremark London 353.36%

2 kompasbank Vedbæk 1149.73% 28 Clone Paris 350.00%
3 Artios Babraham 697.38% 29 Holibob Edinburgh 340.60%
4 FINN Munich 697.05% 30 Tembo Money London 336.93%
5 Orbem Munich 650.97% 31 Marshmallow London 335.78%
6 Klimate Copenhagen 645.36% 32 1000farmacie Naples 333.10%
7 Kovalee Paris 626.00% 33 Ringy Tallinn 332.28%
8 Swan Paris 558.17% 34 anybill Munich 328.17%
9 Jeff Riga 551.70% 35 Aily Labs Munich 316.33%
10 Dalma Paris 549.08% 36 Barkibu Gondomar 314.04%
11 Zilch London 540.12% 37 Coverflex Braga 312.98%
12 Seat Unique London 532.77% 38 Prosperty Athens 309.64%
13 Olistic Barcelona 529.01% 39 PolyAI London 309.38%
14 Peppy Health London 508.32% 40 Folio Oslo 308.33%
15 charles Berlin 506.38% 41 ZOE Health London 304.54%
16 Flower Stockholm 497.61% 42 Aria Paris 300.37%
17 Turing College Vilnius 490.19% 43 Formalize Aarhus 300.18%
18 Yoti London 468.07% 44 Yulife London 299.44%
19 Tourlane Berlin 447.72% 45 Ukio Barcelona 291.55%
20 Hofy London 443.81% 46 OpenUp Amsterdam 291.36%
21 V7 London 415.30% 47 Smartpricing Arco 287.30%
22 Forest London 412.73% 48 Yokoy Zurich 281.88%
23 Done Stockholm 396.14% 49 Neustark Bern 270.93%
24 Dynelectro Copenhagen 395.02% 50 Resistant AI Prague 261.09%
25 n8n Berlin 378.00% 51 Likeminded Berlin 258.71%
26 Lassie Stockholm 373.06% 52 Scaleup Finance Copenhagen 255.54%

B2B SAAS CONSUMER FINTECH CLIMATE DEEPTECH HEALTHTECH

 Sifted 250 21

2-YR REVENUE 2-YR REVENUE

COMPANY HQ CAGR COMPANY HQ CAGR

The Exploration
53 Munich 254.65% 86 Yoto London 204.34%
Company
54 Sumsub London 246.94% 87 Plenti Warsaw 203.81%
55 Earthbanc Stockholm 244.71% 88 Greenly Paris 199.33%
56 Woltair Prague 243.81% 89 BizAway Spilimbergo 198.45%
57 Wallester Tallinn 240.10% 90 Vertuoza Nivelles 198.26%
58 Vok Bikes Tallinn 240.08% 91 Beev Paris 197.14%
59 Skyfri Oslo 239.93% 92 Libeo Paris 195.30%
60 XYZ Reality London 237.73% 93 Yepoda Berlin 191.08%
61 akirolabs Berlin 237.69% 94 Enpal Berlin 186.04%
62 VICIO Barcelona 235.15% 95 Cling Systems Stockholm 185.77%
63 Shook Helsinki 233.97% 96 4Trans Liberec 183.47%
64 Equalfood Lisbon 232.12% 97 Payflow Barcelona 182.84%
65 OTHERWORLD London 230.63% 98 Evyon Oslo 182.22%
66 Kinetix Paris 230.29% 99 Up2You Milan 182.04%
67 Tapio Brussels 227.97% 100 Cosmico Milan 179.01%
68 Montonio Tallinn 226.04% 101 Oxular Oxford 177.79%
69 Fiscozen Milan 225.14% 102 Stenn London 176.71%
70 Smitten Reykjavik 223.03% 103 Aprila Bank Oslo 174.68%
71 Flash Pack London 219.80% 104 BRIDGE IN Lisbon 174.31%
72 Horde Bergen 216.80% 105 Just Russel Ghent 172.37%
73 XEROF Zug 216.23% 106 OTIV Ghent 171.71%
74 shipzero Hamburg 216.23% 107 Beem Nantes 170.80%
75 Torus Vilnius 216.23% 108 Plum London 170.26%
Multiverse
76 Qovoltis Paris 216.23% 109
Computing
Donostia 169.40%
77 Vytal Cologne 213.45% 110 Smart London 168.72%
78 Updraft London 208.85% 111 Finanzguru Frankfurt 168.67%
79 Finqware Bucharest 208.61% 112 Stockly Paris 167.26%
80 DnaNUDGE London 206.98% 113 Daytrip Brno 164.21%
81 Freetrade London 206.98% 114 Enty Tallinn 163.17%
82 BioEsol Grenoble 205.67% 115 Factorial Barcelona 163.08%
83 StockRepublic Stockholm 205.51% 116 HYDROGRID Vienna 162.88%
84 NayaOne London 205.51% 117 Toduba Turin 161.56%
85 The Plum Guide London 205.18% 118 Qomon Paris 158.57%

B2B SAAS CONSUMER FINTECH CLIMATE DEEPTECH HEALTHTECH

22

2-YR REVENUE 2-YR REVENUE

COMPANY HQ CAGR COMPANY HQ CAGR

119 Exein Rome 158.20% 152 MyDello Tallinn 130.93%

120 Dexter Energy Amsterdam 153.80% 153 embedded ocean Munich 129.97%
121 Relai Zurich 151.54% 154 Wayflyer Dublin 129.13%
122 ANNA Money London 150.91% 155 Hubcycle Avignon 129.13%
123 Atom Bank Durham 150.06% 156 wflow Prague 128.70%
124 vivenu Düsseldorf 150.00% 157 Eye Security The Hague 127.30%
125 NORNORM Copenhagen 148.54% 158 CMR Surgical Cambridge 126.02%
126 Doctorsa Rome 148.51% 159 Switchee London 124.73%
Collective Minds Airteam Aerial
127
Radiology
Stockholm 146.93% 160
Intelligence
Berlin 124.69%
128 mybacs Munich 146.65% 161 BubblyDoo Antwerp 124.55%
129 WeRoad Milan 144.95% 162 Envisics Milton Keynes 123.61%
130 heyData Berlin 144.90% 163 Viggo Copenhagen 121.49%
EVO HUMAN
131
PERFORMANCE
Athens 143.09% 164 Blackwave Taufkirchen 119.61%
132 Tendium Sweden 142.54% 165 Mundimoto Barcelona 119.55%
133 Cleo London 142.36% 166 Sekoia.io Rennes 119.50%
134 Zeelo London 142.25% 167 Toptutors Copenhagen 118.44%
135 Kraftblock Sulzbach 141.75% 168 Kreditz Stockholm 116.93%
136 Circula Berlin 140.48% 169 Oddin.gg Prague 116.78%
137 Aryel Milan 140.02% 170 Bower Stockholm 115.89%
The Modern
138
Milkman
Manchester 138.67% 171 JENTIS Vienna 115.67%
WhiteLab
139 Moneybox London 138.65% 172 Paris 114.83%
Genomics
140 Proxify Stockholm 137.83% 173 Extracadabra Paris 114.63%
141 Zenride Paris 137.83% 174 EdgeTier Dublin 114.32%
142 MyInvestor Madrid 134.52% 175 Everphone Berlin 113.80%
143 Choice Prague 134.41% 176 Curve London 113.08%
144 ClearBank London 134.29% 177 tiney London 113.04%
145 booksalon Helsinki 134.29% 178 Cargoplot Amsterdam 112.75%
146 Amenitiz Barcelona 134.08% 179 Kiro Marseille 112.14%
147 Perlego London 133.83% 180 Dr-Julian London 112.13%
148 Aktiia Neuchâtel 132.38% 181 Tyk London 112.08%
149 Caracol Milan 132.14% 182 Shakers Madrid 111.10%
150 CyberGuru Rome 132.12% 183 Plant Stockholm 110.63%
151 Urban Jungle London 131.00% 184 Enginzyme Stockholm 109.97%

B2B SAAS CONSUMER FINTECH CLIMATE DEEPTECH HEALTHTECH

 Sifted 250 23

2-YR REVENUE 2-YR REVENUE

COMPANY HQ CAGR COMPANY HQ CAGR

185 GitGuardian Paris 109.58% 218 instagrid Ludwigsburg 94.74%

186 Metaloop Graz 108.88% 219 Hopkins Berlin 94.62%
187 Olio London 108.34% 220 Birdie London 94.61%
188 Continuity Paris 107.02% 221 Kore Labs London 94.50%
189 Juro London 106.66% 222 Tuum Tallinn 94.41%
190 NovoGrid Dublin 106.31% 223 proSapient London 94.22%
191 Hawk Munich 105.74% 224 vly Berlin 94.20%
192 Huboo Bristol 105.33% 225 PayPo Warsaw 93.92%
193 Roofit.Solar Tallinn 104.95% 226 Lunar Aarhus 93.65%
194 Learnerbly London 104.63% 227 Liki24 Kyiv 93.25%
195 Bezahl.de Cologne 102.96% 228 Digip Stockholm 93.17%
196 Nature Metrics Guildford 102.84% 229 Waterview Turin 93.07%
197 Genesis London 102.11% 230 Zappyrent Milan 92.35%
198 Foorban Milan 101.91% 231 Bud London 91.37%
199 Cult Mia London 101.78% 232 Codat London 91.17%
200 SoSafe Cologne 101.74% 233 Storfund London 90.03%
201 Hadean London 101.65% 234 Waste24 Grudziądz 89.91%
202 Gorilla Antwerp 100.99% 235 MishiPay London 89.76%
203 Cloudsmith Belfast 100.13% 236 Jobtech Milan 88.83%
204 Florence London 100.00% 237 Incapto Barcelona 88.71%
205 Intergiro Stockholm 100.00% 238 PVcase Vilnius 87.98%
206 Freedome Milan 100.00% 239 Alma Paris 87.97%
207 instacar Athens 99.70% 240 Maaind Eindhoven 87.08%
208 knokcare Matosinhos 99.53% 241 Soplaya Udine 87.06%
209 Salonkee Luxembourg 99.36% 242 Lepaya Amsterdam 86.97%
210 Myenergi Binbrook 99.15% 243 Storebox Vienna 86.47%
211 Seyna Paris 98.61% 244 Engitix London 86.24%
ACCURE Battery
212 Themo Tallinn 98.33% 245
Intelligence
Aachen 86.19%
Unchained
213 Paderborn 97.45% 246 BoardClic Stockholm 86.10%
Robotics
214 Appfarm Oslo 97.20% 247 Cognism London 85.25%
215 Gain.pro Amsterdam 97.09% 248 secjur Hamburg 84.80%
216 Bumper London 96.87% 249 Yaga Tallinn 84.67%
217 Babaco Market Milan 95.30% 250 TrueLayer London 84.04%

B2B SAAS CONSUMER FINTECH CLIMATE DEEPTECH HEALTHTECH

24

Top 50 best-
Investors were ranked by the number of portfolio companies that feature on
the Sifted 250 in the first instance, followed by the average two-year revenue
CAGR of those companies. The full ranking is exclusively available to Sifted Pro

performing
subscribers.
Source: Sifted

investors NO. OF
COMPANIES
AVG. COMPANY
RANK

AVG. COMPANY
INVESTOR TYPE HQ CAGR PORTFOLIO COMPANIES IN TOP 50

1 EIT Public funding 22 199.74% 131 Orbem (#5), Klimate (#6), anybill (#34), Neustark (#49)
2 Tech Nation Accelerator 20 161.41% 148 Yoti (#18), Marshmallow (#31), Yulife (#44)
3 Plug and Play Accelerator 16 195.39% 133 charles (#15), Yoti (#18), Holibob (#29)
4 Bpifrance Public funding 10 219.64% 135 Kovalee (#7), Swan (#8)
5 Innovate UK Public funding 10 188.71% 139 Yoti (#18), V7 (#21)
6 Kima Ventures VC fund 8 285.23% 89 Swan (#8), Dalma (#10), Barkibu (#36), Ukio (#45)
7 HSBC Bank 8 170.26% 154 Yoti (#18)
8 European Innovation Council Public funding 7 305.10% 88 Orbem (#5), Turing College (#17), Dynelectro (#24)
9 Balderton Capital VC fund 7 230.87% 87 Lassie (#26), ZOE Health (#41), Yokoy (#48)
10 Startup Wise Guys Accelerator 6 316.85% 75 Jeff (#9), Turing College (#17), Ringy (#33)
11 Breega VC fund 6 279.59% 83 Kovalee (#7), Coverflex (#37), Ukio (#45)
12 Global Founders Capital VC fund 6 199.10% 144 Dalma (#10)
13 Azimut Group Private equity 6 196.72% 123 1000farmacie (#32)
14 Index Ventures VC fund 6 182.56% 131 PolyAI (#39), Resistant AI (#50)
15 Partech VC fund 5 281.40% 57 V7 (#21), Ukio (#45)
16 Founders Future VC fund 5 229.67% 119 Swan (#8)
17 Seedcamp VC fund 5 224.71% 115 Peppy Health (#14), Resistant AI (#50)
18 Google for Startups Accelerator 5 202.75% 154 charles (#15)
19 Triple Point Ventures VC fund 5 199.23% 131 Veremark (#27), Marshmallow (#31)
20 LocalGlobe VC fund 5 191.06% 107 Yulife (#44)
21 Almi Invest VC fund 5 187.63% 129
22 HEC Incubator University 5 182.52% 131 Aria (#42)
23 Speedinvest VC fund 5 171.69% 115 Yokoy (#48)
24 ACE and Company Private equity 5 159.63% 113 Neustark (#49)
25 Wilco Accelerator 5 157.83% 129
26 CDP Venture Capital Public funding 5 156.77% 151
27 ETF Partners VC fund 5 156.01% 125
28 Eurazeo Private equity 5 152.57% 158 Yulife (#44)
29 P101 Ventures VC fund 5 152.11% 165 1000farmacie (#32)
30 Tiger Global Management Private equity 5 108.11% 200
31 AXA CVC 5 107.82% 195
32 Tencent CVC 5 98.67% 215
33 HV Capital VC fund 4 459.30% 33 FINN (#4), charles (#15), Tourlane (#19)
34 Sequoia Capital VC fund 4 433.40% 25 Kovalee (#7), Tourlane (#19), n8n (#25), Yokoy (#48)
35 Antler Accelerator 4 329.22% 89 Klimate (#6)
36 Passion Capital VC fund 4 288.13% 60 Lassie (#26), Marshmallow (#31), PolyAI (#39)
37 Picus Capital VC fund 4 269.20% 132 FINN (#4)
38 Presto Ventures VC fund 4 261.67% 95 Jeff (#9)
39 Errol Damelin Angel 4 237.88% 76 ZOE Health (#41), Yulife (#44)
40 Chris Adelsbach Angel 4 227.52% 80 Marshmallow (#31)
41 Innovation Norway Public funding 4 206.92% 103 Folio (#40)
42 Almi Företagspartner VC fund 4 206.88% 115
43 Entrepreneur First Accelerator 4 182.10% 137 PolyAI (#39)
44 JamJar Investments VC fund 4 182.07% 108
45 Anthemis Group VC fund 4 166.96% 141 Yulife (#44)
46 FJ Labs VC fund 4 160.71% 134
47 Verve Ventures VC fund 4 146.98% 164 Neustark (#49)
48 United Ventures VC fund 4 142.10% 160
49 BNP Paribas Bank 4 120.28% 177
50 Taavet Hinrikus Angel 4 116.76% 173
 Sifted 250 25

Rising 50
The Rising 50 ranks the 50 startups with the highest percentage growth over the past
two financial years, calculated using a one-year CAGR. Startups had to have at least
two years of revenue data, across comparable accounting periods of at least 26 weeks.
Revenue (annualised if necessary) had to be at least €50k (or £42k) in the base year (2021
These 50 companies didn’t meet or 2022 depending on filing dates) and at least €500k (or £416k) in the latest financial year
our growth criteria for this year — (2023 or 2024).
but there’s little doubt that you’ll be
reading more about them next year 1-YR REVENUE
EMPLOYEES PROFITABLE CAGR

LAUNCH TOTAL FINANCIAL

COMPANY SECTOR HQ YEAR FUNDING YEARS

1 indó Digital banking Reykjavik 2018 17 €17m PND 21-23 3743.61%

2 Electra Electric vehicles Paris 2020 150 €500m No 21-23 3343.46%
3 Voltfang Energy storage Aachen 2020 40 €7m No 21-23 2757.14%
4 Narvi Digital banking Helsinki 2021 10 €0m Yes 21-23 1700.00%
5 REVER Sales & customer service Barcelona 2022 25 €8.5m No 21-23 1553.85%
6 PlasticFri Circular economy Stockholm 2018 12 €5.7m PND 21-23 1531.28%
7 Defacto Digital lending Paris 2021 17 €218m PND 21-23 1340.90%
8 Sifflet Data & analytics Paris 2021 41 €13m PND 21-23 1300.00%
9 Bolero Wealthtech Paris 2021 10 €2.2m PND 21-23 1275.00%
10 Najar CFO tech stack Paris 2021 34 €15m PND 22-24 999.53%
11 Avea Life Longevity Zug 2021 24 €7.5m PND 22-24 914.87%
12 Tot Digital banking Milan 2021 20 €6m No 21-23 900.00%
13 KONUX Supply chain & logistics Munich 2014 144 €150m PND 21-23 848.28%
14 Lindus Health Drug discovery London 2021 45 €19m PND 21-23 747.98%
15 Datia Carbon accounting and offsets Stockholm 2020 16 €3.8m No 21-23 670.00%
16 Fintern Digital lending London 2020 60 €600m Yes 22-24 650.00%
17 Perse Carbon accounting and offsets London 2020 6 €2m Yes 22-24 620.00%
18 solfy Solar energy Barcelona 2022 35 €1.4m PND 21-23 574.04%
19 Allisone Medtech Paris 2021 45 €12m No 21-23 566.67%
20 Farmers First Agritech Vellinge 2020 12 €11.7m No 21-23 509.62%
21 Serenis Mental health Milan 2021 21 €6.5m PND 21-23 492.30%
22 Hertility Health Femtech London 2019 33 €12.4m PND 21-23 484.00%
23 Supliful Supply chain & logistics Riga 2021 25 €1.7m No 21-23 464.10%
24 Colossyan Gen AI London 2024 25 €21m PND 21-23 445.76%
25 Zeeksack Travel Gothenburg 2019 2 €0m Yes 21-23 441.72%
26 Cafler Mobility Barcelona 2021 60 €10m Yes 21-23 422.24%
27 Simplifhy Hydrogen Milan 2021 4 €0.6m Yes 21-23 420.00%
28 vidby Creative tools Zug 2021 95 €11.1m PND 21-23 404.63%
29 VividQ Extended reality Cambridge 2017 46 €19.4m PND 21-23 396.22%
30 Neat Insurtech Bordeaux 2022 55 €60m Yes 22-24 384.62%
31 Pixel Photonics Semiconductors & photonics Münster 2020 23 €1.5m No 21-23 384.58%
32 Levenue Digital lending Breda 2021 12 €8m Yes 21-23 351.65%
33 Procure Ai Procurement London 2020 15 €10.6m Yes 22-24 350.00%
34 Fabrick Digital banking Biella 2018 500 €42.9m Yes 21-23 348.36%
35 beBee HR tech Madrid 2020 50 €3m Yes 21-23 336.36%
36 Hadrian Cybersecurity Amsterdam 2021 50 €28m No 21-23 328.57%
37 Product Fruits Sales & customer service Prague 2020 20 €3.5m No 21-23 323.08%
38 Banxware Digital lending Berlin 2020 50 €30m No 21-23 300.00%
39 Native Teams HR tech Skopje 2020 137 €9.4m No 21-23 293.38%
40 Certif-ID HR tech Cologne 2020 35 €1.6m No 21-23 275.00%
41 Nory Hospitality Dublin 2019 30 €9.7m No 21-23 266.65%
42 Weavr Digital banking London 2018 106 €43m No 21-23 257.14%
43 Switcho Home living Milan 2019 70 €3.7m Yes 21-23 256.59%
44 Fideum Crypto & defi Vilnius 2021 12 €2m Yes 21-23 254.61%
45 deskbird Future of work St. Gallen 2020 79 €18.1m PND 21-23 223.12%
46 ZenRows Data & analytics Getxo 2022 20 €1.1m Yes 21-23 223.08%
47 Napo Pet tech London 2021 60 €17m PND 21-23 216.67%
48 Lottie Caretech London 2020 46 €25.4m No 21-23 191.39%
49 Connectd Business intelligence London 2019 32 €6.7m PND 20-22 191.14%
50 Nutrium Wellbeing Braga 2015 40 €6.9m PND 22-24 189.38%

B2B SAAS CONSUMER FINTECH CLIMATE DEEPTECH HEALTHTECH

26

CHAPTER III

What the Sifted

250 tells us about
European tech
Six themes emerging from the ranking
 Sifted 250 27

BIG TECH HUBS WERE NOT

SERIOUSLY CHALLENGED CROWN STATUS

Europe’s top three tech hubs — the UK, France and Fintech startups hoover up four of the top ten spots,
Germany — claim 15 of the top 20 spots. By contrast, with the sector recovering its shine in 2024 following
we see a poor performance from central Europe (19 an underwhelming 18 months of funding. European
companies) and the Benelux states (14). The fastest- fintechs regularly take home the biggest slice of
growing Benelux startup (OpenUp) is 46th; the fastest- VC funding annually but the sector slipped in 2023,
growing central European startup (Yokoy) is 48th. You when climate tech startups took the lion’s share of
have to scroll down a long way to find a company from investor capital.
Warsaw (Plenti, 88th) or from Brussels (Tapio, 67th).
But a good reminder of fintech’s durability is found in the
Elsewhere, it’s noteworthy that Berlin plays second latest State of European Tech report: 17% of all fintechs
fiddle to Munich in the top 50. More surprising still: Berlin that raised seed funding in 2015 reached a sixth round
had fewer representatives than Stockholm on the 250. or more after that, the highest rate across all sectors in
Call it a consolation prize for Sweden, which had a pretty Europe, the Atomico report reads.
crummy 2024, tech-wise, with year-on-year deal volume
falling and the country’s biggest startup Northvolt — While there are fewer climate tech startups than fintechs
also the continent’s main hope for countering Asian in the 250, what’s interesting is the variety of green
battery dominance — filing for bankruptcy protection. energy companies pulling in big money. Digital banking
is the dominant fintech grouping on the 250 — but
By the way, the fact that only 13 spots on the 250 are there’s a lively mix of carbon accounting software,
occupied by Berlin startups isn’t a crisis for German tech. hydrogen, electric vehicles, solar power and energy
On the contrary, it’s striking how spread out German storage startups here too.
startup talent is: “lesser” tech cities like Frankfurt,
Hamburg, Cologne and Düsseldorf are all represented.

Top cities in the Vertical distribution in

250 leaderboard the 250 leaderboard
No. of companies by HQ city No. of companies by vertical

Source: Sifted Source: Sifted

28

DON’T SLEEP ON CONSUMER TECH to help users manage their money better. This chatbot’s
sassy: if it sees you’ve spent half your salary on
Consumer-facing tech companies became a “do not takeaways in the last month, for example, Cleo’s “Roast
touch” category for some investors following the Mode” will call you out for it. The fintech even employs
bruising tech downturn (riskier bets seemed easier comedians to keep its tool in touch with cultural events.
when money was cheaper). These VCs may want to
rethink things, however, after seeing how well B2C Expect to read more about Cleo next year: in November,
fares in the 250. Consumer companies snagged six of Sifted reported that the company — which has
the top twenty spots — the most of any vertical on the prioritised growth in the US over Europe — had reached
ranking. The downturn killed its fair share of consumer $100m in annual recurring revenue. “[Cleo] did what all
companies but the survivors now have more space UK tech founders should be doing today — ignore the
to grow. UK as a market and focus only on the US until you cross
$100m,” Rizzoli said recently on LinkedIn.

AI MANIA NOT REFLECTED IN 250 So while AI companies did not hug the top of the 250,
it’s almost certain that the frenzied demand for the
You can’t avoid reading or hearing about AI. Some of the technology will propel them up future leaderboards.
biggest fundraising in 2024 was done by AI startups and
most new tech products are inevitably “AI-enabled” or
“AI-powered”. Top sectors in the
250 leaderboard

“
No. of companies by sector

It’s been a year of

craziness and rapid
adaptation.”
Alberto Rizzoli, cofounder and CEO, V7

But if any reader is looking for a safe haven from AI,

they’ll find it in the 250 (for the most part). The sole
generative AI company in the top 50 is V7. “It’s been a
year of craziness and rapid adaptation,” says founder
and CEO Alberto Rizzoli. In April, the London company
launched a tool called V7 Go, which promises to learn
how to do your work for you. It could be someone
who works for an airline who’s using the platform to
crunch through customer claims, or a marketer at an
ecommerce site who’s using the tech to understand
if images on the company’s website are too blurry or
simply wrong. A researcher may use the tool to speed-
read a chunky report in seconds.

Further down the list, in 134th place, is another London

company, Cleo, which creates AI assistants that can
access your income, bills and spending and use this info Source: Sifted
 Sifted 250 29

PROFITABILITY ELUDES MANY maker Graphcore also had a rocky year — the company
was sold in July for less money than the approximate
How many of the 250 can maintain their trajectory long $700m investors put into the business. “Each of the
enough to break into profitability? Investors have been companies face their own unique challenges, but
drilling the message into companies since the downturn: together show the struggles of scaling and entering
turn your sales into sustainable profits. But profitability production in Europe: a continent with less capital than
struggles for early-stage startups continue: only 14.8% the US and less access to a cheap supply chain than
of this category (which for us includes pre-seed to China,” a recent Sifted article reads.
Series A companies) told us they’re in the black (though
of course, some startups — like Klimate, for example — The same article quotes deeptech-focused investor
remain lossmaking in order to gain market share). Francesco Perticarari as saying: “Maybe we should just
accept European deeptech founders should raise seed,
Profitability for AI companies could be particularly move to the US, and keep an R&D facility here? It’s not a
challenging. “The AI winners of today are no longer stupid question to ask.”
capital-light businesses,” according to a recent Goldman
Sachs report, with these businesses incurring significant
costs for computing infrastructure to run and train AI
models. The Financial Times has reported, for example,
that ChatGPT has helped OpenAI revenues reach $3.6bn How to apply to Sifted
on an annualised basis. However, the company is also
burning through well over $5bn a year as it invests in
Leaderboards in 2025
training new models. Kicking yourself for not submitting an
application? You’re in luck: we’re doing it all
again next year.
DO YOU EVEN DEEPTECH, BRO?
We will run four regional Sifted 100
Can Europe produce deeptech hits? That’s the big leaderboards and the second edition of the
debate in the wake of Northvolt’s collapse. At first Sifted 250 to close out the year in 2025.
glance, the 250 doesn’t offer much encouragement:
there are only 11 deeptechs on here and 9 of these The four regional leaderboards are:
sit outside the top 50. On the one hand, this isn’t very • UK & Ireland
surprising: the speed of development and monetisation • DACH & CEE
for deeptechs is far slower than for traditional software • France & Southern Europe
companies. Munich’s The Exploration Company, which • Nordics & Benelux
sits 53rd on the list, can’t “ship products” at SaaS speed:
the company launched its first spacecraft — a re-entry Application and publication dates will be
demonstrator, curiously named Nyx Bikini — in July announced in due course. Applications
2024; its next launch is scheduled for the middle of 2025. for all of the leaderboards will open at
the same time in early 2025, with more
But no doubt Europe lacks the financial firepower of the targeted outreach periods occurring in the
US. From 2021 to 2023, European deeptech startups lead up to each regional leaderboard.
picked up $54.4bn, according to Dealroom figures —
less than a third of the $173.8bn raised by equivalent Applications can be submitted on the
companies in the US in the same period. Leaderboards page on the Sifted site. The
earlier Sifted receives your application, the
And Northvolt’s not the only European deeptech to more likely it is that your company will be
flounder in 2024. Other big tech bets that took a tumble spotlighted in the relevant research report.
include German flying taxi company Lilium and the UK’s
one-time-unicorn electric van maker Arrival. UK chip We can’t wait to hear from you.
30

The 250 survey We also asked founders about their biggest drivers of
What’s next for these fast-growing companies? growth. Roughly 73% said it was product or service
d u innovation. Interestingly, the next most popular answer
was data-driven decision making — with 41% calling
it the most important growth factor — while 38% said
Good news, Europe: 90% of survey respondents tell us strategic partnerships were most important. 35% said
they’re not planning to up sticks and move their HQs to access to capital was prime.
the US or Asia.
What's the key driver of your growth?
We polled all 250 companies and received detailed
Risk-taking (22)
responses from 82. The vast majority plan to keep
Innovation (60)
growing their companies in Europe (though two
companies told us they’re out of here). Access to capital (29)

Expansion to new markets (27)

Are you planning to move your HQ out of Europe in order to Data-driven decision-making (34)
sustain growth?
Strategic partnerships (11)
Yes (2.5%)
Other (10)
No (90%)

Prefer not to say (7.5%)

When it comes to hiring, 11% say they’ll more than

double headcount in 2025, while 40% of respondents
37% of respondents say they’re fundraising next year; expect to grow by a quarter in 2025.
20% have no fundraising plans and 5% will fundraise in
2026 or beyond. Roughly 44% of companies say they’re
exploring M&A opportunities. GROWTH HURDLES

Are you fundraising? If yes, when? We also wanted to hear what companies worried would
slow their growth. Most (40%) said scaling operations
Yes (52.5%)
would be the biggest challenge they’ll face next
Q4 '24 Q1 '25 Q2 Q3 Q4 '26+
(11%) (24.5%) (6%) (1%) (5%) (5%) year. The next biggest concern was macroeconomic
No (28%) conditions (32%). Hiring/retention and customer
Prefer not to say (19.5%) demand were the joint third biggest fears (31%).

Regulatory changes won’t have a big impact on growth

Are you exploring (or plan to explore) M&A opportunities? in the next one or two years, say 27% of companies. But
for roughly 52% of respondents, regulation is a medium-
Yes (44%)
to-high concern.
No (30.5%)

Prefer not to say (25.5%)

 Sifted 250 31

Ranking Europe’s
250 fastest-growing
startups
DEFINITIONS AND Financially, startups had to have: RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
• At least three years of revenue Research was conducted by the
The Sifted 250 ranks Europe’s data, either between 2020 Sifted Intelligence team using
250 startups with the highest and 2022, 2021 and 2023 or Dealroom, as well as Sifted’s
percentage revenue growth over the 2022 and 2024 depending on internal database to identify and
past three financial years, calculated company filing dates, across contact relevant, high-growth
using a two-year compound annual comparable accounting startups. Applications were
growth rate (CAGR): periods of at least 26 weeks accepted on the Sifted site
• Revenue (annualised if throughout 2024.
CAGR (%) = (Latest year revenue /
necessary) of at least €50k (or
Base year revenue) ^ 1/2 - 1
£42k) in the base year (2020,
In two instances where multiple 2021 or 2022 depending on DISCLAIMER
companies had identical CAGRs, filing dates) and at least €500k
annualised revenue was used (or £416k) in the latest financial Sifted Leaderboards do not
to determine which of these year (2022, 2023 or 2024)* claim to be exhaustive as private,
companies should be ranked higher. predominantly self-reported
Companies were required to submit company data can be difficult to
relevant, signed documentation acquire. Leaderboards are based
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA to support financial information on historical financial data and are
disclosed to Sifted. Some no guarantee of future company
To be eligible, companies had to companies chose to keep some of performance.
meet the following criteria: this information private.
*Sifted adjusted the financial
• Private and independent In addition, startups had to feature qualification criteria for the Sifted
• Headquartered in Europe on their respective regional 100: UK & Ireland and Sifted
(excluding Azerbaijan, Belarus, leaderboard e.g. Sifted 100: UK & 30: Eastern Europe & Baltics
Israel, Russia and Turkey) Ireland in order to qualify for the leaderboards based on the relative
• Majority of revenue must be European Sifted 250 leaderboard. maturity of the two region’s
generated by proprietary ecosystems. For the UK & Ireland,
technology the minimum revenue thresholds
• No older than 10 years old were £85k (€100k) and £850k (€1m)
(founded in or after 2014) respectively, while for Eastern
• No bigger than a headcount of Europe & Baltics, the minimum
999 (average number recorded criterion was €25k and €250k.
in the latest financial year)
32

Acknowledgements
MICHAEL HURUP ANDERSEN RICHARD DAVIES ALBAN DE PRÉVILLE
Founder and co-CEO, CEO, Cofounder and CEO,
kompasbank Allica Bank Dalma

NICOLAS BENADY PEDRO GÓMEZ ALBERTO RIZZOLI

Cofounder and CEO, Cofounder and CEO, Cofounder and CEO,
Swan Orbem V7

MADS EMIL DALSGAARD VINCENT HART DE KEATING MAXIMILIAN WÜHR

Cofounder and COO, Cofounder and CEO, Cofounder and CEO,
Klimate Kovalee Finn

TOMS NIPARTS
Cofounder and CEO,
Jeff

Sifted Leaderboards were devised by JONATHAN SINCLAIR, FEDERICO SCOLARI and JAMIE CONDLIFFE.

This report was written by ÉANNA KELLY, research and data analysis by JONATHAN SINCLAIR,
FEDERICO SCOLARI, RUGGERO DI SPIGNA, HESSA ALABBAS, edited by BECCA LIPMAN and
JAMIE CONDLIFFE, subedited by GEMMA TAYLOR, designed by GAÉTAN NIVON and illustrated by DESSY BAEVA.
It was produced by JONATHAN SINCLAIR.
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