DIGITALEUROPE unveils the list of European scale-ups nominated for its 2023 Future Unicorn Award

Today, DIGITALEUROPE unveiled its shortlist of nominees for the DIGITALEUROPE Future Unicorn Award, which every year showcases Europe’s most promising scale-ups.

The 9 nominees – which include innovative young companies in green tech, cyber security, e-commerce and more – hail from all four corners of our continent and show the diversity of the European innovation landscape. Over 60% of the 2023’s nominated companies are led by women.

The winner will be announced by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, at DIGITALEUROPE’s flagship annual conference Masters of Digital on 8 March 2023 in Brussels.

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, said:

Today, only 12 per cent of the world’s unicorns are European. This is far from enough, at a time when Europe seeks to assert its global competitive edge.

This year’s impressive shortlist of the most brilliant scale-ups represent critical sectors from energy & green tech to cyber security. They clearly reflect Europe’s most burning challenges and the power of European innovators to deliver solutions.

Yet, the road to a truly empowering innovation ecosystem remains very bumpy. While the US and China invest over 3.58% and 1.34% of GDP respectively in scale-ups, Europe’s 0.53%  is obviously not enough. In addition, many European innovators suffer from barriers between EU countries, which stop them from scaling quickly enough. This should be top of mind as the we celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the EU’s single market next year.

About the Future Unicorn Award

The Future Unicorn Award is a collaboration between national trade associations affiliated with DIGITALEUROPE. Each national association nominates one small company from their country that has the potential to become Europe’s next tech giant.

The 2023 edition features a 5-member jury consisting of venture capital, innovation and investment experts.

The Award is now being held for the sixth year in a row and is a testimony of the vital importance of SMEs in Europe and the wider digital ecosystem.

The winner will be announced at Masters of Digital, DIGITALEUROPE’s flagship annual conference, on 8 and 9 March 2023 in Brussels. The event has already top EU leaders as confirmed speakers, including President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton and the Japanese digital minister Taro Kono.

Scale-ups – tech companies with more than $1 million funding raised – are essential to Europe’s prosperity. More than just an engine for innovation, scale-ups are businesses that keep on hiring highly skilled workers, raise Europe’s productivity, and champion European values across the world.

Supporting scale-ups is not only Europe’s best chance at producing home-grown tech giants, but it is also a critical choice for digital and energy resilience. This may be truer than ever in the context of the ongoing energy and security crisis caused by the devastating effects of the war in Ukraine.

The scale-ups nominated for the 2023 Future Unicorn Award:

• AREYLight AI from Turkey: A high-tech company that strives to redefine Energytech by making IoT systems autonomous through AI solutions.
• DeltaQ from Belgium: A cloud-based energy optimization solution that helps real-estate professionals substantially reduce CO2 emissions.
• Easee from Norway: A company that develops innovative solutions for charging and power management technology, trying to shape the future of electricity.
• Libelium from Spain: LIBELIUM is a company born from a university project in Zaragoza in 2006. Their smart solutions are focused on three verticals: Sustainability, Smart Cities & Infrastructure and Agri-food.
• Plan A from Germany: Plan A is a leading corporate carbon accounting, decarbonisation, and ESG reporting software provider.
• Planet Heroes from Poland: The global, community-based platform built to promote ecological activities and provide a financial reward for people who clean up the planet.
• Red Points from Spain: Its platform enables companies to fight counterfeiting, piracy, phishing, credential resale and fraudulent online distribution.
• Timbeter from Estonia: Timbeter is a precision forestry solution that is digitally transforming the sector by increasing transparency, traceability and efficiency.
• Wolt from Finland: A technology company known for their local commerce platform, that makes it easy for customers to order whatever they need on one app.