January has been such a long month that five new European unicorns have already been born. From Belgium to Ukraine, several technology startups have raised funding at valuations exceeding $1 billion.
But before we take a closer look at who has joined the club, there are two caveats.
First: This number includes startups that may have been incorporated elsewhere, but whose roots or team are largely in Europe. This division will remain common until a pan-European corporate structure (often referred to as an “EU Inc”) exists. And we decided to give it a miss. For example, Lovable is incorporated in Delaware, but is inseparable from Stockholm’s startup scene.
Second, valuation does not equate to commercial success, and it is too early to tell whether all of these companies will achieve the traction that Lovable, which recently topped $300 million in annual recurring revenue, will achieve. But in the current climate, the fact that venture capitalists are willing to invest in them at unicorn valuations is a strong signal of where the investment appetite is.
With these caveats aside, let’s take a look.
Aikido
Belgium-based cybersecurity startup Aikido Security has achieved unicorn status with a $60 million Series B funding round. The company was valued at $1 billion, and the round was led by DST Global with participation from PSG Equity, Singular, Notion Capital and others.
According to a press release, the funding will help strengthen Aikido’s platform. The platform was built to unify security across the software lifecycle and is already used by more than 100,000 teams worldwide. The company also reported that “sales increased five times and customer numbers nearly tripled” over the past year.
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The startup celebrated this milestone and its significance in a blog post. “In an industry dominated by heavyweights from Palo Alto and Tel Aviv, Aikido shows that Europe can build a world-class software security company and win globally,” the team said.
Cast AI
Cloud optimization company Cast AI is headquartered in Florida, but its roots are in Lithuania and its main office is in Vilnius. This explains why many believe the company has become Lithuania’s fifth unicorn.
Following a strategic investment from Pacific Alliance Ventures (PAV), the US-based corporate venture arm of South Korean conglomerate Shinsegae Group, CastAI is now valued at more than $1 billion. In April 2025, Cast AI raised $108 million in Series C, and the company is reportedly already close to unicorn territory.
In addition to the latest funding round, the company also introduced OMNI Compute for AI. It aims to help users deploy more AI workloads with fewer GPUs and remove regional capacity constraints.
Harmattan AI
French defense technology company Harmattan AI was only founded in 2024, but its latest funding round already values it at $1.4 billion. The $200 million Series B was led by Dassault Aviation, maker of the Rafale fighter jet, and is also tied to broader partnerships.
Prior to securing this important partner, Harmattan AI had already signed agreements with the French and British ministries of defense and Ukrainian drone manufacturer Skyeton to meet the growing demand for autonomous defense aircraft.
Osapiens
German ESG software company Osapiens has raised $100 million in Series C led by Decarbonization Partners, a joint venture between BlackRock and Temasek, valuing the company at over $1.1 billion.
Founded in Mannheim in 2018, Osapiens currently has more than 2,400 customers worldwide, including large multinational companies that rely on its platform and tools not only for sustainability reporting and data compliance, but also for supply chain risk mitigation.
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Preply, a 14-year-old language learning marketplace, is now a unicorn with a valuation of $1.2 billion. This is also a milestone that embodies Ukraine’s resilience. Although the edtech company was founded in the US, the founders are Ukrainian and supporters of their home country, and Preply has a team of 150 employees.
CEO Kirill Bigai, who believes in AI reinforcement learning, said the proceeds from the $150 million Series D round will help the company hire more AI talent across its current four offices in Barcelona, London, New York, and Kyiv.
