Europe Sees 12 New Unicorns in 2025 as Funding Season Resumes

From AI to biotech and defense tech, European startups are minting billion-dollar valuations in 2025.

Emmanuella Madu
3 Min Read

As European venture funding restarts after the summer lull, investors are already counting a dozen new unicorns minted in the first half of 2025. While mega-rounds are less common than in the 2021 boom, valuations north of $1 billion remain achievable across fast-growing sectors such as biotech, defence tech, and especially AI.

Here are Europe’s new unicorns of 2025 so far:

July 2025

June 2025

  • Mubi: Indie film streaming service secured $100 million from Sequoia Capital, hitting a $1 billion valuation.
  • Zama: French homomorphic encryption startup raised a $57 million Series B, surpassing $1 billion in valuation.
  • Isar Aerospace: German space tech company became a unicorn via a €150 million ($173M) convertible bond deal with Eldridge Industries.

May 2025

  • Tekever:  Portuguese dual-use drone maker confirmed its valuation above £1 billion in a new round backed by major investors including Baillie Gifford and NATO’s Innovation Fund.
  • Quantum Systems: Another German dual-use drone startup, raised €160 million ($172M) in Series C to expand globally, led by Balderton Capital.
  • Parloa: German conversational AI startup for customer service reached $1 billion valuation after a $120 million Series C led by Durable Capital, Altimeter, and General Catalyst.

March 2025

  • Isomorphic Labs: U.K.-based AI drug-discovery spinout from Google DeepMind raised $600 million in its first external round, led by Thrive Capital, placing it well into unicorn status.

February 2025

  • Tines:  Dublin-based workflow automation platform reached $1.125 billion valuation with a $125 million Series C.

January 2025

  • Verdiva Bio:  London biotech focused on GLP-1 drug development raised $410 million in Series A, instantly reaching unicorn status.
  • Neko Health:  Preventative health startup co-founded by Spotify’s Daniel Ek raised $260 million in Series B at a $1.8 billion valuation.

Related: Four Central Eurasian Startups Secure Spots at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2025

While these unicorns span energy, space, and healthcare, AI remains the strongest magnet for capital: appearing in nearly half of this year’s billion-dollar startups. With funding season heating up again, investors expect more unicorns to emerge before the end of 2025.

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