25 Game-Changing European Startups to Watch in 2025: The Innovators Shaping Our Future

Europe's startup scene is booming with innovation, and these 25 companies are leading the charge. From AI-driven healthcare to autonomous vehicles, these startups are not just breaking new ground—they're redefining industries. Here's a closer look at the most promising European startups to watch in 2025.

Amber Therapeutics: Revolutionizing Neuromodulation Therapy

• Country: UK
• Founders: Aidan Crawley, Tim Denison, Stefan De Wachter, Charles Knowles
• Year Founded: 2021
• Business: Medical technology for nervous system diseases

Amber Therapeutics is pioneering neuromodulation therapy with its Picostim system, offering hope for complex conditions like mixed urinary incontinence in women. The Oxford University spinoff raised $100 million in 2024, aiming for FDA approval.

Cradle: AI-Powered Protein Engineering

• Country: Netherlands/Switzerland
• Founders: Stef van Grieken, Eli Bixby, Elise de Reus, Harmen van Rossum, Jelle Prins
• Year Founded: 2021
• Business: Generative AI for protein design

Cradle's platform enables scientists to design proteins faster and more cost-effectively, with clients like Johnson & Johnson and Novo Nordisk. The startup raised $73 million in 2024 to expand its wet lab.

DeepL: The AI Translation Powerhouse

• Country: Germany
• Founders: Jaroslaw Kutylowski
• Year Founded: 2017
• Business: Machine translation

Valued at $2 billion, DeepL claims to outperform giants like Google and Microsoft in translation accuracy. Its real-time voice-to-text service supports 30 languages, making it a favorite among businesses.

Dream Games: The Mobile Gaming Sensation

• Country: Turkey
• Founders: Soner Aydemir, Ikbal Namli, Hakan Sağlam, Eren Şengül, Serdar Yilmaz
• Year Founded: 2019
• Business: Mobile gaming

Dream Games' Royal Match has dethroned Candy Crush as the top puzzle game by revenue. A $2.5 billion deal with CVC Capital Partners values the company at $5 billion.

Einride: Autonomous Freight Trucks

• Country: Sweden
• Founders: Robert Falck, Filip Lilja, Linnéa Kornehed Falck
• Year Founded: 2016
• Business: Autonomous electric trucks

Einride's trucks, approved for public roads, use AI to optimize routes and operate 24/7. Partnerships with PepsiCo, Lidl, and Mars highlight its growing influence.

ElevenLabs: AI Voice Cloning

• Country: UK/US
• Founders: Piotr Dabkowski, Mati Staniszewski
• Year Founded: 2022
• Business: AI-generated voice technology

ElevenLabs produces hyper-realistic audio in dozens of languages, raising $180 million in 2025. Despite concerns over deepfakes, its tech is revolutionizing dubbing and customer service.

Exotec: The Warehouse Robotics Innovator

• Country: France
• Founders: Romain Moulin, Renaud Heitz
• Year Founded: 2015
• Business: Warehouse automation

Exotec's Skypod robots transform warehouses into high-efficiency hubs, serving clients like Gap and Carrefour. A $2 billion valuation in 2022 underscores its potential.

Helsing: AI for Defense

• Country: Germany
• Founders: Torsten Reil, Niklas Köhler, Gundbert Scherf
• Year Founded: 2021
• Business: AI-powered defense technology

Helsing is developing AI-enabled drones for Ukraine, with a €5 billion valuation. Its close ties to the German military position it as a leader in defense tech.

Isar Aerospace: Europe's SpaceX Challenger

• Country: Germany
• Founders: Daniel Metzler, Josef Fleischmann, Markus Brandl
• Year Founded: 2018
• Business: Private satellite launches

Isar Aerospace aims to reduce Europe's reliance on SpaceX. Despite a rocket crash in 2025, its €220 million funding round signals strong investor confidence.

Lovable: AI-Powered Coding

• Country: Sweden
• Founders: Anton Osika, Fabian Hedin
• Year Founded: 2023
• Business: Vibe coding for app development

Lovable's chat-based interface lets non-programmers build apps, attracting entrepreneurs. A $15 million raise in 2025 highlights its disruptive potential.

Mistral AI: Europe's AI Champion

• Country: France
• Founders: Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample, Timothée Lacroix
• Year Founded: 2023
• Business: Large language models

Mistral's open-source AI models rival OpenAI and Anthropic. A €600 million raise in 2024 cemented its status as Europe's AI hope.

Monumental: Brick-Laying Robots

• Country: Netherlands
• Founders: Salar al Khafaji, Sebastiaan Visser
• Year Founded: 2021
• Business: Construction robotics

Monumental's robots build affordable urban housing, raising $25 million in 2024 to expand across Europe.

Neko Health: Preventive Health Scans

• Country: Sweden
• Founders: Hjalmar Nilsonne, Daniel Ek
• Year Founded: 2018
• Business: AI-powered body scans

Neko's spa-like clinics offer comprehensive health scans, with a $1.8 billion valuation. Early detection is its mantra, though peer-reviewed studies are pending.

Nothing: The Funky Phone Maker

• Country: UK
• Founders: Carl Pei
• Year Founded: 2020
• Business: Affordable smartphones

Nothing's LED-back phones stand out in a crowded market. Backed by Google Ventures, it crossed $1 billion in lifetime sales in 2025.

Ochre Bio: AI for Liver Disease

• Country: UK
• Founders: Quin Wills, Jack O’Meara
• Year Founded: 2019
• Business: RNA therapies for liver disease

Ochre Bio's AI-driven drug development secured a $1 billion deal with Boehringer Ingelheim, targeting chronic liver disease.

Orbital Materials: AI for Advanced Materials

• Country: UK
• Founders: Jonathan Godwin, Daniel Miodovnik, James Gin-Pollock
• Year Founded: 2022
• Business: AI-designed materials

Orbital's AI creates cooling materials for data centers, partnering with Amazon Web Services and Nvidia.

Pennylane: The All-in-One Accounting Platform

• Country: France
• Founders: Tancrède Besnard, Felix Blossier, Thierry Deo, Edouard Mascré, Quentin de Metz, Alexandre Roquoplo, Arthur Waller
• Year Founded: 2020
• Business: Accounting software

Pennylane's integrated dashboard simplifies accounting for SMEs, raising €75 million in 2025 at a $2.2 billion valuation.

Pigment: AI for Business Forecasting

• Country: France
• Founders: Eléonore Crespo, Romain Niccoli
• Year Founded: 2019
• Business: Business planning software

Pigment's subscription model has attracted Coca-Cola and Unilever, with a $145 million raise in 2024.

Poolside: AI for Autonomous Coding

• Country: France/US
• Founders: Jason Warner, Eiso Kant
• Year Founded: 2023
• Business: AI-generated code

Poolside's $500 million raise in 2024 fuels its quest for artificial general intelligence, though details remain scarce.

Quantexa: Decision Intelligence

• Country: UK
• Founders: Vishal Marria
• Year Founded: 2016
• Business: AI-driven data analysis

Quantexa's $2.6 billion valuation reflects its role in fraud detection and customer insights for banks like HSBC.

Quantum Systems: Battlefield Drones

• Country: Germany
• Founders: Florian Seibel, Michael Kriegel, Tobias Kloss, Armin Busse
• Year Founded: 2015
• Business: Defense drones

Quantum's surveillance drones are vital in Ukraine, with a €160 million raise in 2025 making it a unicorn.

Synthesia: AI Video Avatars

• Country: UK
• Founders: Victor Riparbelli, Steffen Tjerrild, Lourdes Agapito, Matthias Niessner
• Year Founded: 2016
• Business: AI-generated video

Synthesia's lifelike avatars are used for training and marketing, raising $180 million in 2025 despite deepfake concerns.

The Exploration Company: Reusable Spacecraft

• Country: Germany
• Founders: Hélène Huby
• Year Founded: 2021
• Business: Space cargo ships

Exploration's Nyx spacecraft aims to rival SpaceX's Dragon, with a $160 million raise in 2024.

Tripledot Studios: Mobile Gaming Giant

• Country: UK
• Founders: Lior Shiff, Akin Babayigit, Eyal Chameides
• Year Founded: 2017
• Business: Mobile games

Tripledot's addictive games like Solitaire have propelled it to a $1.4 billion valuation, with a $400 million acquisition in 2025.

Wayve: AI for Self-Driving Cars

• Country: UK
• Founders: Alex Kendall, Amar Shah
• Year Founded: 2017
• Business: Autonomous driving software

Wayve's $1 billion raise in 2024, backed by SoftBank and Nvidia, positions it as a leader in AI-driven mobility.

Methodology

Bloomberg and Founders Forum collaborated to identify these startups based on:

• Technology focus
• Less than 10 years old
• European ties
• Minimum $50 million valuation
• Innovation and growth potential

Judges included Reid Hoffman, Luciana Lixandru, and Niklas Zennström, among others.