January has been a long year that has already brought us five new European unicorns: from Belgium to Ukraine, several tech startups have raised funding at valuations above the symbolic $1 billion threshold.

But before we take a closer look at who has joined the club, two caveats.

First: This number includes startups that can be incorporated elsewhere but have their roots or a large part of their team in Europe. to EU Inc exists as a pan-European corporate structurethis separation will remain common – and we decided not to look at it. Take Lovingwhich is attached to Delaware but is inseparable from the Stockholm startup scene.

Second: valuation does not equate to commercial success, and it is too early to know if all these companies will follow in Lovable’s footsteps, with the company recently crossing $300 million in annual recurring revenue. But in the current climate, the fact that VCs are willing to invest in them at unicorn valuations is a strong signal of where the appetite is.

With these caveats out of the way, let’s dive in.

Aikido

Belgium-based cybersecurity startup Safety in Aikido reached unicorn status with this one $60 million Series B. Valuing the company at $1 billion, 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 Aikido improve its platform, which was built to integrate security throughout the software lifecycle and is already used by more than 100,000 teams worldwide. In the same source, the Series B “follows a year of rapid growth for the company, including five times revenue growth and nearly three times customer growth.”

In a blog poststarted celebrating this milestone and its significance. According to its team, “in an industry dominated by Palo Alto and Tel Aviv heavyweights, Aikido shows that Europe can build a world-class software security company and win over the world.”

Unleash the AI

Cloud optimization company Unleash the AI is headquartered in Florida, but has Lithuanian roots and an important office in Vilnius – which explains why many people consider it today. became the fifth unicorn in Lithuania.

That Cast AI’s valuation now exceeds $1 billion is the result of a strategic investment from Pacific Alliance Ventures (PAV), the US-based corporate venture arm of Korean conglomerate Shinsegae Group. In April 2025, Cast AI was raised a $108 million Series C which is said to have put the company in “close to unicorn” territory.

With the latest round of funding, the company also introduced OMNI Compute for AIwhich aims to help users deploy more AI workloads on fewer GPUs and remove regional capacity limitations.

Harmattan AI

French defense tech company Harmattan AI built only in 2024, but it’s worth it $1.4 billionaccording to its latest funding round. The $200 million Series B was led by Dassault Aviation, maker of the Rafale fighter jets, and is also involved in broader partnerships.

Before acquiring this key partner, Harmattan AI has already signed agreements with the French and British defense ministers and with Ukrainian drone maker Skyeton, amid growing appetite for autonomous defense aircraft.

Osapiens

German ESG software firm Osapiens raised a $100 million Series C led by Decarbonization Partners, a joint venture between BlackRock and Temasekwhich values ​​the company at more than $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 platforms and tools for maintaining reporting and data compliance, but also to reduce supply chain risks.

Prepare

Fourteen-year-old language learning market Prepare now a unicorn worth $1.2 billion – a significant one too constitutes the Ukrainian strength. The edtech company was founded in the United States, but its founders are Ukrainians and supporters of their homeland, where Preply has a team of 150 employees.

According to its CEO, Kirill Bigai, who believes in AI-amplified learning, from the $150 million Series D round will help the startup hire more AI talent in its four offices – currently located in Barcelona, ​​London, New York, and Kyiv.