Alan
Paris, France · StartupModern health insurance platform streamlining getting care for European employees.
StartupGrowthHealthSoftware
Directory
European startups, investors, and accelerators
Filter the directory by category, geography, or sector to find the right partners.
Bartosz Dobrzyński
Warsaw, Poland · Angel InvestorFormer Chief Marketing Officer of telecom Play, Bartosz took his strategic acumen to the startup scene. He has invested in cybersecurity startup Secfense (passwordless authentication) and other tech companies. Bartosz often advises on go-to-market strategy while investing, bridging corporate and startup worlds. Associated startups: Secfense, Booste (revenue-based financing), and a handful of ICT startups.
Angel InvestorSeed to Series ACybersecuritySoftware
Borys Musielak
Warsaw, Poland · Angel InvestorFounder of Filmaster and co-founder of VC fund SMOK Ventures, Borys also spearheads the SMOK Angels network. A former coder turned investor, he has nurtured dozens of early-stage Polish startups. Borys is known for community building (e.g. Reaktor Warsaw) and has invested in startups across AI, gaming, and software. He co-leads an angel fund, so he straddles angel and VC roles. Associated startups: Included via SMOK portfolio (e.g. Spin.ai, Incentive Games) and through SMOK Angels network.
Angel InvestorPre-Seed to Series ASoftwareGamingAI
Celonis
Munich, Germany · StartupCelonis is a Munich and New York-based enterprise software company that pioneered the field of process mining – technology that analyzes a company’s IT event logs to visualize and optimize its business processes. Founded in 2011 by three friends (Alexander Rinke, Bastian Nominacher, and Martin Klenk) out of university in Munich, Celonis bootstrapped in its early years and landed Siemens as a key pilot customer for its process analytics tool. The software proved invaluable in identifying inefficiencies in processes like order-to-cash, procurement, and inventory management. By 2015 Celonis was the leader in this niche, and it partnered with SAP which resold Celonis as SAP Process Mining by Celonis. Venture capital soon followed: Celonis raised $27.5M in 2016 (Series A) then $50M in 2018 (Series B). Its growth was massive – from €1M ARR in 2012 to well over €100M by late 2010s. In 2019, Celonis raised $290M at a $2.5B valuation, making it a unicorn. It wasn’t done: by June 2021, Celonis announced a $1B Series D round valuing it at $11 billion, one of Europe’s largest software funding rounds. And in 2022, Celonis reportedly reached a $13B+ valuation, firmly cementing it among Europe’s most valuable private tech companies. The company’s product evolved into the Celonis Execution Management System (EMS), which not only discovers processes but also suggests and implements improvements (sometimes via RPA bots or triggering workflows). Celonis counts thousands of enterprise customers – including Siemens, BMW, Coca-Cola, Uber – and its software helps them save billions by cutting throughput times, reducing errors, and optimizing resource use. With dual HQs in Munich and New York, Celonis has aggressively expanded in the U.S., competing with companies like IBM’s process mining. The firm is also eyeing an IPO; CEO Rinke has mentioned that Celonis is positioning itself for a public listing when market conditions are right. In the meantime, Celonis keeps growing (estimated $400M+ ARR in 2023) and acquiring smaller tech startups to bolster its platform. Celonis epitomizes the success of enterprise software from Europe – deeply technical, essentially creating a new category, and achieving decacorn status within a decade.
StartupGrowthSoftwareData
DeepL
Cologne, Germany · StartupDeepL is a Cologne-based AI translation company founded in 2017 by CEO Jarosław Kutylowski. Renowned for its neural machine translation quality, DeepL quickly surpassed competitors in accuracy and nuance. The company’s cloud platform serves over 100,000 business and government customers worldwide, including enterprises like Zendesk and Deutsche Bahn. DeepL achieved unicorn status in 2023 with a €1 billion valuation and continued to grow explosively – by early 2025 it had raised $410 million (led by investors like Index Ventures and Atomico) and reached a $2 billion valuation. In late 2025, reports emerged that DeepL is considering an IPO amid surging revenue, which doubled year-on-year to $185 million in 2024. DeepL’s core product is an AI-driven translator supporting 30+ languages, used for real-time document and content translation. The firm also launched DeepL Write to improve monolingual writing and an AI Agent to automate business tasks. As of 2025, DeepL is recognized as one of Europe’s premier AI startups, combining cutting-edge NLP research with a fast-growing SaaS business. The company’s success – valued at $2 billion and poised for a public offering – underscores Europe’s strength in deep-tech innovation.
StartupGrowthAISoftware
Eileen Burbidge
London, United Kingdom · Angel InvestorTech veteran and angel building founder communities through Passion Capital and individual bets.
Angel InvestorPre-Seed to Series AFintechSoftware
Elkstone Ventures
Dublin, Ireland · AcceleratorMulti-family office operating syndicated investments in high-growth Irish startups.
AcceleratorSeed to Series AFintechSoftwareFrontier Tech
Endeit Capital
Amsterdam, Netherlands · AcceleratorFounded 2006. Growth-stage investor in digital media, AI, and software scale-ups across Europe.
AcceleratorSeries A to GrowthDigital MediaAISoftware
eQventure
Graz, Austria · IncubatorAngel network and early-stage fund investing in high-tech and high-growth SMEs with active mentoring.
IncubatorSeedHigh TechSMESoftware
Frontline Ventures
Dublin, Ireland · AcceleratorLaunched 2012. Seed fund bridging Europe and the US with a focus on B2B software and global go-to-market support.
AcceleratorSeed to Series BB2B SaaSSoftware
Furthr VC
Dublin, Ireland · IncubatorEarly-stage fund rebranded from DBIC Ventures in 2022, backing Irish software and deep tech startups.
IncubatorSeedSoftwareDeep TechSustainability
GP Bullhound
Stockholm, Sweden · AcceleratorFounded 2006. Growth equity investor in digital services and software.
AcceleratorGrowthDigital ServicesSoftware
Hopin
London, United Kingdom · StartupVirtual and hybrid event platform enabling immersive conferences, expos, and town halls.
StartupGrowthEventsSoftware
Indico Capital Partners
Lisbon, Portugal · AcceleratorFounded 2019 by an ex-Caixa Capital team. Independent VC investing in Iberian tech startups across fintech, AI, and marketplaces.
AcceleratorSeed to Series AFintechAIMarketplacesSoftware
Inveready
Barcelona, Spain · AcceleratorFounded 2008. Active early-stage investor across ICT, biotech, and fintech with multiple fund vehicles.
AcceleratorSeed to GrowthSoftwareBiotechFintech
Jos White
Warsaw, Poland · Angel InvestorA British entrepreneur-turned-investor (co-founder of Notion Capital), Jos has angel-invested in Poland’s enterprise software space. He took part in early funding of Helpshift’s Polish office and has been scouting enterprise SaaS startups in Central Europe. Associated startups: Possibly NetworkedAssets (Polish-German IT firm) and other SaaS ventures.
Angel InvestorSeed to Series AEnterpriseSoftware
LINC - Centro de Incubacao de Evora
Evora, Portugal · IncubatorPart of ANJE, LINC Evora (est. 2011) incubates tech startups in the Alentejo region with office space and a collaborative community. Focus on software, mobile apps, and social media; reports 69 investments and 6 exits. Scope: Regional (Alentejo).
IncubatorSoftwareMobileSocial Media
Mambu
Berlin, Germany · StartupComposable banking platform letting digital lenders and neobanks launch services quickly.
StartupGrowthFintechSoftware
Microsoft Accelerator Berlin
Berlin, Germany · AcceleratorRan 2013-2016 as part of Microsoft for Startups. Four-month cohort with expert mentorship, Azure credits, and investor connections. Support: coaching, cloud infrastructure, partner network. Scope: Global.
AcceleratorSoftwareCloudAI
NovaUCD
Dublin, Ireland · IncubatorNovaUCD is the innovation and startup incubator of University College Dublin (UCD), one of Ireland’s premier research universities. Established in 2003 on UCD’s Belfield campus, NovaUCD provides a supportive environment for knowledge-intensive startups, particularly those arising from university research in life sciences, engineering, and ICT. The center offers modern incubation facilities, including lab space, prototype workshops, and offices set in a historic Georgian building refurbished for innovation. NovaUCD runs a 9-month VentureLaunch accelerator program to help researchers and students validate business ideas, build teams, and refine commercialization strategy. Startups benefit from UCD’s resources – access to faculty experts, graduate talent, and sometimes use of specialized equipment (for biotech, etc.). Over nearly two decades, NovaUCD has supported 450+ companies. Alumni include Evolution (Bio) – a UCD bioinformatics spin-out acquired by Evotec, Logentries (cloud logging, acquired by Rapid7 for $68M), and Equinome (equine genomics, acquired by Plusvital). These successes underscore NovaUCD’s strength in turning academic excellence into enterprise. A hallmark is its focus on knowledge transfer: NovaUCD works closely with UCD’s tech transfer office, so startups often license university patents or software as a basis. The incubator also facilitates seed funding through networks like Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) and University Bridge Fund (a college-focused VC). The Irish government and Enterprise Ireland are key backers, aligning NovaUCD with national goals to foster high-tech industry. The incubator has expanded physically too – in 2022, it opened “AgTech UCD” on UCD’s Lyons farm for agri-tech startups, reflecting an effort to specialize. NovaUCD contributes hugely to Dublin’s startup scene, connecting academic founders with industry mentors and investors. Each year it hosts the UCD VentureLaunch Competition awarding cash prizes to the most promising spin-outs. Notably, NovaUCD companies have raised over €760M in capital and created thousands of jobs in Ireland. By offering an “on-campus home” for entrepreneurs, NovaUCD helps ensure that Ireland’s top research doesn’t just stay on paper, but translates into impactful businesses – from lifesaving medical devices to groundbreaking software – driving innovation and economic growth.
IncubatorLife SciencesEngineeringSoftware
Personio
Munich, Germany · StartupPersonio is a Munich-based HR software company that has become one of Europe’s most valuable SaaS startups. Founded in 2015 by Hanno Renner (CEO) and three co-founders from the Technical University of Munich, Personio set out to streamline HR management for small and mid-sized businesses. Its cloud platform offers an “all-in-one” suite – from recruiting and applicant tracking to payroll, attendance, and performance management. Personio’s focus on Europe’s underserved SME segment paid off spectacularly: as of 2024, the company serves 12,000+ customers across 70 countries (primarily firms with 10–2,000 employees). This rapid growth attracted major VC funding. Personio became a unicorn in January 2021 with a $1.7 billion valuation, and by October 2022 it raised a $200 million Series E extension at a staggering $8.5 billion valuation – making it one of Europe’s most valuable private tech companies at the time. Investors like Index Ventures, Accel, Lightspeed, and Greenoaks have backed Personio. The company has since expanded to 8 offices (including London, Dublin and Amsterdam) and grown to about 2,000 employees. Despite the size, Personio continues to post strong metrics: in 2023, revenue reportedly doubled and the firm reached over 15,000 customers by 2025. Personio’s success is often attributed to its user-friendly, modular platform tailored to non-technical HR teams at smaller companies. It integrates with 100+ other business tools and emphasizes automation of routine HR tasks. Now valued at $8.5 billion+, Personio is widely seen as a future IPO candidate and a role model for Europe’s B2B SaaS boom – proving that an “SMB HR” niche can scale to a global category leader.
StartupGrowthHR TechSoftware
PreSeed Ventures
Lyngby, Denmark · Venture CapitalPreSeed Ventures is Denmark's most active pre seed fund, originally rooted in the DTU science park. It provides the first institutional capital for university spin outs and technical founders, typically investing at idea or prototype stage. The firm has backed early Danish successes including Unity and Trustpilot and continues to nurture deep tech and software startups across the Nordics. PreSeed is a crucial bridge from research to venture.
Venture CapitalPre-Seed to SeedDeep TechSoftwareEngineering
Robert Dziubłowski
Warsaw, Poland · Angel InvestorCEO of Top Consulting SA, Robert is an example of a traditional industry executive who ventured into startup investing. Nominated as a top angel in 2018, he has provided capital to startups diversifying beyond his consulting business. Associated startups: Involvements kept fairly private; known in investment circles for supporting enterprise software startups.
Angel InvestorSeedEnterpriseSoftware
SeedRocket
Barcelona, Spain · AcceleratorFounded 2008. Spain's pioneering ICT accelerator providing training, seed funding, and mentorship by experienced entrepreneurs. Runs intensive campus programs; funded ~70 startups with 15 exits (e.g., Divisoft, Ulabox). Support: 3-month acceleration, angel network investment, free office space. Scope: National.
AcceleratorICTSoftwareStartups
Shilling
Lisbon, Portugal · IncubatorFounded 2011. Micro-VC focused on pre-seed and seed investments in software and fintech.
IncubatorPre-Seed to SeedSoftwareFintech
SMOK Angels
Warsaw, Poland · Angel InvestorAn angel network led by Borys Musielak (of SMOK Ventures) focusing on Central & Eastern Europe. With 160+ founders and investors involved, SMOK Angels encourages experienced entrepreneurs to invest in idea and seed-stage startups. They often co-invest alongside SMOK Ventures fund. Notable focus: early-stage tech teams (idea to Series A) in CEE, leveraging its members’ mentorship.
Angel InvestorPre-Seed to Series ASoftwareGeneralist
Sten Tamkivi
Tallinn, Estonia · Angel InvestorEstonian operator-angel backing software, marketplaces, and frontier technology.
Angel InvestorPre-Seed to Series ASoftwareMarketplace
Taavet Hinrikus
London, United Kingdom · Angel InvestorTaavet Hinrikus is a prominent European tech entrepreneur-turned-angel investor, best known as the co-founder of Wise (TransferWise). Hinrikus, originally from Estonia, was Skype’s first employee before co-founding TransferWise in London in 2011. Under his leadership (as CEO then Chairman), TransferWise revolutionized cross-border finance and reached a multi-billion valuation. After Wise’s success (it went public in 2021), Taavet Hinrikus shifted focus to investing and supporting other startups. He has become an “operator angel” who backs early-stage European founders, particularly in fintech and software, bringing his experience in scaling a fintech unicorn. In 2022, Hinrikus teamed up with Teleport co-founder Sten Tamkivi to launch a new VC firm called Plural, a €250 million fund “built by founders” to invest in Europe’s next generation of tech companies. As an individual angel, Taavet has made personal investments in startups like Bolt (ride-hailing, Estonia), Mirror (US fintech), Zego (insurance) and many others, often taking advisory roles. He is known for his hands-on mentorship style – for example, he has provided guidance to Wise alumni starting companies and frequently advocates for Baltic and European tech on the global stage. Taavet also serves on various boards (e.g. he was on the board of Nasdaq’s Estonia arm and advisory boards of fintech companies) and was a special adviser to the UK government on fintech. In the Europe Startup Guide, Taavet is described as an angel “investing as an operator-angel in European fintech and software,” focusing on pre-seed to Series A deals. His journey from founding a $10B fintech company to re-investing in the ecosystem has made Hinrikus an influential figure. Not only does he bring capital, but also credibility and connections – helping younger European startups navigate growth and international expansion. In essence, Taavet Hinrikus exemplifies the new wave of successful European founders who “pay it forward” by fueling the next cohort of startups.
Angel InvestorPre-Seed to Series AFintechSoftware
VentureVilla
Hanover, Germany · AcceleratorEstablished 2016. 100-day accelerator for web and software startups with intensive coaching, mentoring, and free workspace. Focus on B2B software with SaaS and fintech alumni. Support: mentorship, coworking, investor connections. Scope: Regional (Northern Germany).
AcceleratorB2B SaaSFintechSoftware