2024 saw growth-stage funding in Europe fall for the third year in a row as the VC market continued to settle into more frugal post-frothy days.
Startups in the region picked up $17.3bn in $100m+ rounds last year, according to Dealroom, way down from a record $61.6bn in 2021 but still higher than any year before then.
That drop means there’s a growing number of scaleups that raised big during the heady post-Covid days that could be on the hunt for further funding in the next 12 months.
Sifted used data from Dealroom to analyse unicorn companies (those with valuations of $1bn and above) that haven’t raised since 2022 to pick out the companies that could raise this year. We only considered companies that have raised over $50m and have at least 50 employees.
Some of these companies may be nearer to the public markets than another VC funding round, while others may have found a path to profitability that doesn’t require further external funds. But, if they’re not in either of those camps, the following companies could be looking to entice VCs in the coming months.
Owkin
HQ: Paris
Founded: 2016
Last raise: $80m Series B, June 2022
Investors: Sanofi, Bpifrance and Mubadala Capital
Owkin is an AI biotech that hit the billion dollar valuation when it raised $180m from pharma company Sanofi in 2021.
The startup uses AI to identify new drug candidates and build diagnostic tools. It’s working on a pipeline of products alongside pharma giants including Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck. Owkin has raised a total of $304m.
Owkin declined to comment on its fundraising plans.
Checkout.com
HQ: London
Founded: 2012
Last raise: $1bn, January 2022
Investors: Insight Partners, Tiger Global and DST Global
Payments unicorn Checkout.com hit a $40bn valuation when it raised a $1bn funding round from the likes of Tiger Global and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC at the start of 2022 — but has since seen its valuation cut to $9.4bn.
The company saw losses at its UK entities balloon 73% to $306m in 2023. Revenue also fell 13% to $212m, after it severed ties with “a large merchant”, thought to be crypto exchange Binance.
Checkout.com did not respond to a request for comment.
Sorare
HQ: Paris
Founded: 2018
Last raise: $680m Series B, September 2021
Investors: Accel, Atomico and Benchmark
NFT fantasy sports trading game Sorare hit a $4.3bn valuation when it raised a $680m Series B in 2021, from a roster of tier 1 VCs — months on from a €44.5m Series A that saw a number of professional football players also invest.
But the startup laid off 13% of staff in March last year, as the Web3 space fell on hard times.
Sorare did not respond to a request for comment.
Forto
HQ: Berlin
Founded: 2016
Last raise: $250m Series D, March 2022
Investors: Northzone, SoftBank and Cherry Ventures
Forto is a digital freight forwarder and shipping management platform for sea, air and land cargo and hit a $2.1bn valuation when it last raised in 2022.
Forto declined to comment on its fundraising plans.
Sennder
HQ: Berlin
Founded: 2015
Last raise: $63.5m, December 2022
Investors: Accel, HV Capital and Lakestar
Sennder is a digital freight forwarder that connects large commercial shippers with small freight carriers. At the start of 2024 it told Sifted that it was not profitable, but “accelerating its path toward profitability in 2024”. The startup hit a valuation of $2.1bn in 2022 when it raised $63.5m.
Sennder said its headcount was at 1,700 following its acquisition of logistics provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide in July 2024. It declined to comment on its fundraising plans.
Personio
HQ: Munich, Germany
Founded: 2015
Last raise: $200m, June 2025
Investors: Accel, Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners
Personio is building HR software and hit a valuation of $8.5bn when it last raised in 2022.
The company told Sifted that it wasn’t profitable in January last year. “While we could steer the company to profit anytime, our focus remains on investments in innovation and growth within a prudent financial strategy — an approach which has been crucial to our success so far,” said CEO Hanno Renner.
Personio declined to comment on its fundraising plans.
Thought Machine
HQ: London
Founded: 2014
Last raise: $160m Series D, May 2022
Investors: Molten Ventures, Eurazeo and Temasek
Cloud banking software provider Thought Machine reached a $2.7bn valuation when it last raised in 2022.
CEO Paul Taylor has previously signalled that the company would “definitely” IPO and his preferred destination would be London — though Sifted understands this is unlikely to happen before 2027.
Thought Machine did not respond to a request for comment on its fundraising plans.
Multiverse
HQ: London
Founded: 2016
Last raise: $220m Series D, June 2022
Investors: Index, Lightspeed and General Catalyst
Founded by Euan Blair — the son of former UK prime minister Tony Blair — Multiverse began life connecting companies with young people looking for apprenticeships, before pivoting to focus on upskilling corporate teams.
The company laid off a third of its staff in the US after missing revenue targets towards the end of 2023.
Multiverse told Sifted it wasn’t raising and didn’t expect to close a round in 2025, but added it’s always talking to investors.
Motorway
HQ: London
Founded: 2017
Last raise: $190m Series C, November 2021
Investors: Index, BMW i Ventures and Latitude
Motorway is a used car marketplace for owners to sell their vehicles to dealers and reached a $1bn valuation when it last raised in 2021. The company had losses of £30.8m in 2023, its last period of financial reporting, down from £38m the previous year.
Motorway told Sifted that it wasn’t currently fundraising.
Paddle
HQ: London
Founded: 2012
Last raise: $200m Series D, May 2022
Investors: Notion Capital, 83North and Kindred Capital
Paddle is a payments startup which automates companies’ billing operations. It hit a valuation of $1.4bn when it last raised in 2022.
Founder Christian Owens stepped down as CEO in April 2023 and became executive chairman of the board. He then resigned from that role a year later. The company said at the time that he had moved from being a board member to a board observer, and continued to be involved in company strategy.
Paddle did not respond to a request for comment on its fundraising plans.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/unicorns-potential-fundraises-2025/
