HEADLINE & INTRO
Europe’s first unicorns of 2026 are not social apps or crypto rockets. They are cybersecurity, cloud cost control, defense AI, ESG compliance and language learning. In other words: the plumbing of a digitised, insecure, regulated world. That is exactly why this cohort matters more than the flashier unicorn waves of 2021.
In this piece, we’ll look at what these five companies tell us about venture appetite after the funding winter, why regulation has become Europe’s secret weapon, and how this new, pragmatic unicorn era could reshape the continent’s role between Silicon Valley and Shenzhen.
THE NEWS IN BRIEF
According to TechCrunch, January 2026 already produced five new European-rooted unicorns.
Belgian cybersecurity startup Aikido Security hit a $1 billion valuation with a $60 million Series B led by DST Global, off the back of rapid customer and revenue growth. Cast AI, a cloud optimisation company with Lithuanian roots and a major hub in Vilnius, crossed the $1 billion mark via a strategic investment from Pacific Alliance Ventures, tied to South Korean conglomerate Shinsegae.
France’s Harmattan AI, founded only in 2024, raised a $200 million Series B led by Dassault Aviation, valuing the defense AI startup at $1.4 billion. German ESG and supply‑chain compliance platform Osapiens secured a $100 million Series C from Decarbonization Partners at a valuation above $1.1 billion.
Finally, language‑learning marketplace Preply, founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs, became a $1.2 billion unicorn via a $150 million Series D, as it doubles down on AI‑powered learning and expands across Barcelona, London, New York and Kyiv.
WHY THIS MATTERS
This small sample of unicorns is a remarkably clear signal of where serious money believes value will be created in the next decade.
The big winners are infrastructure and compliance plays. Aikido, Cast AI and Osapiens are not building shiny consumer products; they are selling security, efficiency and regulatory survival to other businesses. That tends to translate into high‑retention, high‑margin recurring revenue – exactly what late‑stage investors crave after being burned by growth-at-all-costs consumer bets.
Defense tech is the other striking winner. Harmattan AI would have been almost unthinkable as a European unicorn a decade ago, when many continental VCs openly shunned defense. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and a more assertive global posture from China have changed the equation. European governments are rearming, budgets are growing, and autonomy in critical defense technologies is now a political priority. A young defense AI company hitting a $1.4 billion valuation so quickly shows how fast taboos can vanish when geopolitics intervenes.
On the human capital side, Ukrainian and Central‑Eastern European talent quietly underpins this list: Preply’s founders and team, Cast AI’s Lithuanian base, Ukrainian defense partner links in Harmattan’s orbit. The region is moving from “outsourcing destination” to owner of global‑scale IP.
Who loses? Late‑stage tourist capital that had hoped Europe would copy‑paste Silicon Valley’s consumer unicorns. This cohort instead rewards founders who lean into Europe’s structural realities: high regulation, strong public sectors, cross‑border supply chains and security concerns at the doorstep. In other words, unicorns optimised for the world as it is, not as pitch decks wished it would be in 2021.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
These 2026 unicorns are a sequel – and in some ways a corrective – to Europe’s 2021 boom. Back then, a record number of companies shot past the billion‑dollar mark, fuelled by zero interest rates and FOMO. Many of those valuations later deflated as revenue quality failed to match the hype.
This new cohort looks older, more proven, and deeply embedded in critical workflows. Preply has been building for 14 years. Osapiens counts over 2,400 customers worldwide. Aikido highlights five‑times revenue growth before investors granted it unicorn status. This is closer to “unicorn as business milestone” than “unicorn as marketing badge.”
Sector‑wise, the list aligns with several structural trends:
AI everywhere, but mostly behind the scenes. Cast AI isn’t building a model to compete with OpenAI; it is helping companies run AI workloads cheaper and with fewer GPUs. That’s pure picks‑and‑shovels. Preply is weaving AI into tutoring rather than trying to replace teachers wholesale.
Security as a universal tax. With software eating the world – and attackers eating that software – integrated security across the development lifecycle is becoming mandatory. Aikido’s positioning in “full‑stack” security reflects the convergence of dev tools, DevOps and security.
Regulation as market creator. Osapiens stands at the intersection of the EU’s expanding rulebook (from supply‑chain due diligence to sustainability disclosures) and global corporates desperate not to drown in spreadsheets. Whether one likes Brussels’ activism or not, it is spawning a generation of regtech and ESG SaaS that is very hard to build outside Europe.
Defense’s return to the innovation agenda. Harmattan AI’s trajectory mirrors a broader shift: NATO members boosting budgets, Ukraine demonstrating how commercial drones and software can reshape battlefields, and European defense primes realising they cannot move at startup speed alone.
In other words, the market is rewarding startups that respond to risk, scarcity and friction: cyber risk, GPU scarcity, regulatory friction, geopolitical risk, and the skills gap addressed by language learning. That’s a very different vibe from the “let’s build the next Instagram” era.
THE EUROPEAN / REGIONAL ANGLE
For Europe, this unicorn batch underscores a strategic advantage that is often framed as a burden: regulation.
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), supply‑chain due diligence laws in Germany and other member states, and a tightening ESG disclosure regime worldwide are turning compliance from a back‑office headache into a board‑level priority. Osapiens is almost a textbook example of how European rule‑making can incubate globally competitive software platforms.
Similarly, the NIS2 cybersecurity directive forces thousands of additional organisations to adopt stronger security practices by 2024–2025. That creates tailwinds for platforms like Aikido that promise unified security across the software lifecycle. Where the US relies more on sector‑specific rules and litigation, Europe uses horizontal regulation – fertile ground for startups that productise compliance.
Defense is politically trickier. The EU is trying to reconcile pacifist instincts with a harsher reality. Initiatives like the European Defence Fund and joint procurement schemes aim to reduce reliance on US or Israeli suppliers. A French startup such as Harmattan AI, backed by Dassault, fits this desire for European sovereignty – but will also face scrutiny from civil society and, eventually, from the upcoming EU AI Act when its systems touch autonomous decision‑making.
Finally, these unicorns illustrate Europe’s transatlantic hybridity. Cast AI and Preply have US incorporations or major offices, Aikido sells globally from Belgium, Preply’s user base bridges Europe and the Americas. Rather than “European versus US,” the more accurate framing is “European‑anchored networks” building globally competitive companies while arbitraging talent, tax and capital across jurisdictions.
LOOKING AHEAD
If this January is a preview of 2026, expect most new European unicorns to share three traits: B2B focus, regulatory adjacency and AI‑enhanced products.
Short term, watch for:
- More ESG and supply‑chain platforms riding CSRD and due‑diligence deadlines.
- Additional cybersecurity consolidation as enterprises tire of dozens of disconnected tools.
- A wave of dual‑use startups that position themselves at the border of civilian and defense applications to access both VC money and government programmes.
On the financing side, exit routes remain the big unknown. European IPO markets have been tepid; US listings or trade sales to US and Asian buyers might still dominate. Defense and compliance, however, provide a twist: incumbents like Dassault, Airbus, Thales or big four consultancies may become active acquirers of high‑growth SaaS, offering local exit options that didn’t exist for consumer apps.
Key risks:
- Valuation fragility. Even with better fundamentals, a macro shock or rate spike could compress multiples.
- Regulatory whiplash. If ESG rules are watered down under political pressure, companies banking on them could face slower growth.
- Ethical landmines in defense AI. Harmattan AI and peers will operate under intense scrutiny over autonomy, targeting and export controls.
- Brain drain vs. network effect. As these startups build in Barcelona, Vilnius, Kyiv or Mannheim while raising US capital, Europe must ensure it captures not just the jobs, but also the IP and tax base.
Still, the direction of travel is encouraging: fewer hype cycles, more companies solving unsexy but economically critical problems.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Europe’s first unicorns of 2026 are a quiet revolution: infrastructure, compliance and defense rather than social media and speculation. They lean into the continent’s strengths – regulation, industrial depth, technical talent in overlooked regions – and into a world defined by risk and constraint. The real question for readers and policymakers alike is whether Europe will double down on this pragmatic path, or once again chase the next consumer fad when capital gets cheap.
