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On 24 May 2023, a report by Accel, a venture capital firm, revealed that European and Israeli companies worth a billion dollars or more are each generating independent tech startups. The study highlights that out of the 353 venture-backed unicorns in the region, a staggering 221 have given birth to 1,171 novel tech-enabled startup companies. Former employees of these unicorns have taken the leap to launch their own ventures, pushing a domino effect on innovation.
Colloquially referred to as a “startup mafia”, this phenomenon mirrors the trend seen in the US, where companies like PayPal played a pivotal role in starting major businesses like Tesla and Palantir. Similarly, Spotify’s CEO has given rise to another successful startup in the field of healthtech. The report also emphasizes that the average time for a startup to reach a valuation of one billion dollars, or unicorn status, in Europe is now a mere seven years, indicating the region's prowess in the tech industry.
While the current market conditions pose challenges for tech startups, such as Klarna, that have faced valuation pressures and layoffs, Accel remains optimistic about the future. A partner at Accel, Harry Nelis states, “Talent is the most fundamental ingredient of any successful tech ecosystem. There’s now a wealth of strong founders and operators building innovative companies that have experienced the startup journey before and have the knowledge to create global success stories”.
With over 350 venture-backed unicorns across the continent, Europe's and Israel’s tech ecosystems seem to be leading the next generation of ambitious entrepreneurs. The unprecedented number of tech startups emerging from the region raises high expectations for the future of technological development.
