Spain is ranked 12th by number of unicorns in Europe, far from its surrounding countries

MADRID, 22 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Spain is currently ranked 12th in number of unicorns in Europe, far behind the United Kingdom, Germany and France, which have 31, 22 and 18 startups, respectively, with a valuation of over 1,000 million dollars (945 millions of euros).

Credit Suisse has explained in a recent report that these figures reflect the size of their respective capital markets and economies, with much lower levels in other countries on the Old Continent.

The entity points out in its report that in recent years there has been a strong increase in the number of unicorns in recent years: they have almost doubled since 2014.

"As seen in other regions, unicorns are rapidly redefining the competitive environment in Europe," the bank noted in the report.

The sector that contributes the most to the number of unicorns in Europe is technology, where they represent half of the total. This consideration includes companies from subsectors such as fintech, artificial intelligence, software and cloud services, among others.

Software startups, specifically, account for a large percentage of the total, with 14 companies that together reached a valuation of 39,000 million dollars (36,900 million euros) in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Although fintechs have been an important 'driver' in accelerating the rise of unicorns, Credit Suisse has detected a strong increase in consumer products and services companies, such as home delivery or payment platforms. sale of second hand and mobility.

Currently, the BNPL ('buy now, pay later') fintech Klarna is the one with the highest valuation of 45,600 million dollars (43,133 million euros), followed by Checkout.com, with 40,000 million dollars (37,800 million euros). euros), and Revolut, with 33,000 million dollars (31,200 million euros).

"Nearly a quarter of unicorns are related to artificial intelligence, blockchain or the payment industry and are a fundamental part of promoting the growth of the entire unicorn ecosystem," says the entity.

Globally, the United States is the leading region by number of unicorns, accumulating more than half, followed by China and Europe.

Regarding financing, the Old Continent is still far behind the rounds that are closed in China and the United States, although it has experienced growth in both the number and size of the 'deals'.

The number of operations has also increased, going from 128 in 2020 to 185 in 2021, as has the number of European venture capital investors.