DIGITALEUROPE unveils top three European tech scale-ups for its Future Unicorn Award 2022

DIGITALEUROPE has unveiled the three finalist companies for its Future Unicorn Award 2022. The winner will be announced at Masters of Digital on 3 February by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.

The three finalists are:

Circulor from the UK: Enabling industries to track materials used in manufacturing and recycling chains for responsible sourcing and sustainability through cutting-edge technology, including blockchain and machine learning.

Fazla Gida from Turkey: Inventor of a management system with AI and machine-learning technologies for donating, recycling, and reselling food surplus.

Zenjob from Germany: A fast-moving digital disruptor that automatically connects businesses and workers on its proprietary digital platform, like Netflix but for jobs.

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, said:

“This year’s Future Unicorn Award finalists prove beyond doubt that small companies and scale-ups are the engine of social and environmental innovation, helping European citizens and businesses access better jobs, cut food waste, and source more sustainably thanks to digital technologies. Now it’s up to policymakers to create the right market conditions for Europe to become a ‘Unicorn factory’, so that small companies can thrive, create new jobs, and grow across borders in Europe, rather than looking elsewhere.”

The Future Unicorn Award is a great testimony of the booming scale-ups scene in Europe:

Running for the fifth year in a row, the Future Unicorn Award celebrates scale-ups from across Europe that have the potential to become the bloc’s future tech giants. The shortlist is compiled in collaboration with DIGITALEUROPE’s national trade associations, representing the digital and technology sector in 29 European countries.

The Award is a great opportunity to showcase aspiring European scale-ups that have the potential to become future unicorns (that is, scale-ups valued at over one billion dollars), highlighting that Europe has what it takes to become a digital leader.

Today, approximately 12% of the world’s unicorns are based in Europe. While this is a significant growth compared to only 6% in 2014, it is nowhere near enough. DIGITALEUROPE has set a goal for Europe to become home to at least 25% of world’s unicorns by 2025 among its success indicators for digital leadership.

Previous Award winners went on to be recognised and celebrated for their achievements by the EU’s top political leaders, such as Commission President von der Leyen and Commissioner Gabriel. Two of them are today members of high-expert groups of the European Commission and of DIGITALEUROPE.