Quandela and Sateliot win DIGITALEUROPE’s Future Unicorn and Dual-Use Technology Awards 2026

DIGITALEUROPE announced the winners of its 2026 Future Unicorn Award and Dual-Use Technology Award at Masters of Digital 2026. French quantum computing company Quandela won the Future Unicorn Award, while Spanish satellite connectivity provider Sateliot received the Dual-Use Technology Award.

Selected by a high-level jury of investors, policymakers and industry leaders, this year’s winners demonstrate that Europe is home to outstanding scale-ups that are not only driving the digital economy and security but reshaping them through breakthrough innovation and rapid growth. Europe’s competitiveness and resilience depend on its ability to scale innovators like these.

• Quandela (France), a pioneer in photonic quantum computing, won the Future Unicorn Award. The award was presented by Henna Virkkunnen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy.
• Sateliot (Spain), which is deploying the first LEO satellite constellation operating under the 5G standard, won the Dual-Use Technology Award, in collaboration with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

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

“Quandela and Sateliot represent exactly the kind of European innovation we need to lead in the technologies that will define our digital future. Quantum computing and satellite connectivity aren’t just about commercial success—they’re about European sovereignty, security, and competitiveness. These companies prove that Europe can build the tech giants of tomorrow, and we need to back them with the right policies and investment to make that happen.”

About the Winners

Future Unicorn Award Winner

Quandela, founded in 2017, is designing, building, and delivering industry-grade quantum computing solutions, including datacentre-ready systems and cloud-accessible processors with industrial value in Europe. The company is at the forefront of photonic quantum computing, pioneering a new era of computational power through single-photon technology. Its breakthrough solutions enable transformative applications across finance, energy, aerospace, healthcare, and cybersecurity, positioning Europe at the leading edge of the global quantum revolution.

More information about Quandela can be found here.

Dual Use Technology Award Winner

Sateliot, founded in 2018, is pioneering the convergence of satellite and terrestrial networks through its groundbreaking LEO satellite constellation operating under the 5G standard. The company enables standard NB-IoT devices to connect seamlessly from space, transforming connectivity for previously unreachable locations. Its innovative approach delivers global, secure, and affordable connectivity that empowers industries from agriculture to defence, positioning Europe as a leader in digital sovereignty and next-generation communications infrastructure.

More information about Sateliot can be found here.

The Finalists

This year, 34 scale-ups from 20 European countries competed for both awards, representing diverse digitally transforming sectors including Aerospace, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Quantum, FoodTech, and AI. From those we had 7 finalists to showcase.

Future Unicorn Award Finalists:

• Quandela (France) — Winner
• FarSight Vision (Ukraine): Delivers real-time 3D contextual awareness and AI-powered action scenarios, enabling humans and robots to work together seamlessly in dynamic environments.
• Mbryonics (Ireland): Builds ultra-fast and secure optical communications systems that connect satellites into a seamless global network.
• Ratel (Ukraine): Builds battle-proven unmanned ground vehicles for autonomous logistics and evacuation in combat zones with a sovereign Ukrainian-EU supply chain.

Dual-Use Technology Award Finalists:

• Sateliot (Spain) — Winner
• Canatu (Finland): Develops advanced carbon nanotube products and reactors for the semiconductor, automotive, and medical diagnostics industries.
• Sparrow Quantum (Denmark): Develops photonic quantum chips that enable quantum computers, quantum communication, and the quantum internet.

About the awards  

The Future Unicorn Awards showcases Europe’s most promising tech talent through a unique collaboration: DIGITALEUROPE’s affiliated national trade associations each nominate one company from their country with the potential to become the continent’s next tech giant. Afterwards, each nominated company is reviewed by a professional jury of expectational European institutional leaders and investors.

Future Unicorn Award: 

• Doris Põld, Vice-President Executive Board, DIGITALEUROPE
• Stéphane Ouaki, Acting Director, European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund
• Merete Clausen,Deputy Chief Executive, European Investment Fund (EIF) 
• Eric de Montgolfier, CEO, Invest Europe
• Tom Wehmeir, Partner & Head of Intelligence, Atomico
• Nicolas Meier, Managing Director I EMEA Tech Investments, Temasek
• Johan Dahlfors, Partner, Bridgepoint

Dual-Use Technology Award – delivered in collaboration with the Ukraine Ministry of Defence: 

• Peter Weckesser, President Executive Board, DIGITALEUROPE
• Benedikt Franke, CEO, Munich Security Conference
• Robert Vass, President and Founder, GLOBSEC
• Max Büchner, CEO, Speer Group
• Jillian Manus, Venture Partner, Shield Capital

Advisor to the jury: Oksana Ferchuk, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation, Ukrainian Ministry of Defence

Why European unicorns matter  

Supporting scale-ups is Europe’s best path to cultivating homegrown tech giants and strengthening digital resilience. The urgency has never been greater, as Europe navigates the changing global landscape. 

About Master of Digital 

Masters of Digital is Europe’s premier forum for shaping the future of digital policy and innovation, bringing together top-notch policymakers, industry leaders and the wider innovation ecosystem. This year’s edition, “Digital & Defence Reset: Europe Takes the Reins?”, focuses on three interdependent pillars: leveraging AI for industrial competitiveness, ensuring robust digital security in a fragmented world, and achieving meaningful simplification of the regulatory landscape to unlock growth. Learn more: http://www.mastersofdigital.org/.