DIGITALEUROPE's Future Unicorn Award

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Since 2018, the Future Unicorn Awards stands as a beacon of excellence in Europe’s tech ecosystem. More than just a prize, it is an initiative designed to showcase Europe’s future tech champions and elevate their voices within EU policy-making circles.

At DIGITALEUROPE, we have set a bold objective in our manifesto: to double the number of European unicorns by 2030. This award is pivotal in realising that vision by providing a platform that propels companies into the next phase of growth and innovation.

The award is conducted in collaboration with 41 National Trade Associations, representing over 46,000 companies from across Europe, and the winners are announced at our yearly flagship event Masters of Digital. Since 2018, around 150 European scale-ups have been nominated to win a Future Unicorn Award.

Nominated companies

Full list of 150 nominated companies since 2018

Awards

From 2025 onwards, the Future Unicorn Award recognises excellence through two distinct categories:

Future Unicorn Award: Celebrating European scale-ups with the potential to become the continent’s next unicorn. These companies are not only contributing to the digital economy but also redefining it with their innovation and rapid growth.
Dual-Use Technology Award: This award recognises exceptional companies that develop cutting-edge technologies capable of serving both civilian and military applications. These dual-use technologies range from AI or cybersecurity to energy systems.

The Dual-Use Technology Award is delivered in collaboration with Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Eligibility & Selection Process

The Future Unicorn Award is conducted in collaboration with 41 National Trade Associations from across Europe. Participants must be nominated by these associations and be European tech companies in the scale-up phase, having grown by over 20% per year for at least three years.

The 2025 edition in a nutshell

The 2025 edition featured 26 nominees, 15 shortlisted companies, 7 finalists, and 2 winners:

Future Unicorn category

Pactum AI (Estonia): Leaders in the Agentic AI revolution in procurement, empowering Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to transform their operating model into agile growth engines, with procurement and AI Agents working side-by-side.
Dual-Use Technologies category

Quantum Systems (Germany): creates advanced drones with long endurance and multi-sensor capabilities, serving both defense and commercial sectors.

The 2025 jury was comprised of some of the leaders in venture capital, tech and defence innovation, and European institutions. Their expertise is crucial in identifying the tech leaders of tomorrow.