Former employees of prominent unicorns in Europe and Israel are fuelling the next wave of startups. Across Europe and Israel, there are currently 98 venture-backed fintech unicorns, and 82 of these have fueled 625 new tech-enabled startups. Of the startups that have emerged from these fintech unicorns more than a third (35%) are also fintechs as employees utilise their industry-specific expertise to launch new ventures.
Notably, the top 25 unicorns account for 453 of these startups, making up 72.5% of the total, which emphasizes the concentrated influence of leading companies in fostering founder talent. At the forefront are Klarna, Revolut, and Wise, which together have produced 144 new ventures. Former employees from these companies are channeling their experience into startups that address identified gaps and opportunities within the industry.
Impressively, over half (53%) of these second-generation startups have already secured more than US $1 million in private funding, demonstrating high investor confidence in this emerging pool of startup founders.