Europe has a competitive advantage here because the ecosystem is younger, and the whole ecosystem is fundable. “Young talent today wants to make money but also wants to have a purpose. “Where Europe is leading compared to the US is in ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and climate strategy,” he explains. He hopes to rally the continent to fund and support founders who can lead the new era of tech and return to the old internet dream of making the world a better place. In fact, that’s precisely why he founded Atomico. Zennström, one of the original European-founder-turned-investor figures, is responsible-directly and indirectly-for a significant chunk of this growth. As of March 31, 2022, PitchBook records 607 active unicorns in the US-with the growth rate roughly equal. Less than one year later, that number grew to 202. At the end of 2020, Europe had 115 VC-backed unicorns. According to Atomico’s annual State of European Tech report in 2021, Europe recorded a record $100 billion in capital invested and 98 new unicorns (privately held startups with a valuation over $1 billion), bringing their total to 321. “I tried to run,” he says mildly, as if describing catching a bus, “but sadly was not in the same shape I am now, so they served me.”Īnd he’s got the data to back his argument. They were lawyers from the music industry pursuing him for lawsuits against his peer-to-peer file-sharing startup, Kazaa. Zennström recalls a morning in 2003 when he and his wife, Catherine, left their London apartment and six people showed up on their doorstep, one on a motorcycle. With solid oak floors, Moroccan tiles, vintage furniture, and carefully placed wool rugs, it’s a space designed to soothe and inspire. They are the first in the UK to achieve net-zero certification the boardroom is climate-controlled, with temperatures designed around the individual needs of the company’s workforce. WIRED met the founder of venture capital firm Atomico in the company’s new HQ in Fitzrovia-offices Zennström designed himself. Niklas Zennström is so calm when describing moments of intense upheaval that you suspect the “Zen” in his surname is there for a reason. Nearly two decades after its creation, cofounder Niklas Zennström reflects on the growth of the European ecosystem, posits that combining profit and purpose is critical-and explains why Europe is set to beat Silicon Valley at its own game. Skype was arguably the first breakout European tech company.

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