Overview

• Antler counts 14 European rocketships founded since 2020 that reached $1 billion valuations in about two years, down from a 7.2-year average and approaching the US pace of roughly 1.6 years.
• AI is central to the acceleration, with 85% of MVPs built using AI tools, about 40% of production code AI-generated, and 93% of founders reporting faster execution.
• Founder profiles have shifted toward deep technical backgrounds, with 90% of rocketship founders since 2022 being technical and a 14-fold rise in AI engineers becoming founders between 2023 and 2025.
• Geography is changing as Stockholm, Paris and Berlin gain ground, while London has produced only one of the 14 rocketships, a trend attributed to post-Brexit talent constraints, slower policy support and fintech concentration.
• Diversity remains a major weak point, with Antler highlighting extremely low representation among AI unicorn founders across Europe.