European startups continue to grow at an unprecedented rate. Over the last 12 months have seen the birth of 11 new "unicorns"— startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more — according to data from venture capital tracking company CB Insights.
It's a marked increase from a year prior, when just three new unicorns were created in a similar time period.
In 2013, when the term "unicorn" was first coined, just four unicorns "were born per year in the last decade" worldwide.
Of course, there's still a long way to go to catch up with the US. Quartz noted in June that Facebook alone is worth twice as much as every single European unicorn put together. In the same timeframe, the US produced 22 unicorns. But nonetheless, in Europe right now, things are looking up.
On methodology: We created our ranking based on CB Insights' full global list of unicorns. Information on howit collects data is here. Analyst Nikhil Krishnan told Business Insider: "Some companies (e.g. Zocdoc) were raising a billion+ valuation for a long time, but the round ended up closing a year plus later."
Since unicorn status is normally only measured in dollars, we've stuck with one currency throughout.
1. Farfetch — $1 billion
Farfetch is a London-based fashion startup that raised $86 million in March 2015 at a $1 billion valuation. It acts as an online storefront for more than 300 boutiques around the world, able to keep overheads low by not holding any stock itself.
The round was led by DST, a VC firm that has previously invested in Twitter, Facebook, Xiaomi, and more. Condé Nast and Vitruvian Partners, both previous investors, also returned.
2. Funding Circle — $1 billion
Funding Circle is a peer-to-peer lending service based in London. In April 2015, it scored a $150 million funding round that catapulted the startup into unicorn territory.
3. TransferWise — $1 billion
TransferWise is a money transfer service that cuts down on fees by using a peer-to-peer system that means money rarely actually has to leave the country. For example, someone in the UK trying to send their French friend money might instead have their funds rerouted to a British person receiving a similar amount from abroad. The French friend, meanwhile, is sent the amount from someone within France — all automatically.
One of London's more prominent unicorns, TransferWise also has a large office in Tallinn, Estonia, where its founders originate.
In January 2015, it raised $58 million in a funding round led by respected US VC firm Andreessen Horowitz.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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