Balderton 
- Balderton News
- 06 July, 2026
- Generational founders of global European-built tech companies will feature in ‘Built in Europe,’ an out-of-home and digital advertising campaign across five European cities
- ‘Built in Europe’ is designed to unapologetically champion Europe’s tech existing successes and encourage more people to build or join a tech startup in Europe
- BuiltInEurope.com hosts a custom-built jobs database, aggregating open roles from 1,000 tech startups across the industry, launching in beta
Balderton Capital, the largest VC firm dedicated exclusively to backing European founders, today launches ‘Built in Europe’ – a campaign championing the continent’s technology sector in collaboration with more than 100 leading founders and CEOs.
Built in Europe, backed by founders from Europe’s top tech companies, launched today with an out-of-home and digital advertising campaign across London, Paris, Stockholm, Berlin and Munich. The campaign calls for more people to build or join a tech startup in Europe, and points to BuiltInEurope.com – home to a new jobs platform aggregating tech startup roles in Europe, to connect founders with talent and help build on the sector’s momentum.
Founders featured in the campaign come from companies representing the full breadth of the European ecosystem, including:
- AI leaders – Lovable, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Mistral AI, Synthesia
- Deep tech and infrastructure – Quantum Systems, The Exploration Company, Proxima Fusion
- Consumer brands – Revolut, Beauty Pie, Voi, HIVED, Alan, Lassie
The campaign comes off the back of unprecedented momentum in the European ecosystem, and the fact that other, often critical narratives about the continent’s potential overlook the reality that European founders have built, and are continuing to build, world-changing businesses today.
Having invested in European tech for more than two decades, including global champions such as Revolut, Wayve, Quantum Systems, Dream Games, Darktrace, Depop, MySQL and Talend, Balderton has seen first-hand the strength of the ecosystem and its evolution over time. The team believes that Europe has the talent, ambition, capital and experience to build global giants – and that there has never been a better time to build or join a tech startup in Europe.
Travelling across Europe and meeting founders every day, what we feel is excitement and energy, not just from the big names who have already proven that their ideas work, but also from founders with huge ambition who are just getting started. For too long, the narrative around European tech has been stuck on all the things that need to change. Built In Europe aims to shift the conversation from potential to proof.
Suranga Chandratillake General Partner, Balderton
If you think about what’s going to matter in the next 100 years, it’s the really hard, deep technology, and startups are where that’s built. It’s the most adventurous, exciting thing you could do – build or join a startup in Europe.
Alex Kendall co-founder and CEO, Wayve
There has never been a better time to build from Europe than now. The talent is here, the capital is here, the ecosystem is here. And we have the ambition to match.
Anton Osika co-founder, Lovable
For anyone thinking about starting a company in Europe, I would say: do it now. This is a crucial moment to come together and defend European values of collaboration, peace and diversity. It’s a time for ambition – and for big ideas.
Hélène Huby Founder and CEO, The Exploration Company
There are tons of great founders in Europe right now trying to build things that are truly special. And we’re surrounded by people who are keen to get involved and work with us on frontier technologies. This blend of people, talent and ambition has never been more real.
Mati Staniszewski co-founder, ElevenLabs
The campaign
The out-of-home component of the Built in Europe campaign will run in five of Europe’s leading tech hubs with city banners, high profile billboards and digital advertising vans placing the campaign in the heart of each city’s tech community. In London, the campaign will be featured on the iconic Old Street roundabout digital billboard, birthplace of the tech startup ecosystem in the city. In Paris, Station F will display the campaign on the outside of its building, one of Europe’s most recognisable startup hubs. And in Stockholm, ‘Built in Europe’ will be displayed on the Stureplan digital billboard in the heart of the city.
The campaign launches on June 1, timed with London Tech Week, Founders Forum, SXSW (South By South West) Festival, Sommarminglet in Stockholm and will run throughout VivaTech in Paris.
Founders and CEOs from more than 100 of Europe’s most exciting startups and scale-ups are adding their voices to the campaign, sharing stories of their motivation and mission. Including:
- Barney Hussey Yeo, founder and CEO, of Cleo
- Mirko Novakovic, founder and CEO of Dash0
- Gianni Couzzo, founder and CEO of Exein
- Hiroki Takeuchi, co-founder and CEO of GoCardless
- Saaras Mehan, co-founder of Jack & Jill
- Martin Kissinger, co-founder and CEO of Lendable
- Matt Rouif, co-founder and CEO of Photoroom
- Peter Briffett and Portman Wills, co-founders of Stream
- Sai Shivareddy, co-founder and CEO of Nyobolt
- Tim Spector and Jonathan Wolf, co-founders of ZOE
Europe’s startup talent hub
BuiltInEurope.com is home to a dedicated jobs board, launching in beta, which will aggregate open roles at Europe’s 1,000 leading tech startups on a single platform. It was built in-house by Balderton using direct data feeds and API integrations. The site will also provide resources for people considering building their own startup, including a list of the top incubators from across the region.
Founders are building in Europe – now
The Built in Europe campaign exists to recognise these founders and the many, many others like them spread across every corner of the continent. The founders who are not looking for inspiration elsewhere or copying others’ playbooks. They aren’t waiting for conditions to change. They just got on with it and built world-changing companies.
Founder testimonials
Victor Riparbelli, Co-founder and CEO of Synthesia, said: “When we founded the company nine years ago, few European AI startups could compete on the global stage. Today, the situation is very different: we have great companies winning in their categories, not just in Europe but worldwide.”
Murvah Iqbal, Co-founder and CEO of HIVED, said: “The best part about building in Europe is the diversity of the talent that this region attracts, from all over the world. The ecosystem is robust, there is energy and momentum – I would say there’s never been a better time to start a company in Europe than right now.”
Fredrik Hejlm, Founder and CEO of Voi, said: “To anyone thinking about starting a business in Europe, I would say – just go for it. We have the talent, the capital, and we’re starting to have the support from our politicians and governments.”
Hedda Båverud Olsson, Co-founder and CEO of Lassie, said: “Europe is full of underestimated founders ready to take on industries no one has touched in decades. The opportunity now is to keep that talent here and back it ambitiously enough to win globally. There has never been a better moment to build in Europe.”
Francesco Sciortino, co-founder of Proxima Fusion, said: “The environment that we need is coming together in Europe – private companies, public institutions, venture capital, and most importantly, founders and teams that want to be in this building mindset. There’s a real spark of optimism for scaleups in Europe.”
Size of European tech
- European tech sector now worth $6.7 trillion according to Dealroom
- The tech sector now accounts for 15% of Europe’s GDP, compared to 4% in 2015, according to Atomico’s State of European Tech report
