Four Irish firms named as part of the Leading European Tech Scaleups (LETS) Map

France Digitale, the leading startup and investor association in Europe, together with more than 30 of its European partners have announced the second edition of the Leading European Tech Scaleups (LETS).  Announced at FDDAY in Paris today, LETS is the only pan-European mapping of innovative companies that make at least 10 million EUR in global annual turnover, founded after the year 2000, and successfully sell their product or service beyond their domestic market.

Thirty-two startup organisations from across 20 European countries – including Scale Ireland – are supporting France Digitale’s launch of the leading tech companies driving Europe’s innovation economy. LETS features 251 companies in total, an increase from 135 last year. Recognised as flag bearers of European innovation globally, four Irish companies are among the companies featured and include – Fenergo, Teamwork, Tines and Wayflyer.

The LETS, the engine of Europe’s tech success

The LETS have a global footprint: 70% (174) of them have customers globally (beyond Europe), with the US featuring as the top export market. The most populous European countries (France, UK, Germany) follow closely. Japan and Australia complete the top 3 of non-European export markets.

Internationalisation patterns vary. Several LETS expand to their neighbouring countries first, then to the US (it’s the case of many companies in software, finance, and health), while others jump straight from their domestic market to the US. Most companies in gaming, industry and services are global from day one, while scaleups in sectors involving last-mile logistics, like retail, transport and energy, tend to remain localised in Europe.

The LETS are great job creators: they employ on average some 415 people and plan to recruit more. Of 72 respondents, 94% declared having job openings: 53% are seeking between 11 and 50 talents and another 18% between 51 and 100 talents.

The LETS also stand out as solid partners for their customers and investors alike: 60% of them are already profitable and the remaining 40% expects to be so in the next 3 years.

Taking European tech to the next level

As positive as they are, these results raise two important questions. First, why does it seem more straightforward to export internationally, especially to the US, than to other European countries? Second, and most importantly: when and where will the Leading European Tech Scaleups “exit”?

While all LETS have customers in Europe, only a minority can claim to cover the whole continent. Indeed, the first barrier to export within Europe is fragmentation: despite the Single Market, Europe is still made of 27+ different markets, each with their own legislations. It can take from 3 months to 3 years to open another country, with regulated sectors like finance and health taking the longest.

The second challenge is exits. In 2021 alone, the US experienced more tech IPOs than Europe did over the entire period from 2015 to 2023, and 50 European-founded companies have filed for an IPO in the US since 2018, including UK-based companies. These “missed” IPOs account for a total economic loss of 439 billion USD since 2015. What could prevent history from repeating itself?

The newly-elected European Parliament and the next European Commission should make the answer to these issues a priority of their five-year mandate. Several actions can be taken in this sense: introducing a 28th company regime, allowing companies to do administrative procedures only once for the whole Single Market, and eliminating cross border transaction costs for equity investments to increase the liquidity of European financial markets.

Commenting on this year’s LETS, Maya Noël, Managing Director of France Digitale, said: “With LETS we celebrate the international success of companies that are flag bearers of European innovation worldwide. But we also highlight the work that remains to be done so that more companies can follow in their steps: completing the Single Market and achieving a fully-fledged Capital Markets Union”.

Irish Scale Ups Driving Innovation

Scale Ireland CEO, Martina Fitzgerald, said: “Scale Ireland is delighted that the LETS 2024 mapping recognises the success and innovation of some of Ireland’s most high-profile scaling companies, including Fenergo, Teamwork, Tines, and Wayflyer. They are global leaders in their sectors, and their inclusion in LETS showcases not only their reach, but also Irish innovation and entrepreneurship throughout Europe, the US and beyond. LETS also highlights our strong partnership with France Digitale, which shares our mission to support and promote indigenous tech companies to become global leaders.”

Also commenting Eoin Hinchy, Co-Founder and CEO of Tines, said, “We are honoured to be recognised alongside such exciting companies, proving that Europe can not only lead in AI development but ensure technology serves society as a whole”. He continued, “This recognition reflects our commitment to empowering security and IT teams to do their best work, fuelled by the relentless innovation of our incredible team at Tines. We look forward to helping more businesses streamline their operations and increase their impact with our smart, secure workflow automation and orchestration platform.”

Tines powers the world’s most important workflows. With secure AI capabilities, the flexible and intuitive platform eliminates the need for programming skills, enabling security and IT teams to build, run, and monitor their mission-critical processes. Tines has a wide range of customers, including Canva, Databricks, Elastic, Kayak, Mars, McKesson, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Also commenting on the 2024 LETS Map, Fenergo Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Stella Clarke, “Fenergo is proud to be featured once again on the LETS Map, representing Ireland. We’re delighted to be recognised for fostering innovation, maintaining a strong European presence, and generating significant revenue across multiple markets.

“As an Irish-founded company, we take pride in our continued expansion across Europe, supporting firms in creating a more compliant, profitable and sustainable future. France Digitale and its 32 European partners are redefining business success by prioritising innovation, value creation in Europe and market impact.”

Fenergo enables financial institutions and corporates to accelerate business growth through AI-powered solutions for client lifecycle management. It enables firms to digitalise interactions with clients, transforming the overall user experience. It helps companies do business safely by continuously monitoring risks and ensuring regulatory compliance.

More information is available here on Teamwork and Wayflyer.

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