Friday 12 March 2021
The Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards can bring funding, exposure and commercial support to the best and brightest on the European startup scene
Bratislav Milenkovic
Europe is experiencing a golden age for startups. Despite the pandemic, European technology startups raised a record $41 billion of investment in 2020 and, over the last five years, the number and size of such companies has skyrocketed – 38 per cent of all global seed-stage capital is now raised by European startups, and the sector is seeing ten per cent growth in job creation annually.
Despite that record funding and growth, challenges remain. For one, coronavirus and its ensuing lockdowns meant startups had to adapt to a completely different landscape. Even without the pandemic, the sheer amount of competition means the best products can struggle to secure sufficient cashflow and exposure to thrive in Europe’s increasingly crowded arena.