Now in its 24th year, Allstars has tracked the rise of European tech from a handful of breakout companies to a mature ecosystem with globally competitive businesses at every stage. This year’s winners cover the full lifecycle: young founders building in healthtech and AI, high-growth companies scaling across borders, the funds backing them, and the exits returning capital to the market.
The evening featured a keynote Q&A with Vishal Marria CBE, Founder and CEO of Quantexa, hosted by Bloomberg journalist Alex Morgan. Since founding Quantexa in 2016, Marria has built it into one of the leading enterprise data and AI platforms, serving financial services, insurance and public sector organisations worldwide.
2026 Winners
- Allstars Company Challenge: Europe’s Most Exciting Tech Company (presented by GP Bullhound): tem
- Consumer Tech Company of the Year (sponsored by Paddle): Deepstash
- Digital Advertising Company of the Year (sponsored by Squire Patton Boggs): Koto
- AI & Digital Transformation Company of the Year (sponsored by Squire Patton Boggs): Opencast
- Sports Tech Company of the Year (sponsored by SportsTechX): MAGIC AI
- High Growth Company of the Year (sponsored by Altman Solon): FYLD
- Deep Tech Company of the Year: IONATEGrowth & Buyout Fund of the Year: Inflexion
- VC Fund of the Year (sponsored by PERA): EQT Ventures
- Seed Fund of the Year: firstminute capital
- Investor of the Year: David Klein, One Peak
- Exit of the Year: Apax for the exit of Faculty
- Entrepreneur of the Year (sponsored by Pictet): Moritz Kreppel, Urban Sports Club
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year (in memory of Mark Sebba): Rhys Lloyd, PharmAppy
- Professional Services Firm of the Year: PER
Manish Madhvani, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at GP Bullhound, said:
“Europe now produces companies that compete for global markets from day one, and this year’s winners show it. From seed funds backing first-time founders to exits like Faculty, the ecosystem is building, scaling and returning capital at a level that would have been hard to picture when we launched Allstars 24 years ago. Congratulations to every winner and shortlisted company.”
We thank Pictet, Paddle, Squire Patton Boggs, SportsTechX, Altman Solon and PERA, whose support made the 2026 Allstars Awards possible.
Through Allstars, we support Working Options in Education, a charity that helps young people build the employability and life skills they need to fulfil their potential. Its free Career Pathways Programme, delivered with state schools and colleges, prioritises young people from disadvantaged regions facing additional post-pandemic challenges.
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