In 2021, Europe witnessed the birth of 85 “Unicorns”, new technology companies worth $1 billion or more. Unfortunately, many of them were forced to leave Europe, a huge loss in terms of jobs, intellectual property and brain drain.

JRC 2022 report “Looking for EU unicorns”, describes this trend as continuing, with companies such as Just Eat, Skype, Transferwise or UiPath (among others 40), originally European, now providing thousands of jobs and making billions of investments from their headquarters outside Europe.

Project regions are also experiencing this exodus of to-be-unicorn start-ups and must take measures to combat the large Unicorn Hubs in the capitals of the EU and the US.

Partner regions want to be different through different ‘little valleys’ that offer space for experimentation, using the local community as a testing ground for future unicorns. These ‘little valleys’ will retain and attract sonicorns who want to grow according to EU values such as respect for human rights, freedom, democracy and equality. These values are the essential foundation for distinguishing ‘valleys’ from other hubs, especially in the US and the Far East, creating strategic differentiation for the regional ‘valleys’.

Through the exchange of experiences between regions, partners will share regional experiences and use the Harvard CASE method to establish peer exchange and facilitate learning between partners, expecting to improve 9 policy tools in the first 36 months of the project.

Partners

• Science and Technology Park of Alentejo
• North-West Regional Development Agency
• Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency
• Western Development Commission
• Innovation & Management Centre Limited (WestBIC)
• Business Developmnet Friesland Foundation
• Liguria Region
• Zemgale Planning Region
• Pannon Business Network Association
• Hauts-de-France Regional Council
• EuraTechnologies
• San Telmo Business School