Trade wars, real wars and an AI revolution. For Europe’s young gamechangers, there is no better time to build the world’s next great companies.
By Alexandra York and Zoya Hasan, Forbes Staff
Resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention are the keys to success in today’s competitive business climate. No need to preach it to the honorees of the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list. They’re building the future while navigating a global trade war, a live war in Ukraine, and the whiplash of generative AI ripping up rules of work, creativity, and capitalism in real time. And still—invention abounds. They’re building virtual worlds, revolutionizing fertility, reinventing retail and dominating the entertainment game.
Take Fabian Kamberi, who is trying to revive the flatlining metaverse market. His gaming startup Slay is the maker of the hit game Pengu. The app lets folks create and raise virtual penguins and play games with friends. It’s attracted 10 million users and top investors like Accel, Scooter Braun, and Harry Stebbings, who have invested $20 million into the company. Says Kamberi, 25, “We’re helping re-establish Europe as a hub for consumer apps and games, showing that global-scale innovation can come from anywhere.” Beyond raising a virtual friend, Slay has also developed an AI-powered social media platform frfr (for real for real). The name’s ironic on purpose—the app allows users to create, send, and receive anonymous voice messages in a celebrity’s tone.
Back here in the real world, other Under 30 honorees are harnessing AI to tackle important problems. Felicia von Reden, 29, is the cofounder of Ovom Care, a fertility clinic that’s using AI to take the guesswork out of the invasive and emotional IVF process. Ovom uses machine learning to identify the most viable eggs and sperm for a patient. Its AI software also helps doctors determine the best meds and dosages for specific patients. Things are moving fast: Since opening Ovom’s first clinic in 2024, the startup has already helped 350 women on their IVF journeys. It raised some $8 million in funding at a $22 million valuation.
Others are betting AI will transform how we advertise and shop. Flore Lestrade, 26, Tristan François, 26, and Christian Kotait, 25, are building Veeton, a tool that allows clothing sellers to show their items using hyperrealistic AI fashion models. Their tech lets clothing companies show off a wide variety of sizes and styles—and for a whole lot cheaper. Meanwhile, Frederic Boesel and Jonas Muller are building text-to-image AI technology with their start-up Black Forest Labs. The pair has raised $31 million in seed money from Andreessen Horowitz and is already partnering with corporations like German telecom titan Deutsche Telekom to help them generate all their marketing images with Forest Labs’ model, Flux. All in all, the companies of the 2025 Under 30 Europe list have raised more than $800 million in funding.
In the entertainment industry, our listers dominate screens big and very small. Ella Purnell, 28, is an actress known for her roles in TV series Fallout and Yellowjackets. And India Amarteifio, 23, is the award-winning actress from Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Meanwhile, those taking the (really) small screen include content creator David Cánovas Martínez, 27, known as “TheGrefg” to his gaming fans. The streamer counts 48 million subscribers across YouTube, Twitch, Instagram and TikTok. And Tamanna Kaur, 24, counts more than 3 million followers and 71 million views for her lifestyle content focused on women’s empowerment.
To identify this standout group, Forbes editors worked with expert judges—including musician Sam Smith, Spotify’s head of podcasts for Central Europe Saruul Krause-Jentsch, and fashion designer Stella Jean—to review more than 10,000 candidates, evaluating them on impact, financials, and creativity.
The result: 300 young leaders steering the future of Europe, harnessing a moment of global uncertainty to build the future’s next great companies. (Want to know more about our methodology? Click here.)
TOTAL FUNDING
$800 million+
More than $800 million raised in funding–down from more than $1 billion last year.
AVERAGE AGE
27
The average age of Under 30s held constant at 27 this year, and the youngest is 14-year-old Frankie Corio from the Entertainment list. Corio is a Scottish actress known for her roles in Aftersun (2022) alongside Paul Mescal and Bagman (2024).
SELF-IDENTIFY AS PERSON OF COLOR
26%
More than a fourth of individuals on this year’s list identify as a person of color, up from 23% last year.
GENDER
40% female, 58% male, 1% non-binary
This list was made up of 40% female (up from 37% last year and 33% in 2023), 58% male, and just over 1% non-binary. Gender parity reached an all-time high for the European list this year.
GEN Z (27 OR YOUNGER)
44%
Almost half of this year’s list is Gen Z—born in 1997 or later.
(CO)FOUNDERS
70%
Seven in ten listmakers are founders or cofounders of a company, the same percentage as last year. Many of the rest are actors, athletes, musicians or creators building their own brands.
TOP CITIES
London, Berlin, Paris
These are the top cities in which listers reside, in order of popularity. Munich, Germany and Helsinki, Finland round out the top 5.
FOLLOWERS
170 million+
The top 24 most-followed listers of this year’s class bring in a combined 120 million followers across social media platforms—with TikTok and Instagram being the most popular platforms, followed by YouTube and Twitch.
