We’re proud to share that akirolabs has been named to the Sifted 100: DACH & CEE 2025 list, a ranking of the 100 fastest-growing startups by revenue across Germany, Austria, Switzerland (DACH), and Central & Eastern Europe (CEE).

This recognition places us alongside some of the most ambitious and innovative companies shaping the future of European tech — from B2B SaaS and fintech to healthtech, climate tech, and deeptech.

What is the Sifted 100?

Sifted, the FT-backed media platform for European startups and innovation, compiles the Sifted 100 annually to spotlight the region’s fastest-growing, privately held startups.

For the first time this year, Sifted merged its regional leaderboards (Germany, Central Europe, Eastern Europe) into one unified ranking for the entire DACH & CEE region, covering 25 countries.

The methodology is clear and data-driven:

• Startups are ranked by their Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of revenue over the last three years.
• Companies must be private, independent, and provide at least three years of revenue data.
• Investors and profitability trends are also analyzed, giving a broader picture of maturity and resilience.

The 2025 cohort paints an impressive picture:

• The top 100 startups have raised an average of €100m each, a 28% jump from the prior year.
• Together, they’ve attracted 765 investors.
• 27 companies are already profitable, underscoring that growth and sustainability can go hand-in-hand.

Why does Sifted publish the ranking?

The Sifted 100 is more than just a list — it’s a mirror of Europe’s evolving tech landscape. By publishing the leaderboard, Sifted aims to:

1. Celebrate innovation and growth: shining a spotlight on companies that are scaling sustainably, solving real problems, and creating jobs.
2. Help entrepreneurs and investors benchmark performance: offering context on what high growth looks like in different sectors and regions.
3. Showcase investors fueling innovation: highlighting which funds and angels are backing the region’s breakout companies.
4. Provide data-driven insight into trends: whether that’s the rise of B2B SaaS, the momentum in fintech, or the growing role of sustainability in scaling businesses.

By doing so, Sifted not only promotes transparency but also strengthens Europe’s position on the global innovation map.

Why akirolabs was recognized

akirolabs’ inclusion in the Sifted 100: DACH & CEE 2025 list is a reflection of our rapid revenue growth, international customer adoption, and industry-defining innovation.

We are building the AI-powered operating system for strategic procurement — a platform that helps procurement teams move beyond tactical savings to create strategies aligned with business goals, resilience needs, and ESG ambitions.

In the past 12 months, we have:

• Achieved triple-digit revenue growth.
• Expanded our customer base across multiple industries and geographies.
• Secured major funding, including a $5M seed round and a €1m EU innovation grant to accelerate development of akiroAssist, our proprietary AI model for procurement.
• Launched Version 3.0 of our platform, embedding advanced scenario modeling, sustainability tracking, and collaboration into every step of the procurement strategy process.
• Earned recognition from analysts and thought leaders such as Spend Matters, appliedAI, and Kearney’s Dr. Elouise Epstein, who called akirolabs “a breakthrough innovation” and predicted we are “on a trajectory to eliminate much of category management as we know it today.”

Why this matters for procurement

Procurement is at a turning point. For decades, digitalization focused on automating operational tasks. The next wave is about unlocking the true value of strategic procurement — aligning supplier decisions with resilience, sustainability, and innovation goals.

Our recognition in the Sifted 100 validates that this shift is not just needed, but already happening. akirolabs is proud to be at the forefront, helping organizations capture 4–5x more business value and transforming procurement into a strategic powerhouse.

Looking ahead

Being listed in the Sifted 100 is a milestone we are deeply proud of — but it’s also a starting point. The European startup ecosystem is thriving, and we are excited to continue pushing boundaries, co-innovating with our customers, and helping procurement teams worldwide achieve higher impact.

Thank you to our customers, investors, partners, and team for making this possible.

👉 You can read more about the Sifted 100: DACH & CEE 2025 list on Sifted’s website (Pro subscribers get full access).

‍