OPINION: Europe needs more than just successful exits

The acquisition of Berlin-based Talon.One by Dutch payments provider Adyen in July 2026 offers a useful perspective on European technology investing. A company founded in Germany developed technology valuable to a global payments business, and its next chapter is being written within Europe. This is a significant outcome for the founders and investors. However, it also raises a larger question: how can Europe turn individual successes into an ecosystem capable of producing them repeatedly?

The answer is not simply to encourage more European acquisitions. Successful startups need access to the best opportunities available, whether their future lies with a European buyer, an international technology group or the public markets. What matters is that these decisions reflect commercial potential rather than a lack of viable alternatives. For Europe, the challenge is to create the conditions in which successful companies can scale, attract investment and generate lasting economic value.

Exits are a measure of maturity, not the final destination

From a venture capital perspective, exits matter because they return capital to investors and founders, establish reference points for valuations, and help to finance the next generation of start-ups. Therefore, an acquisition is more than just the end of an investment cycle. The wider impact of an acquisition depends on whether experienced founders start again, whether employees launch new businesses, whether investors reinvest, and whether specialist knowledge remains accessible to the local ecosystem.

The Talon.One transaction is particularly interesting in this respect. Adyen paid €750 million for the loyalty and incentives platform, combining complementary European technologies together in a business with international reach. The company’s founders also reinvested some of their proceeds in Adyen shares. This is one possible model for maintaining continuity, although the long-term consequences for jobs, innovation and further investment will only become apparent over time. 

Yet a European buyer does not automatically guarantee a better outcome. An acquisition by a US technology group can also give European innovation access to new markets, capital and expertise. The relevant questions concern what happens after the transaction: where future investment takes place, whether technological capabilities continue to develop and how much value flows back into the startup ecosystem. While the identity of the buyer is important, the industrial logic and long-term consequences also deserve equal attention.

Germany’s progress reveals the next challenge

Germany is a useful test case for Europe’s progress. According to the German Startup Monitor 2026, the country added ten unicorns in 2026, indicating that more companies are achieving significant valuations. Yet 62% of respondents considering a stock market listing favour the US. These figures measure different things, but together they capture a tension: Germany is producing ambitious technology companies while many founders still see stronger exit opportunities outside its domestic market.

This preference is not irrational. Founders and their investors have a responsibility to consider factors such as access to capital, market depth, suitable buyers, and prospects for future growth. US markets can offer genuine advantages. Rather than persuading companies to reject opportunities abroad, Europe needs to build more competitive options. 

This is important long before a potential exit. Investors assess the availability of future funding and realistic exit routes when deciding whether to back a company. If these options appear limited, promising businesses may struggle to attract the necessary capital to reach their full potential. Therefore, a stronger exit environment can support investment across the entire startup lifecycle.

What a stronger European exit market would require

Three priorities stand out:

• Deeper growth capital: European startups need access to substantial later-stage funding and patient institutional investors, without having to reshape their strategy around capital availability elsewhere. This would also give founders greater flexibility over when and how they pursue an exit.
• More strategic buyers: Acquisitions can provide distribution, customers and resources for expansion. Talon.One and Adyen illustrate the potential of cross-border European combinations. A broader base of established technology companies willing to acquire and develop innovative businesses would create additional exit opportunities.
• Earlier exit planning: Founders should consider which investors could fund the next round, which buyers could offer strategic value, and the potential impact of a transaction on teams, research and future ventures. Investor nationality alone is no substitute for that assessment.

The objective is choice

Europe’s ambition should not be to keep every company, every shareholder or every exit within its borders. International capital and global customers are essential for building competitive businesses. In my experience, a European startup acquired by a US company can still create substantial value for its founders, employees and investors, and a European acquisition can likewise bolster a regional technology group.

The more meaningful test is whether European founders have real alternatives, such as sufficient capital to scale up, credible paths to public markets and a strong base of strategic acquirers and investors who can recycle returns into new ventures.

Successful exits show what European technology can achieve. A mature ecosystem makes those successes less exceptional. This requires a joint effort by founders, investors, established companies and policymakers alike.

Editor’s note: IRIS was an investor in Talon.One.

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