Under 30 Europe AI 2026: Young founders push AI into hiring, factories and defense
Europe is pouring unprecedented capital into artificial intelligence—and a new Under 30 Europe AI list underscores how young founders are putting that money to work across hiring, industry and defense. In March, the European Investment Fund announced a $17 billion initiative to finance startups in security, defense, space, healthcare and energy, aiming to help the region compete with the United States and China.
Recruiting is a major focus. Cambridge graduate Saaras Mehan, 26, co-founded Jack&Jill in 2025, an AI recruiting platform that deploys agents for both job seekers and employers. “Jack” guides candidates through job searches, interview preparation and salary negotiations, while “Jill” matches recruiters with qualified candidates.
Taking on incumbents like LinkedIn and Indeed, the company has raised $19 million and says it has more than 120,000 users. Mehan said the goal is to build a labor infrastructure that helps people retrain, reskill and move into more meaningful careers. London-based Dex, founded by Harry Uglow, 29, with cofounder Paddy Lambros, offers an AI hiring manager that interviews applicants to build a detailed profile and surface roles.
In Sweden, Sebastian Hjärne, 23, is developing Talentium, which uses AI-powered search to help companies including Google and Klarna find hires. Others are targeting industrial problems. Barcelona-based Theker Robotics, founded by Carla Gómez Cano, 27, and Jiaqiang Ye Zhu, 28, is building AI-powered robots designed to work across different factory environments, assisting with production, assembly and shipping.
Theker has raised around $23 million from investors including Inditex, the world’s largest fast-fashion retailer that owns Zara and H&M.
In Munich, 29-year-old Batuhan Yumurtacı’s Tytan Technologies is applying AI to counter-drone systems that he says can detect, track and take down hostile drones at up to 100 times lower cost than conventional options; the company is working with European militaries, including the German and Ukrainian armed forces.
Supporting the surge in applications, Berlin-based Lyceums—founded by Max Niroomand, 28, and Magnus Grünewald, 24—develops software to make GPUs readily available for AI workloads. Rather than manage complex infrastructure, clients tap into compute on demand and pay only for what they use.
Niroomand said the aim is to make access to compute as seamless as electricity and argued that Europe needs its own infrastructure as AI competition intensifies. The companies on this year’s list have raised a combined $790 million from investors and span more than 15 countries.
Inspired by the rise of homegrown AI players such as France’s Mistral, last valued at $13.6 billion, and Germany’s Helsing, last valued at $12.7 billion, Europe’s next wave of founders is moving quickly to deploy AI across core economic sectors.