Europe's most successful B2B technology scaleups are building strong businesses at home, but data released today shows many still lack the foundations to compete in the US.

The inaugural Scaling Stateside 50, developed by US Expansion Partners (USXP), assesses European scaleups across commercial strength and US market readiness.

The 50 companies average 86 out of 100 for commercial strength but just 17 out of 100 for US readiness, highlighting a substantial gap between domestic success and preparations for transatlantic expansion.

The ranking draws on more than 500 US readiness assessments, alongside ongoing monitoring of European companies. It includes 50 businesses from 15 countries, with Germany and the UK each contributing 12.

It is supported by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and ecosystem partners HSBC Innovation Banking, Carta, Frazier & Deeter, Dealroom.co and London & Partners. 

I spoke with Matt Oxley, Co-Founder and President of USXP, and Daniel Glazer, Founding Partner of Wilson Sonsini's London office, about the findings and what European founders need to consider before crossing the Atlantic.

Strong at home, unprepared for America

According to USXP, 96 per cent of the scaleups assessed lack the US corporate entity, employer identification number (EIN), banking or payroll infrastructure needed to transact locally.

More than 80 per cent have no US-based employees, while more than 80 per cent have no US trademark or patent filings.

The assessment also identifies differences between sectors, with fintech and cybersecurity companies lagging behind SaaS and deeptech businesses in establishing US operations.

How are the startups scored and ranked?

The Scaling Stateside 50 uses two separate scores:

Foundation Score:

Measures commercial strength across product, finance, marketing, metrics and sales.

US Readiness Score:

Evaluates intellectual property, talent readiness, site selection, US operations, go-to-market strategy and market traction.Importantly, companies are ranked primarily by their Foundation Score, with US Readiness used only to break ties.

The ranking therefore identifies commercially strong European scaleups rather than necessarily those best prepared to enter America.

The scores are based entirely on publicly available information, including company filings, funding announcements, hiring activity, named customers and product releases.

Companies need a Foundation Score of at least 55 to qualify.

Milan-based Lexroom tops the ranking with a Foundation Score of 96 but scores just eight for US readiness. Meanwhile, London-based poq and Cambridge-based Onthos/Theia Insights, ranked 49th and 50th, have US readiness scores of 61 and 58, respectively, putting them among the furthest along in their American preparations.

From Portland to US Expansion Partners

Matt Oxley, Co-Founder and President of USXP, has spent more than 25 years building and scaling technology companies. In 2011, he co-founded Opal, a marketing collaboration platform that went on to serve enterprise customers including Nike, Microsoft and Apple.

"I describe it as being pulled to America. It was the talent, the opportunities, the economics, the purchasing power and where the money was."

In 2013, he sold his possessions, rented out his flat and moved to Portland, Oregon, with two suitcases. Opal subsequently raised funding from investors including Madrona and Accel. After returning to the UK in 2023, Oxley spoke with between 300 and 400 founders, investors and other ecosystem stakeholders.

"The question I couldn't get out of my head was: why weren't more European founders making the journey I'd made?"

That question led him to co-found USXP. Over 18 months, the team developed a proprietary readiness assessment to help European startups evaluate their preparations for US expansion, which now underpins the Scaling Stateside 50. When should European startups make the move?

Oxley argues that European startups often focus so much on their domestic markets that preparing for the US becomes an afterthought.

"I made that move myself, and I know the timing and the build make all the difference: go too early, too late, or without the right foundations, and it costs millions."

He frequently encounters founders who regret waiting.

"We interview founders all the time who tell us they wish they'd gone to America two years earlier. They wish they'd started the journey sooner."

Relocation versus expansion

Glazer distinguishes between relocating an early-stage startup to the US and expanding an established European business after achieving product-market fit.

"Relocation typically happens at an earlier stage, when a founding team in the UK or Europe decides that the market it wants to win is the US."

This may involve moving founders to attract American investors and customers while retaining operations in Europe. Expansion, by contrast, is often driven by growing US customer demand.

"If the ambition is to win the US market, that might justify relocating senior leadership. But if America is one strong market among several, the company might choose to remain headquartered and managed from Europe." ​

Winning in the US requires a different playbook

For Oxley, success in America depends on having the right go-to-market strategy.

"To succeed in America, you need a strong go-to-market function that understands the local market, with the right talent and people in place."

Glazer argues that European founders need to recognise they're playing an away match, where the rules of business are different.

"The first question is: what are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to win the US market, or are you looking at America as one additional revenue source among ten different markets?"

Companies seeking a leading position may need to relocate senior executives and adapt their approach to American business practices.

"You're the visitor entering a new market, and it's up to you to adapt."

For Glazer, the key is to define the desired outcome, work backwards to identify the necessary resources and regularly reassess whether the opportunity justifies the investment.

Building bridges across the Atlantic

European founders can also draw on a growing network of US-based startup hubs and communities. In Silicon Valley, GBx connects British entrepreneurs and investors, while Entrepreneurs First's Bridge programme offers European founders an eight-week San Francisco residency.

Ukrainian initiatives include GOORT, a proposed physical hub, and Ukrainian Valley, a network of founders, technology professionals and VCs, and YEP Academy.

Meanwhile, the European Startup Embassy provides a shared base for European founders and investors, particularly those from Central and Eastern Europe, offering workspace and local connections without the immediate commitment of a permanent US office.

Check out our interview with Vladimira Činčurová, CEO of the European Startup Embassy, and Petr Šmíd, a General Partner at Rockaway Ventures and a founding participant.

For Oxley, the Scaling Stateside 50 is intended to empower founders: "We want to celebrate the companies on the list, but also educate, inform and hopefully inspire founders as they prepare for their own US expansion."

However, scoring based on publicly available information may not capture a company's internal plans or preparations. A low readiness score could reflect a deliberate decision not to prioritise the American market rather than a failure to prepare.

At best, the Scaling Stateside 50 offers European startups a useful framework for assessing their readiness to enter the US market and identifying gaps in their preparations. At worst, it risks becoming a promotional tool for US Expansion Partners and its market-entry services. Its longer-term value will depend on whether it offers meaningful insights into how European companies prepare for expansion.

Nevertheless, by encouraging European founders to think more strategically about US expansion, the initiative could help more promising startups turn their domestic success into international growth.

The ranking will be updated quarterly, with plans to track which companies are making the fastest progress towards US readiness from the first quarter of 2027.

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VC firm Northzone has launched the first cohort of its Northstars programme, bringing together 25 experienced tech operators from across Europe.

The programme aims to build a network that will work with Northzone to identify investment opportunities and support its portfolio companies.

As AI changes how startups are built and scaled, smaller teams are taking on responsibilities that previously required much larger organisations. This has increased demand for experienced operators who can manage growth, develop products and lead teams.

The 25 participants have experience across robotics, AI infrastructure, healthcare, cybersecurity and vertical software, and will form a pan-European network to work closely with one of the continent’s most successful firms on dealflow and portfolio support.

In its first year of the new programme, Northzone will bring those ambassadors into its pipeline and investment process, helping to identify deals, offering them the opportunity to co-invest with the firm in companies they individually source, as well as providing advisory and mentorship services to Northzone portfolio companies.

The 25 Northstars are the first chosen operators in the ongoing programme. 

The Northstars

1. Adyen: Dhruv Ghulati, Principal Project Manager, AI/ML 
2. Black Forest Labs: Aitana Giebels van Bekestein, Marketing 
3. Coinbase: Keith Grose, Managing Director UK and Europe 
4. Comand AI: Marie Inuzuka, Co-founder and CPO 
5. DeepL: Sebastian Enderlein, CTO 
6. ElevenLabs: Pieris Christofi, Deployment & Product 
7. Fireworks: Dimi Nikolaou, Field CTO
8. Genesis: Guillaume Soulé, Head of EU Business
9. Langdock: Lina Wenner, Chief of Staff 
10. LegalFly: João Nunes, Chief of Staff 
11. Lovable: Sophia Nabil, Community and Growth
12. Thomas Gayno, Product Advisor (ex-Mistral, ex-Mirelo) 
13. MicroAGI: Zeno Hamers, Macrovector, Research and Deployments
14. Neko Health: Dr Gesa Sophia Borgeest, Head of GTM 
15. Numeric: Alex Heintze, Solutions Lead, EMEA 
16. Omnea: Patrick Penzo, Head of Marketing 
17. OpenFX: Karan Shah, Chief of Staff
18. Samsara: Praveen Murugesan, VP Engineering 
19. Sana: Olivia Elf, Head of Operations 
20. Sierra: Nick Young, Regional VP Enterprise Sales
21.  Scarlet: James Allgrove, COO 
22. Sunrise Robotics: Bronagh Crowley, GTM 
23. Tandem: Nelly Andrée Tranaas, Director of Operations
24. Qutwo: Elin Dölker, Chief of Staff
25.  XBOW: Zac Wallis, Head of Talent
    
    

    
    

Sam Endacott, Partner at Northzone, who will lead the programme alongside Elena Pantazi (Partner & Head of Platform), shared:

“Silicon Valley’s edge is density: capital and talent in one place, feeding each other. Europe has the talent but it is spread across dozens of cities and ecosystems.

The best operators in Berlin, Stockholm, Zurich, Paris and London should all be on speed dial with each other so they can share what best-in-class looks like in their respective fields.

The operators we have partnered with across Europe today are the future of tech on the Continent. We’re thrilled to build a founding community with them to continue unlocking the next generation of startups and founders who want to learn from top-tier talent who’ve helped scale Europe’s biggest platforms in AI.”

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