IE Business School, 3rd in Europe in Pitchbook MBA Ranking for Startup Founders
Madrid: IE Business School ranks 3rd in Europe in the MBA category of the 2024 PitchBook University Rankings, a renowned global report that compares Universities across the globe by tallying up the number of alumni entrepreneurs whose companies received a round of venture funding over the past decade. The analysis is powered by PitchBook data for global VC investment as well as the educational information of nearly 167,000 founders.
IE Business School ranks 3rd in Europe with 256 founders and 224 companies founded by IE MBA alumni who have collectively raised $5.7 billion. In the graduate category, IE University ranks ninth in Europe, with 335 founders and 296 companies founded, having raised a total of $9 billion in venture capital. The academic institution, recognized for its entrepreneurial footprint, ranks 21st globally in the female founders’ category for MBAs, with 24 female founders who have collectively raised $169 million in venture capital.
“We at IE University are proud to be recognized among the top entrepreneurial institutions globally. These rankings highlight the outstanding achievements of our alumni founders, reinforcing our commitment to fostering innovation, creativity, and impact. We celebrate this remarkable milestone and look forward to continuing our leadership in entrepreneurship,” said Juan José Güemes, Vice President of IE University and Chairman of the IE Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center. “The entrepreneurial spirit of our alumni continues to shape industries and communities around the world, and this ranking is a testament to the vibrant network of innovators and investors driving global entrepreneurial success from our global community in more than 180 countries.”
“At IE Business School, we are leading the way in business education and entrepreneurship, equipping our students with an entrepreneurial mindset that shapes both their learning experience and their development as future-ready business leaders,” said David Suarez, Vice Dean at IE Business School.
Poolside, an AI coding unicorn led by IE alumni
Startups developed by IE University alumni shine around the world. Most recently, Poolside, an AI coding unicorn led by two IE alumni, Eiso Kant and Margarida Garcia alongside former GitHub CTO Jason Warner, has raised $626 million in a Series B funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from eBay Ventures and Nvidia, bringing its valuation to $3 billion.
Considered one of the most innovative universities in the world, IE University was founded in 1973 by and for entrepreneurs and has since been dedicated to fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Entrepreneurship is at the core of IE University and the institution’s commitment extends to promoting intrapreneurship, offering unwavering support to students and graduates in launching and nurturing startups on a global scale, and each student benefits from networking opportunities, personalized coaching and mentoring, guiding them in developing their projects and establishing their own startups. Consequently, 30% of IE alumni begin a startup at some point in their career.
IE University offers students a variety of opportunities to develop their start-up ideas and explore the process of innovation. IE University’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center, provides students with access to investors, mentors and a worldwide network of successful entrepreneurs with the knowledge and expertise to help turn ideas into reality. IE Business School’s in-house incubator, Area 31, is a dedicated workspace for startups created by IE alumni. A home to businesses at every stage of development, it provides an ecosystem where you can explore every aspect of entrepreneurship and innovation, benefitting from the skills and experience of real-world visionaries and disruptors.