The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Personio co-founder & CEO Hanno Renner

January 29, 2026 at 10:32 AM UTC
EU-Startups
Original: EN
The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Personio co-founder & CEO Hanno Renner

The European tech landscape is increasingly shaped by homegrown success stories and evolving policy frameworks, as highlighted by the recent interview with Hanno Renner, co-founder and CEO of Personio. This discussion underscores the continent's ambition to foster independent tech champions capable of competing on a global scale, emphasizing the importance of nurturing companies that can navigate complex growth phases while adhering to European values. Personio, an all-in-one HR software platform for SMEs, exemplifies this trend, having scaled from near-failure to a multi-billion valuation. Serving over a million employees across Europe, the company's journey illustrates the potential for European startups to address specific market needs, such as comprehensive HR management, and achieve significant growth through substantial funding rounds totaling $724 million. The company's expansion across the employee lifecycle, from recruitment to people analytics, demonstrates a maturing digital infrastructure supporting business operations. The conversation with Renner also touches upon the critical "28th regime" and the broader concept of "EU Inc," signaling a concerted effort to create a more cohesive and supportive environment for European businesses. This focus on regulatory and structural support is vital for empowering European companies to emerge as global tech leaders, thereby contributing to Europe's digital sovereignty and reducing reliance on non-European alternatives. The implication is a strategic push towards cultivating a robust European digital ecosystem.

Curated and translated by Europe Digital for our multilingual European audience.

Source Information

Publication: EU-Startups
Published: January 29, 2026 at 10:32 AM UTC
All rights remain with the original publisher.