“Europe Could Be the New China of Services”: Revolut’s Antoine Le Nel on How the Region Can Scale Big

Europe has the ingredients to build global tech giants: talent, regulation, and cost advantage. But lacks the confidence to match. Antoine Le Nel, Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at Revolut, believes the next wave of breakout companies can come from Europe, if founders embrace ambition, equity, and scalable platforms from day one.

For Antoine Le Nel, Europe’s future as a global tech leader isn’t a question of possibility, it’s a question of belief. “You do not join Revolut for its benefits. You join because you believe in the mission.”

As Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at one of Europe’s most valuable private tech companies, Le Nel has helped drive Revolut’s expansion to over 35 countries and a $45 billion valuation. But its trajectory, he insists, wasn’t inevitable and was instead engineered from first principles: product-led growth, equity-driven culture, and an ambition to scale from day one.

“Our ambition is to be bigger than JP Morgan,” he says. “How many companies in Europe even think that way?”

Think global from the start

Revolut’s early strategy didn’t rely on hyperlocal wins. It was about building a platform that could scale and do it quickly, consistently, and across borders.

“From day zero, we built a platform that was scalable, geographically and across product lines,” Le Nel says. “We didn’t obsess over localising for every single market. We focused on building something strong enough to win.”

That mindset gave Revolut a head start in international expansion. Rather than designing unique offerings for each market, the company believed in the strength of its product and user experience, and the results followed.

“Apple didn’t change the product for Japan. They just won the market,” he says. “We took the same approach. For example, we charged users for a physical card. Everyone told us it wouldn’t work and we’ve now sold over 50 million.”

Turning Europe’s complexity into competitive edge

It’s no secret that scaling in Europe is more complex than in the US. But Le Nel doesn’t view that as a reason to limit ambition, instead, he sees it as a structural advantage for companies that build with resilience.

“The biggest hurdle is the size of the domestic market,” he says. “Europe is not a domestic market. But that also means the companies that do scale here are stronger, faster, and more battle-tested.”

Crucially, Le Nel believes Europe’s regulatory infrastructure — often cited as a barrier — can be a great enabler. “Revolut would not be Revolut without Europe’s regulation,” he says. “The EU passporting system let us serve the entire EEA with a single banking licence. That’s not possible anywhere else in the world.”

He also credits Europe with enabling global hiring and access to exceptional talent at a fraction of US costs. “Especially in the Baltics, Spain, Germany, and France — the calibre is outstanding.”

“Europe could become the new China of services,” Le Nel says. “If I were a US company, I’d outsource my dev and marketing to Europe. You’d pay a lot less — and get brilliant work.”

An equity-first mindset

Inside Revolut, Le Nel says the emphasis on ownership — not comfort — has created a powerful engine for performance and entrepreneurship.

“Everyone at Revolut has shares in the company,” he says. “That’s how we drive long-term ownership. In Europe, people still care too much about their base salary. But the shift is happening.”

He believes more European startups should follow suit — and candidates should rethink how they evaluate opportunity. “The biggest problem isn’t what startups are offering — it’s what candidates are accepting. In the US, people know: your base pays your rent. Your equity builds your wealth.”

That culture is what’s helped Revolut become a “founder factory” — building future entrepreneurs, not just retaining employees. “We don’t create roles to keep people happy. If someone leaves to start a company, that’s a success. That’s the ecosystem working.”

Europe’s moment — if we take it

So how does Europe realise its full potential?

For Le Nel, it starts with ambition — and the belief that the region can produce not just good companies, but the best ones.

“We’ve built a $45bn company that’s 90% based in Europe,” he says. “That’s quite unique. It proves that if you build an exceptional product and move fast, you can win here.”

He also calls for smarter capital strategies: pitching European opportunities to US investors as undervalued and undercrowded, and investing more in second-time founders and scale-up infrastructure.

“Europe has better products and better economics,” he says. “We just need to make the case.”

In his view, the time is right. Talent costs are low. Regulation is increasingly enabling. And the hunger from a new wave of founders is rising.

“Isolated entrepreneurs are rarely successful,” he adds. “You need to be part of an ecosystem. You need to see what ‘good’ looks like. And you need to stop settling.”

With companies like Revolut showing what’s possible, that ecosystem — and that ambition — may finally be taking root.