Major institutional investors and seven EU countries are joining the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group to channel more than €10 billion into equity investments for European “scale-ups” — fast-growing companies that have moved beyond the start-up stage.
The move builds on the European Tech Champions Initiative, launched in 2023 with six EU member states, and was announced on the sidelines of Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings in Brussels, the EIB noted in a statement on Monday.
Fourteen institutional investors have declared an intention to channel more than €8 billion into Europe’s innovation and scale-up ecosystem, including ABN AMRO, APG, Banco Santander and BBVA.
Seven member states — Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain — are committing around €2 billion for the first closing of the initiative’s “fund-of-funds.”
First investment decisions are expected within weeks, according to the EIB Group.
Separate €100m commitment for defence, space and cybersecurity
The European Commission is committing €100 million to the EIB Group’s Defence Equity Facility, a fund that invests in companies working in areas such as defence technology, space and cybersecurity.
The Commission’s €100 million commitment adds to confirmed commitments from the EIB Group and several member states, including Lithuania and Bulgaria.
The facility builds on a €175 million Defence Equity Facility launched in 2024 under InvestEU — an EU programme designed to support investment — and the pilot facility is now almost fully invested.
An annual Investment Survey published by the EIB Group said EU firms’ adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence matches US levels, based on a sample of 13,000 companies polled in Europe and the United States.
