European Commission joins investors to launch multi-billion-euro Scaleup Europe Fund

The European Commission has announced plans to create the Scaleup Europe Fund, a multi-billion-euro investment vehicle designed to strengthen Europe’s ability to scale its most innovative technology companies and close the growth-capital gap with global competitors.

The fund will be established in partnership with leading private investors and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, marking a significant step in the EU’s Startup and Scaleup Strategy to build a more dynamic and competitive innovation ecosystem across the continent.

“Europe has the ideas and the talent to build the most innovative companies in the world,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “But as they scale up we need to ensure they have the means to grow, attract investment, and thrive right here at home. High-quality jobs and Europe’s overall competitiveness depend on it. The Scaleup Europe Fund is an essential part of our work to make sure the best of Europe can choose Europe.”

The initiative responds to one of the most persistent structural weaknesses in Europe’s innovation landscape: the shortage of late-stage capital for promising startups. Despite a strong pipeline of emerging companies, Europe has long struggled to provide the scale-up financing available in markets such as the US or China. Limited access to growth funding and fragmented investment markets have often forced European founders to relocate or seek overseas investors.

At a high-level meeting hosted by Ekaterina Zaharieva, the EU’s Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, the Commission and a group of major private investors reaffirmed their intention to collaborate on the creation of the fund.

“We are joining forces with leading private investors to build a multi-billion-euro fund that will invest in the best European companies in strategic deep tech,” Zaharieva said. “We will ensure that companies can find the capital they need, right here in Europe, to drive European innovation and reinforce our continent’s position as a global leader in the industries that will shape our future.”

The potential founding investors include Novo Holdings, EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark), CriteriaCaixa, Santander/Mouro Capital, Fondazione Compagnia San Paolo and Intesa Sanpaolo, Fondazione Cariplo, APG Asset Management (on behalf of Dutch pension fund ABP), Wallenberg Investments, and Poland’s BGK (Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego).

Together with the Commission and the EIB Group, these partners will establish and capitalize the fund, which will focus on growth-stage and late-stage investments in strategically important technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, robotics and autonomous systems, clean energy, space, biotechnology, medical technologies, advanced materials, and agritech.

The Scaleup Europe Fund will operate as a market-based, privately managed, and co-financed growth fund, investing in major European-led funding rounds. The Commission said a public call for proposals to select a management company will be published soon, with the first investments expected to begin in spring 2026.

The move follows the recommendations of former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s report on European competitiveness, which highlighted the urgent need to expand the continent’s capacity to scale innovative businesses. The report identified the lack of deep-capital pools as a key obstacle preventing European startups from evolving into global leaders.

Von der Leyen first announced the Scaleup Europe Fund in her 2025 State of the Union Address as a flagship measure to help ensure “the best of Europe choose Europe.” The initiative complements the European Innovation Act and the EU’s broader competitiveness agenda, which aim to bolster technological sovereignty, create high-quality jobs, and strengthen Europe’s position in strategic industries.

The Commission expects the new fund to act as a catalyst for Europe’s late-stage investment market, encouraging further private participation and improving access to capital for deep-tech entrepreneurs. If successful, it could help reverse the long-standing trend of promising European companies seeking funding and growth opportunities abroad.