The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, backed by all 27 EU member states and a growing roster of private investors, is preparing to mobilise up to €80bn (US$68bn) to grow Europe's most promising tech scaleups into global champions — without pushing them to relocate to the US.
A Second, Bigger Push for European Tech
The initiative, unveiled in Brussels, marks the launch of ETCI 2.0 — the second phase of the European Tech Champions Initiative. It's designed to channel equity investment directly into highly innovative tech scaleups, giving them the capital firepower to become global leaders while staying rooted in Europe.
The first phase of ETCI already delivered results, backing 15 funds across the continent and helping nurture 12 unicorns — privately held startups valued above US$1bn. ETCI 2.0 is designed to build directly on that foundation, but at a much larger scale.
"This is a decisive step to address the funding gap for scale ups."— Nadia Calviño, Group President, EIB
The Strategy Behind the Billions
Rather than writing checks directly to individual startups, ETCI 2.0 operates as a "fund of funds." The core initiative is targeting fundraising of up to €15bn (US$17bn) — roughly four times the size of its 2023 predecessor — with the EIB Group itself directly investing up to €1.25bn (US$1.4bn).
That core capital is then meant to attract and mobilise up to €80bn (US$91.2bn) in total investment, targeting more than 1,500 scaleups across the continent. To distribute the money, ETCI 2.0 will anchor over 100 investment funds, including — for the first time — mid-sized growth funds aimed at companies earlier in their scaling journey.
Up to 45 of these will be "mega-funds," writing late-stage checks averaging around €200m (US$228m) per company — the scale of capital needed for European firms to compete globally. A newly built pan-European investment platform will also give private investors direct market intelligence and a structured route into the region's fastest-growing tech companies.