EU and EIB Launch Investor Pact to Help European Tech Firms Compete on Global Stage

Thirteen institutional investors have expressed their intention to invest in Europe’s innovation and scale-up ecosystem, including through the €15 billion European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) 2.0 and the €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund.

Europe's promising technology companies need more than strong ideas to become global businesses; they need investors willing to support the expensive stages of expansion. The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group have launched the European Institutional Investors Pact (EIIP) at the TechEU Equity Summit, creating a voluntary framework to connect long-term institutional capital with European businesses ready to grow.

Thirteen institutional investors have expressed their intention to invest in Europe's innovation and scale-up ecosystem, including through the €15 billion European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) 2.0 and the €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund. Their interest represents an early step towards bringing more capital into growing technology businesses, with the announcement describing investment intentions rather than completed commitments from those investors.

Giving European Innovators Room to Grow

Developed jointly by the Commission and the EIB Group under the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, the pact addresses a funding problem that can become particularly difficult when young companies move beyond their early development. Businesses with promising technologies need substantial financing to expand operations and compete internationally, and access to that money can influence whether they continue growing within Europe.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe already has the talent, ideas and ambition needed to produce leading companies, with the challenge being to help those businesses develop into sources of industrial and economic strength. Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva highlighted insufficient late-stage capital as a missing ingredient for many firms, describing the pact as a way to connect Europe's long-term investors with innovators who need financing to expand and remain in the region.

Two Routes to Bring Investors Closer

The pact combines a Policy Dialogue Forum led by the Commission with an Investment Platform led by the EIB Group. The forum will give institutional investors a place to discuss regulatory developments and EU investment policies, creating regular exchanges between those shaping the investment environment and organisations considering where to put their capital.

The Investment Platform will help investors explore European venture capital and growth equity opportunities through shared investment pipelines, market intelligence, exchanges with other investors and insights into the wider innovation ecosystem. Its development will involve close cooperation with Member States and alignment with relevant national initiatives, helping investors engage with opportunities and understand potential exit pathways. EIB Group President Nadia Calviño described the broader ambition as providing a single, credible entry point into innovation financing, supported by cooperation between public institutions and private investors.

Turning Investor Interest Into Lasting Investment

The 13 participants have indicated interest in large EU-based funds that support European technology companies at later stages of development. Potential investment routes include ETCI 2.0, the Scaleup Europe Fund, European Investment Fund-backed funds supported under InvestEU, and other strategies focused on venture and growth capital during the scale-up phase. The framework seeks to make participation in these funds easier for institutional investors such as banks, pension funds and insurance companies.

EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer said cooperation among investors, EU institutions and Member States could help deepen Europe's venture and growth capital markets. European Investment Fund Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt described the initial investor interest as a sign of growing momentum, with the Investment Platform expected to help turn that interest into sustained investment activity. The pact forms part of Europe's wider competitiveness effort, connecting the financing needs of expanding businesses with institutions capable of providing long-term support.