The EIB Group, together with EU27 governments and private institutional investors, launch second phase of the European Tech Champions Initiative. Building on the success of the first phase, the initiative will create a pan-European investment platform to turn EU tech pioneers into global leaders. AltamarCAM, Azimut Holding, Banco Santander, BBVA, Compagnia di San Paolo, Danske Bank, Green Arrow Capital among the institutional investors committing to support. ETCI 2.0 will be four times bigger in size than predecessor, tripling the number of mega-funds anchored and expand its scope to invest into mid-sized growth funds. Hungary will also join the European investment alliance.
More money for fast-growing innovative European tech firms
Europe is expanding its flagship initiative to support tech champions, as the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, and major institutional investors and asset managers together with the support of the governments of all 27 EU countries are teaming up to mobilise up to €80 billion for investment into highly innovative companies scaling up to become global leaders.
The parties met in Brussels, in the margins of the ECOFIN meeting of EU finance ministers, to give their backing for the second phase of the European Tech Champions Initiative, or ETCI 2.0. The Initiative aims to channel financing in the form of equity investments to tech scaleups through a stronger pan-European investment alliance.
The first phase of the ETCI has already supported 15 mega-funds actively investing in European startups seeking to scale up and nurtured the development of 12 EU-based “unicorns” (scaleups valued at more than €1 billion).
Building on this success story, the second phase of the initiative will significantly grow in both size and scope, with potential support from all EU27 countries and the active participation of private and institutional investors.
“The partnership launched today is all about scale and speed, powering European pioneers with the capital they need to grow,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “This is a decisive step to address the funding gap for scale ups, making sure that ideas, technologies and innovative firms born in Europe can stay and thrive in Europe.”
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Irish Finance Minister Simon Harris said, in the context of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union: “Ireland supports the launch of the European Tech Champions Initiative 2.0, which marks an important step in closing Europe’s scale-up financing gap. The inclusion of mid-sized funds to ensure scale-up needs at all stages can be met and the involvement of institutional investors to mobilise private capital at scale are crucial developments, further aligning the initiative with Europe’s competitiveness agenda.”
The private investors joining the initiative include Danske Bank from Denmark, Spain-based AltamarCAM, Banco Santander, and BBVA, Italian asset managers Azimut Holding, Green Arrow Capital and foundation Compagnia di San Paolo, with more joining at later stage.
“The ETCI 2.0 was designed to support promising and fast-growing enterprises in becoming global champions while remaining rooted in Europe,” said András Kármán, Hungary’s Minister of Finance. “For Hungary, this is of particular importance: it has the potential to strengthen the national economy, generate higher value-added and better-quality jobs over the long term, and deliver increased fiscal revenues, while also enhancing Europe’s overall competitiveness.
Investment targets
ETCI 2.0 has a target fundraising size of up to €15 billion – around four times bigger than the original fund of funds, launched in 2023. It will then seek to mobilise total investments of up to €80 billion for more than 1,500 scaleups in Europe.
The size of ETCI 2.0 will be determined in the second half of 2026 when contributions from all participating parties are finalised in what is known as a “first closing”. The EIB Group will invest up to €1.25 billion into the fund.
ETCI 2.0 will support European mega-funds and, for the first time, mid-sized growth funds of more than €300 million. It is expected to anchor the creation more than 100 funds in total, including up to 45 mega-funds that will invest into scaleups with average ticket sizes of €200 million for each individual company.
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It will also establish a pan-European investment platform that provides a pipeline of European tech funds, enhancing private investors’ awareness of opportunities, market intelligence, and ecosystem insights. A digital tool is made available to support the Investment Platform in facilitating investor engagement.
In doing so, ETCI 2.0 will expand access to late-stage capital across Europe, strengthen links between national and European investment initiatives and give long-term investors a structured route into Europe’s most promising growth-stage tech companies.
It will work in tandem with and complement various national and European initiatives to ensure that tech champions receive maximum support and remain anchored in Europe, including the French “Tibi” initiative, the German one known as “WIN”, and the Scaleup Europe Fund, contributing to a more federated European investment ecosystem.
By mobilising public and private capital across borders, ETCI 2.0 will contribute to deeper, more integrated and more efficient European capital markets. That in turn will advance the EU’s Savings and Investment Union, and reinforce European strategic autonomy, innovation and productivity growth.
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