EIB'S Bid to Scale Startup Innovation with €80bn Funding

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is preparing to invest up to €80bn (US$68bn) to build the continent’s next generation of tech giants.

To scale European innovation, it will work alongside all 27 EU countries and major private investors in a move that marks the launch of the second phase of the European Tech Champions Initiative, called ETCI 2.0.

Unveiled on 14 July 2026 in Brussels, Belgium, the fund aims to channel equity investments directly into highly innovative tech scaleups, giving scaleups the financial means to become global leaders without having to move operations to the US.

The first phase of the ETCI has already proven to be a success, supporting 15 funds across the continent and nurturing the development of 12 unicorns.

Nadia Calviño, Group President of EIB, says: “The partnership is all about scale and speed, powering European pioneers with the capital they need to grow. 

“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.”

Simon Harris, Finance Minister for the Government of Ireland, echoed the sentiment, noting the vital addition of new capital streams to the mix.

He says: “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.”

Investment strategy behind the technology billions

In order to ensure that the €80bn (US$68bn) investment actually reaches a promising software developer or green-tech engineering firm, ETCI 2.0 will act as a ‘fund of funds’, rather than writing cheques directly to individual startups.

The initiative has a target fundraising size of up to €15bn (US$17bn), which is roughly four times larger than its 2023 predecessor.

The EIB Group is directly investing up to €1.25bn (US$1.4bn) of that core capital, which will then be used to attract and mobilise up to €80bn (US$91.2bn) in total investments for more than 1,000 scaleups.

To distribute the cash, ETCI 2.0 will anchor the creation of more than 100 investment funds.

For the first time, this will include mid-sized growth funds to help companies at earlier stages of scaling.

It will also support up to 45 ‘mega-funds’, which will write the late-stage cheques averaging €200m (US$228m) that individual tech companies need to compete on the world stage.

To keep everything connected, the initiative is rolling out a pan-European investment platform.

Supported by a newly developed digital tool, this platform will act as an efficient pipeline.

It gives private investors direct market intelligence, ecosystem insights and a structured route into Europe’s most promising growth-stage tech companies.

The initiative is already drawing significant private firepower from major financial institutions.

These backers include Danske Bank, Banco Santander, BBVA, AltamarCAM and Italian asset managers Azimut Holding and Green Arrow Capital.