EQT announced it has been selected by the European Commission and a coalition of founding investors across Europe as the preferred investment adviser and fund manager for the Scaleup Europe Fund, a new initiative designed to help European technology companies scale globally while maintaining their European roots.
The Scaleup Europe Fund is targeting €5 billion and will invest in technology scaleups across the European Union and associated countries. The fund will focus on sectors including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, dual-use technologies, clean energy, space technology, biotech, and medical innovation.
According to EQT, the fund is intended to address Europe’s scaleup funding gap as part of the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy. The investment strategy will target privately owned European technology companies from Series B onward across digital systems, industrial systems, and life sciences.
EQT said it will commit significant capital of its own to the fund. The firm currently manages approximately €269 billion in total assets and said the new mandate builds on its long-term investments in European technology through its Ventures, Growth, and Life Sciences platforms.
The proposed leadership structure for the fund includes EQT Partners Ted Persson and Victor Englesson serving as Co-Heads of the Scaleup Europe Fund Advisory Team, while Christian Sinding is proposed as Chair of the Investment Committee.
The investment platform will leverage EQT’s broader capabilities, including its Motherbrain AI-driven sourcing and portfolio intelligence platform, corporate partnership frameworks, and network of industrial advisors.
Founding investors in the initiative include Novo Holdings, EIFO, CriteriaCaixa, Santander/Mouro Capital, Fondazione Compagnia San Paolo, Intesa Sanpaolo, Fondazione Cariplo, APG Asset Management on behalf of Dutch pension fund ABP, and Allianz.
EQT and the founding investors are now expected to complete the remaining structuring, documentation, and regulatory processes ahead of the formal launch of the fund.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are proud to have been given the opportunity to lead the Scaleup Europe Fund and clear on the responsibility that comes with it. This is a significant milestone for Europe at a critical moment. Europe has proven its ability to create successful early-stage technology companies, the challenge is now to scale those businesses into becoming global leaders while maintaining their European roots.
For more than a decade we have built EQT’s early-stage platform – through the launch of the Ventures and Growth strategies and the acquisition of leading European life sciences investor LSP – to help European technology and life sciences startups reach their full potential. The Scaleup Europe Fund is the latest step in this journey. Now we look forward to engaging with the entire European tech ecosystem to drive a better future for all.”
Per Franzén, CEO and Managing Partner, EQT
“Europe’s competitiveness hinges on scaling our own innovation, in our own strategic sectors, with our own capital. The Scaleup Europe Fund is our bold step forward, where we unite public and private capital behind a shared vision for European leadership. With the newly selected fund manager and a coalition of Europe’s most respected long-term investors, this is proof of what Europe can achieve when we align our resources.”
Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, European Commission
“Realizing the Scaleup Europe Fund’s full potential will require partnership across the ecosystem. We invite investors, corporates, policymakers and institutions to join us on this journey to make the fund truly transformational for all of Europe. Our ambition is for the Scaleup Europe Fund to be more than capital, we want it to be a catalyst for the wider ecosystem, driving corporate partnerships, strengthening talent networks and fostering further public-private collaboration.”
Ted Persson, Partner, EQT
“The Scaleup Europe Fund will partner with the most ambitious founders in Europe who are building global champions within a range of different strategic technologies. It’s critical for Europe’s long term competitiveness that these founders are successful and we will leverage all our global resources to help them win. The Scaleup Europe Fund complements EQT’s existing platform and long-term approach to supporting companies with the capital, capabilities and ecosystem connections needed to scale globally.”
Victor Englesson, Partner, EQT
