Europe is pooling billions to turn biotech companies into global champions
EQT will manage the €5 billion fund, investing in biotech, AI and other key technologies
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EQT has been selected by the European Commission and fellow founding investors from across Europe as the preferred investment adviser and fund manager for the Scaleup Europe Fund. The Fund is a new initiative launched under the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy to bridge Europe's scaleup funding gap. The Fund will invest across the EU and associated countries in Europe's most promising technology companies, in sectors spanning artificial intelligence, quantum computing, dual use technologies, clean energy, space technology, biotech and medical innovation.
“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,” said Per Franzén, CEO and Managing Partner at EQT.
He added: “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.”
Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation at the European Commission, said: “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.”
EQT Partners Ted Persson and Victor Englesson are proposed as Co-Heads of the Scaleup Europe Fund Advisory Team, with Christian Sinding, Institutional Partner at EQT, proposed as Chair of the Investment Committee. The strategy will focus on privately-owned European technology companies from Series B onward, drawing on EQT's broader platform, including Motherbrain for AI-driven sourcing and portfolio intelligence, a structured framework for activating corporate offtake partnerships, and EQT's network of industrial advisors.
Ted Persson, Partner at EQT and proposed Co-Head of the Scaleup Europe Fund Advisory Team, said: “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.”
“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”, added Victor Englesson, Partner at EQT and proposed Co-Head of the Scaleup Europe Fund Advisory Team. “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."
The Scaleup Europe Fund is designed on commercial terms, with market-standard governance and the appropriate independence to make decisions on commercial merit. The target fund size of the Scaleup Europe Fund has been set at €5 billion. The actual fund size is dependent on the outcome of the fundraising process and may be higher or lower than the target size; the hard cap of the fund will be set at a later date. EQT will make a significant commitment of its own capital to the Fund.
Alongside the European Commission, the group of founding investors in the Fund include Novo Holdings, EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark), CriteriaCaixa, Santander/Mouro Capital, Fondazione Compagnia San Paolo / Intesa Sanpaolo / Fondazione Cariplo, APG Asset Management (acting on behalf of Dutch pension fund ABP), and Allianz. Having concluded the competitive manager selection process, EQT and the founding investors will finalize the remaining documentation, structuring and regulatory steps required ahead of the formal launch of the fund.
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