Reports already place the fund behind Germany’s The Exploration Company and the Paris-based Mistral AI.

Europe is ready to back deep-tech businesses in the bloc with a new funding mechanism aimed at helping the region catch up with US and China.

The Commission said on Tuesday (4 August) that its $5bn Scaleup Europe Fund has passed its final legal hurdles and is ready to start operating at full capacity.

The multibillion-euro fund was initially announced back in October 2025, and is designed to build on the ‘choose Europe to start and scale’ strategy launched earlier that year.

It’s the largest fund of its kind ever launched in Europe and is expected to direct growth capital at high-potential companies across a range of strategic sectors, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, clean energy, space technology, biotech and medical innovation. With an initial goal of €5bn, the Commission eventually hopes to raise €25bn for the scale-up fund.

The bloc tapped Stockholm-headquartered EQT to manage the fund earlier this year. EU’s investment into the fund is backed by Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research and development programme headed by the EU with more than €90bn in allocated funding till 2027.

Recent reports have already placed Scaleup Europe Fund behind the Bavarian space-tech The Exploration Company in an upcoming $300m funding round. It is also reportedly expected to back the Paris-based Mistral AI in its upcoming raise.

The fund comes as EU companies face “significant challenges” accessing the capital for growth in the bloc, often leading them to search for funding elsewhere or move bases away from Europe altogether.

Last July, an Irish Government report found that scale-up enterprises in the country face a €1.1bn gap in equity financing over the next three to five years.

“When Europe invests in its innovators, Europe invests in its future,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“This is the goal of our Scaleup Europe Fund. From today, it will ensure our scaleups can find what they need right here in Europe to grow into world-leading companies. To turn European innovation into our competitive edge.”

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