European Investment Bank to back EU tech start-ups with billions

Luxembourg (dpa) – The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, the financial arm of the European Union, plans to invest tens of billions of euros in innovative and high-growth young tech companies to keep them in Europe.

By 2027, 70 billion Euro will be made available for start-ups and scale-up firms – which are companies in the post-start-up phase that are experiencing rapid growth and establishing a functioning business model.

The EIB’s programme, named TechEU, is set to be launched on Friday at a meeting in Luxembourg by the bank’s Board of Governors, which comprises ministers designated by each of the 27 EU member states.

The bank wants private and public investors to participate in projects through this package. According to their estimates, a total of 250 billion Euro could be mobilised for the European tech sector.

The programme is intended to support companies active in areas such as clean technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), health, security and defence technologies, digital infrastructure and critical raw materials.

In a statement, the EIB said the programme’s goal is to keep tech companies that started in Europe on the continent. The bank will be financing research projects and companies from the idea stage to their stock market debut.

Against the backdrop of tough competition from major US companies like Meta and Alphabet-owned Google, Brussels is working to retain start-ups and scale-ups deemed essential for Europe’s future.

The European Commission recently presented a strategy to simplify regulations in areas such as insolvency, labour and tax law. (June 20)