EU Picks Stockholm-Based EQT to Run Its Largest-Ever Scaleup Fund
The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected Swedish investment manager EQT as the preferred fund manager for the Scaleup Europe Fund. With a volume of five billion euros, the fund is the largest of its kind in Europe and is intended to help innovative technology companies grow on the continent rather than seeking capital abroad. This eliminates a number of prominent European competitors from the race, including London-based Atomico and French investor Eurazeo.
Why EQT was selected
EQT, headquartered in Stockholm, is one of Europe’s largest investment firms and has extensive experience in growth capital for technology companies. The EIC Fund Board justified the decision by citing the company’s institutional infrastructure, operational expertise, and pan-European presence. EQT is considered particularly well positioned to identify, execute, and actively support growth-stage investments.
The selection followed a public expression of interest process that ran from December 2025 to February 2026. Candidates were evaluated on their investment experience in the scaleup space, their ability to raise capital, and their willingness to manage the fund with a team based in the EU. This last point is likely to have been a decisive criterion for applicants headquartered outside the European Union.
Atomico and Eurazeo unsuccessful
According to consistent reports, the unsuccessful applicants include Atomico, the venture capital firm founded by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström and headquartered in London, as well as Eurazeo, one of France’s largest listed investment companies. Both firms are regarded as experienced investors in the European technology sector and had been considered candidates for the fund.
Atomico’s headquarters in the United Kingdom, which has no longer been part of the European Union since Brexit, may have played a role in the selection process. The requirement to manage the fund with a dedicated team within the EU presents a structural hurdle for applicants based outside the Union. Eurazeo, on the other hand, is based in Paris and therefore within the EU, but was unable to prevail against EQT.
Goals and structure of the fund
The Scaleup Europe Fund is a central element of the EU’s startup and scaleup strategy and is intended to close the so-called late-stage financing gap. European technology companies have so far frequently been forced to raise growth capital in the US or Asia, which is often accompanied by a relocation of the company’s headquarters. The fund is designed to counteract this.
Support will be provided to companies in strategic deep technology sectors:
- Artificial intelligence
- Quantum computing
- Dual-use technologies
- Clean energy
- Space technology
- Biotechnology and medical innovation
The fund is part of the existing EIC fund structure, but will be managed by a privately run fund manager in order to ensure independent, market-based investment decisions.
Strong founding investors
A coalition of prominent European investors was involved in developing the fund and also contributed to shaping its structure and investment framework. The potential founding investors include:
- Novo Holdings (Denmark)
- EIFO, the Danish Export and Investment Fund
- CriteriaCaixa (Spain)
- Santander / Mouro Capital (Spain)
- Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Intesa Sanpaolo and Fondazione Cariplo (Italy)
- ABP, the Dutch pension fund, managed by APG
- Allianz (Germany)
This group represents long-term European capital from several member states. In addition, further investors have signalled their interest. A second fundraising round is planned for the second half of 2026.
Timeline and next steps
EQT and the EIC Fund will now finalise the foundational legal agreements on structure, governance, and the investment framework. The formal commitments from the founding investors are currently undergoing internal due diligence and approval processes, which are expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
The Scaleup Europe Fund and its fund manager will be presented at the EIC Summit on 3 June 2026. The first investments are planned for autumn 2026.
With the Scaleup Europe Fund, the European Union is making one of its most ambitious attempts to date to slow the outflow of technology talent and growth companies to other regions of the world. The decision in favour of EQT as fund manager places its trust in an actor with strong European roots and proven experience in the growth segment.
