Dutch pension giant ABP is among a select group of leading European investors working with the European Commission to establish the Scaleup Europe Fund, a new, multi-billion-euro growth vehicle designed to back Europe’s most promising deep-tech companies.

The Commission today confirmed that the fund, first announced by President, Ursula von der Leyen, in her 2025 State of the Union address, will be launched in Spring 2026 as part of the EU’s Startup and Scaleup Strategy.

The initiative aims to close Europe’s long-recognised “scale-up gap” by providing late-stage capital to help innovative firms grow into global leaders in fields such as AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, energy and climate technologies, space, and biotechnology.

Alongside the Commission and the European Investment Bank Group, ABP - via its asset manager APG - joins investors including Novo Holdings, EIFO, CriteriaCaixa, Santander/Mouro Capital, Fondazione Compagnia San Paolo/Intesa Sanpaolo/Fondazione Cariplo, Wallenberg Investments and BGK (Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego) as potential founding backers of the fund.

Commenting on the announcement, ABP confirmed it was open ‘in principle’ to investing in the initiative, noting the importance of supporting European innovation and technological competitiveness.

“To keep Europe strong and prosperous, companies must continue to innovate and grow,” the pension fund said.

“This requires funding. With investments in promising growth companies, we can help further develop important technologies for Europe”.

However, ABP emphasised that any commitment would depend on a detailed assessment of returns, risks, costs and sustainability, adding that such growth investments typically offered high potential returns with higher risk and would represent only a small share of its overall portfolio.

ABP also underlined its preference for investing “close to home”, saying it aimed to strengthen the Dutch and broader European economy while generating stable, long-term pensions for members, in line with its broader approach through initiatives such as the ABP Netherlands Energy Transition and Biodiversity Fund (ANEB).

Announcing the launch of the fund, Von der Leyen stressed that it was “an essential part of our work to make sure the best of Europe can choose Europe."

“Europe has the ideas and the talent to build the most innovative companies in the world, but as they scale up, we need to ensure they have the means to grow, attract investment and thrive right here at home,” she added.

The fund will be market-based, privately managed and co-financed by its founding investors, focusing on large European-led funding rounds.

The Commission plans to select a management company through a public tender in the coming months.

The launch follows recommendations in the Draghi report on European competitiveness, which called for stronger EU-level instruments to channel capital into strategic technologies.

By pooling institutional investors and public resources, the Commission hopes the fund will act as a cornerstone for Europe’s next generation of tech champions.

Commissioner for startups, research and innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, who hosted today’s high-level investor meeting, said the initiative marked “a new stage of partnership between public and private capital to unlock Europe’s innovation potential and strengthen its technological sovereignty.”

The Scaleup Europe Fund’s first investments are expected in the Spring of 2026.

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