Incoming EIF Chief Says Tech Champions Funds Hold 15 Unicorns

Jean-Christophe Laloux, director of lending and advisory operations at the European Investment Bank, spoke at the Wave by Vento conference in Turin on October 9. Starting January 1, 2027, he will take the helm of the European Investment Fund — the venture arm of the EIB Group. At the conference, Laloux laid out the core problem facing European venture capital and the path to solving it.

Sovereignty Through Scaling

The bottleneck in European venture capital shifted long ago from early innovation to scaling. As Laloux put it: "It's not enough to innovate in Europe. You need to be able to scale in Europe. That's genuinely important for the concept of sovereignty."

By sovereignty, he doesn't mean protectionism or isolationism, but rather offering European alternatives in areas critical to the continent: critical raw materials, cybersecurity, and defense.

The real problem lies in financing growth-stage companies at Series B and Series C. To address this, the European Tech Champions Initiative was created — a fund-of-funds with nearly €4 billion in capital, backed by six EU member states and the EIB Group. The initiative invests in venture funds of around €1 billion each, enabling them to write bigger checks and helping companies grow without having to relocate to the US.

The Results: 12 Funds and 15 Unicorns

The initiative has backed 12 venture funds — nearly three times the number of €1 billion venture funds that existed in Europe five years ago. Those 12 funds already hold 15 European unicorns in their portfolios.

Italy, an active participant in the initiative, has committed €150 million. Funds it finances have invested nearly €600 million in seven Italian companies, three of which work with international partners. According to Laloux, this shows that foreign investors see real potential in Italy's venture ecosystem.

The EIB Group is also expanding venture debt — special loans for startups that don't require repayment for at least five years. Instead of charging high interest rates, the lender receives warrants or other reward mechanisms tied to the company's success.

A November Expansion and EIF's Four Priorities

The second version of the European Tech Champions Initiative will be announced in November. It will support not only €1 billion-scale funds but also mid-sized funds ranging from €300 million to €500 million, since capitalization standards vary across Europe's different venture ecosystems. The new version will also include a platform for institutional and private investors, allowing them to co-invest alongside the funds the initiative backs.

Deep tech in Europe is growing faster than any other part of the economy. Valuations have risen from €1 trillion five years ago to €4 trillion today. The main growth areas are climate tech, security and defense, space technology, and biotech. Among the standout funding success stories is Isar Aerospace, whose Spectrum rocket launched from Norway. Security and defense, in particular, saw the biggest jump in capital and valuations over the past year.

The EIF will focus on four priority areas where Europe maintains leadership:

• Artificial intelligence • Healthcare and biotech • Security and defense • Clean technology (cleantech)

Laloux dwelt on AI specifically: Europe can't afford to be left out of this market, because AI substantially boosts productivity. But a middle ground is needed — neither a total absence of regulation nor rules that stifle growth. The EIB Group has already allocated €3 billion to support EU AI gigafactories, one of its key investment priorities for the current period.