EIB's €15B tech megafund draws Santander, BBVA, Altamar as first private backers

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has launched a €15 billion fund of funds to back European scaleups, with Spain's Santander, BBVA, and Altamar among its inaugural private investors. The three Spanish firms are together committing more than €500 million, according to Expansión.

The vehicle forms the second phase of the European Tech Champions initiative, building on a first fund launched in 2023 that has already deployed all of its €3.9 billion. This time the EIB has opened participation to private investors and expanded from six member states to all of the EU.

The initiative aims to help highly innovative European scaleups become global leaders by financing large venture funds rather than companies directly. "When companies need to grow and raise €500 million, they have to go to the other side of the Atlantic because Europe lacks this ecosystem of large venture capital funds," said EIB president Nadia Calviño .

The EIB is contributing €1.25 billion from its own balance sheet, alongside private backers including Danske Bank, Compagnia di San Paolo, and Green Arrow Capital. As a fund of funds, it targets megafunds of at least €1 billion, with a compartment for smaller funds of at least €300 million. At least two-thirds of the companies backed must be headquartered in the EU.

The second fund plans to raise average commitments per deal to €200 million, up from €60 million in the first edition, extending support to later growth stages. The EIB expects the effort to mobilise up to €80 billion in the coming years.

The move reflects Europe's push to close its innovation-financing gap with the US by seeding a homegrown market for large venture funds. "In just two years we have been able to nurture and anchor the creation of 15 megafunds in Europe of at least €1 billion," said Calviño, noting the effort has doubled the number of such funds on the continent.