The European Commission has confirmed that the Scaleup Europe Fund is now fully operational, with its first backing going to ICEYE, a Finnish satellite intelligence company valued at more than $11 billion. The fund is a public-private vehicle designed to keep promising European deep-tech companies from having to seek late-stage funding, and thus relocate, abroad, and its launch reflects Brussels' concern that Europe risks losing scaleups it has successfully nurtured at the earlier stages. This first deal, in which the fund co-led ICEYE's Series F round, is intended to be the first of many as it puts capital to work in the coming weeks.

The fund plans to invest €5 billion (about $5.7 billion) into growth-stage companies based in the EU or partner countries, across sectors including deep tech, life sciences, clean tech, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies. It is managed by Swedish asset manager EQT, chosen ahead of rivals including Eurazeo, Northzone, Vitruvian Partners and Atomico, and its first closing was anchored by a €1 billion Commission investment alongside "founding investors" such as Allianz, APG, CriteriaCaixa, Mouro Capital and several Italian and Danish institutions. The total amount raised so far is unclear, but fundraising is expected to continue into 2027 with a further closing planned.