The European Investment Bank (EIB) put €260 million into French tech fund Jolt Capital V to help European deep technology companies grow big enough to compete with American and Chinese rivals, according to EIB announcement. The money comes through the European Tech Champions Initiative, which backs funds that invest in late-stage tech companies across Europe.
Jolt Capital focuses on deep technology—things like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, semiconductors, and advanced materials that take years to develop but can change entire industries. The fund aims to raise €1 billion total, which would make it one of Europe’s biggest deep tech investment vehicles. EIB officials signed the deal as anchor investors, meaning their commitment should attract other institutional investors.
Europe has struggled to create tech giants that can match Silicon Valley companies or Chinese firms backed by massive government investment. Many promising European startups end up selling to American buyers or moving operations overseas because they can’t find enough capital to scale up at home. The European Tech Champions Initiative was created to fix this problem by giving big funds the initial backing they need to raise serious money.
“This investment will facilitate the scaling of companies with groundbreaking technologies, in strategic fields such as semiconductors, cybersecurity, AI and industry 4.0,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. Jolt Capital has been investing in European deep tech for over 10 years and has a track record of selling companies to European buyers rather than losing them to foreign acquirers. The fund targets sectors that could reduce Europe’s dependence on American and Asian technology suppliers.
The European Tech Champions Initiative has now committed over €2.5 billion across 11 different funds, which should mobilize about €10 billion total for European tech companies. The program covers everything from biotech to financial technology, but deep tech gets special attention because these companies often need more money and time to reach profitability than software startups.
Jolt Capital’s managing partner Jean Schmitt called the EIB backing “major recognition” of the fund’s potential to build large tech companies in Europe while delivering both financial returns and positive environmental impact.
