Dutch cabinet puts €200m into European tech growth fund

The Dutch cabinet is investing €200 million in the second round of the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI 2.0), a fund that backs European tech companies as they grow. The round was announced in Luxembourg. Germany, Spain and the European Investment Bank (EIB) take part again, and Bulgaria, Greece and Luxembourg join as new investors.

Member states and the EIB are putting in about €1.8bn. The fund will in turn invest in private funds, which should have a minimum size of €600m, preferably more than €1bn. The aim is to bring more venture capital to Dutch startups that want to become scale-ups.

The cabinet contributed €100m to the first round (2023-2026). Seven Dutch startups have so far received €338m in financing through it. One of them is Leiden biotech company Azafaros, which develops treatments for rare neurological lysosomal storage disorders.

The first investments in scale-ups have so far delivered about 10% of the intended leverage of €17bn. The ministry says the full impact should become visible in the coming years because venture capital investment cycles are long.

If we want the Netherlands to be able to keep paying for our care, education and security in ten years, we badly need this new generation of innovative companies.Minister Heleen Herbert, Economic Affairs and Climate

Economic Affairs and Climate Minister Heleen Herbert said the first round succeeded in helping Dutch companies grow and that the aim is the same for the new one. She added that it also helps avoid unwanted technological dependencies.