The European Commission launched a new initiative called “Trusted Investors Network” on October 21 to support growth in Europe’s deep tech sector.
The Trusted Investors Network, backed by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, will bring together a group of investors committed to co-investing in innovative European companies.
According to the press release, the network, which consists of 71 investors (among them are Bpifrance, Atomico, and Sofinnova) with more than €90 billion (about $98 billion) in assets, will work closely with the EIC Fund to provide funding to deep tech startups, including those in the blockchain space.
Commissioner Iliana Ivanova emphasized the importance of this initiative in addressing the funding gap many tech companies face.
“With the launch of the Trusted Investors Network, we are making an important step forward in strengthening Europe’s innovation ecosystem and ensuring that our most promising companies have the capital and support they need to scale up,” Ivanova said.
Scaling European Startups
The EIC Fund has already invested nearly €1 billion (almost $1.1 billion) in over 250 startups, and the Trusted Investors Network aims to further boost these co-investments.
The network’s launch coincided with the inaugural EIC Scaling Summit, which brought together 120 startups with the potential to become European technology leaders.
72 of these companies joined the EIC Scaling Club, a program designed to support startups in their growth journey. The EIC seeks to scale 20% of these startups into unicorns, valued at over €1 billion. Collectively, the Scaling Club members have already raised over €73 million (around $79 billion), and additional funding rounds are expected in the near future.
EU Fosters Blockchain Innovation
The European Union is a strong supporter of blockchain technology through policy, legal, and financial initiatives. The new Trusted Investors Network will also foster startups using this decentralized technology.
In 2018, the EU invested in building the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI), a pan-European public blockchain infrastructure.
European policymakers are also funding blockchain research and innovation through grants and supporting investments through the Horizon program. From 2016 to 2020, the European Commission provided approximately €180 million (around $195 million) in grants through Horizon 2020.
Additionally, the EU actively engages with the blockchain community through partnerships such as the International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) and the European Blockchain Observatory and Forum.
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