EQT

EQT, the Stockholm-headquartered investment group, was named by the European Innovation Council as manager of the EU's new EUR5bn Scaleup Europe Fund following a competitive process that closed in February 2026. In parallel, EQT is reported to be pursuing a further stake in CuspAI, the Cambridge AI materials-discovery firm, ahead of a valuation marker above GBP2bn.

EQT is one of Europe's largest private capital groups, active across private equity, infrastructure, real estate and venture capital, and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2019. It was selected as the Scaleup Europe Fund's preferred investment adviser ahead of rival bidders, chosen for its European anchoring, growth-technology track record and ability to draw in additional private capital. The fund is capitalised at roughly EUR5bn, with about EUR2.5bn already committed: EUR1bn from the European Innovation Council and EUR1.5bn from limited partners including Novo Holdings, Allianz, APG, CriteriaCaixa, Santander and the Wallenberg family, alongside EQT's own commitment.

The mandate makes EQT a central actor in Europe's push to keep growth-stage deep-tech capital onshore, with first investments due in autumn 2026 across roughly 30 to 40 companies in artificial intelligence, quantum technology, robotics, energy, space, biotech, medtech and agritech. Its advanced talks over a further CuspAI stake illustrate the dynamic directly: a freshly mandated EU sovereign vehicle competing for the same UK-originated AI winner that Britain's own state-backed investors have struggled to back at scale.