EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy

What the Commission is doing

The Commission has put startups, research and innovation among the key priorities of its mandate to close the innovation divide between the EU and its global competitors and strengthen the Union’s long-term competitiveness, prosperity and technological sovereignty.

The EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy proposes a comprehensive set of actions to make the EU the best place in the world to launch and grow technology-driven innovative companies.

It supports startups throughout their lifecycle - from launch to growth to maturity - helping innovators, founders and investors to Choose Europe.

10 Strategy actions have already been delivered, while 16 actions are launched and ongoing.

Most actions will have been delivered by the end of 2026, with a few due in 2027.

State of play of the implementation of the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy

• Presentation
• 28 September 2026

European Innovation Act

In September 2026, the Commission adopted a proposal for the European Innovation Act, to turn Europe into the best place to innovate, scale up and compete globally. It will cut barriers, speed up the path from research to market, and make it easier to valorise intellectual property. This will strengthen Europe’s innovation ecosystems and give innovators the support they need to grow, invest and lead in the EU.

In particular, the European Innovation Act will strengthen the Single Market for innovation by tackling two of the most persistent obstacles to commercial success:

• First, it will create a harmonised Union framework for R&D procurement, contributing to legal clarity and critical mass to invest in the development of cutting-edge solutions, stimulate demand for innovation and help new technologies reach the market faster across borders. 
• Second, it will develop an EU wide framework for the valuation of intellectual property (IP), fostering IP-backed finance and developing an EU-wide marketplace for commercialising IP assets, especially in deep tech and breakthrough sectors. This will make it easier for innovative companies to secure financing, grow in the Single Market and compete globally. 

Find out more: European Innovation Act

EU Inc. and definitions of innovative enterprise, innovative startups and innovative scaleups

In March 2026, the Commission adopted two of the actions included in the Strategy: the EU Inc. (“28^th regime”) and the Recommendation on the definitions of innovative enterprises, innovative startups and innovative scaleups. 

Companies, including innovative startups and innovative scaleups, will benefit from a single set of company law rules across the EU and from common EU definitions helping them to get targeted regulatory or financial support.

EU recommendation: defining innovative enterprises,startups & scaleups

Clear, practical EU-wide definitions. Because real game-changers deserve real targeted support.

• Factsheet
• 18 March 2026

Scaleup Europe Fund

The European Commission completed the final legal steps to establish the Scaleup Europe Fund, which will start boosting Europe's scaleup companies to grow faster and compete globally with a target of €5 billion.

After a rigorous selection, the EIC Fund Board has chosen EQT, a global leader in growth equity, as the preferred investment adviser and fund manager. Their expertise in growth equity for high-potential technology companies will drive investments in AI, quantum, cleantech, biotech, and space, ensuring Europe’s most promising scaleups grow here, not elsewhere.

The first investments have already been made and additional ones are expected in autumn 2026.

The Scaleup Europe Fund was developed in collaboration with a coalition of potential founding investors, who - alongside the European Commission - were also involved in shaping its structure and investment framework: Novo Holdings, EIFO (Export and Investment Fund of Denmark), CriteriaCaixa, Santander/Mouro Capital, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo / Intesa Sanpaolo / Fondazione Cariplo, Dutch pension fund ABP (with APG as Asset Manager), and Allianz.

European Startup and Scaleup Scoreboard

The European Startup and Scaleup Scoreboard, a key deliverable under the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, monitors progress in the development of startups and scaleups ecosystems across EU Member States.  This new strategic tool maps the development, strength and competitive edge of European startup and scaleup ecosystems and empowers policy makers to drive targeted, evidence-based action to support them. 

Powered by data from the Joint Research Centre, the Scoreboard comprises 36 indicators across six dimensions, aligned with the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy:

• innovation-friendly regulation
• better financing options
• faster market expansion
• support for top European talent
• access to infrastructure, networks, and services
• impact

Countries are ranked in four categories based on performance:

• front-runners (>125% of EU average)
• high-performing (100–125%)
• catching-up (70–100%)
• rising (<70%)

Explore the scoreboard

• Press Release
• Factsheet: European startup and scaleup scoreboard
• Main Report
• Methodological Report
• Country reports

Documents

Drivers of relocation by innovative EU Startups and Scaleups

The objective of this study is to gain firsthand information directly from founders and executives, to better understand what drove their decision to relocate and to identify potential ways to improve the conditions for startups and scaleups within the European Union.

• Study
• 12 January 2026

Εuropean startup and scaleup strategy: One year on

A Strategy designed to accelerate innovation and empower entrepreneurs across the EU.

• Factsheet
• 29 May 2026

Questions and answers on the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy

Events

At the initiative of the Commission, various events, meetings and fora are being organised to gather the views of stakeholders.   

European Startup and Scaleup Forum

The European Startup and Scaleup Forum supports the implementation of the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy by engaging founders, investors and other innovation stakeholders on an ongoing basis across the Strategy’s actions.

This exercise brings in the process the experience and voices of innovation stakeholders, that together with other forms of consultation have contributed to developing and implementing the Strategy.

Three meetings have taken place in February 2025, April 2025 and January 2026. Additional meetings will take place over the course of the year.

Other events

European Innovation Council Summit