Madrid: The European Investment Fund (EIF) pledges €300 million investment in Seaya Growth Tech Fund I, a €1bn target-size pan-European growth venture capital fund with a strong focus on applied AI, deep-tech, fintech, climate solutions, and commerce. The investment is part of the successful European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) managed by the EIF. Seaya Growth Fund is managed by Spain-based Seaya, a European multi-stage tech investment platform.
A technological revolution is underway that will shape the foundations of future global leadership and profoundly impact citizens’ lives. Fields such as AI, deep tech or quantum computing are critical for the EU’s strategic autonomy, technological leadership, and economic growth. Europe is well positioned to define the technologies of tomorrow, yet it has long faced a persistent challenge: scaling its most promising tech companies. The European Tech Champions Initiative aims to change this by enabling Europe’s best innovators to stay, grow, and compete globally from within the EU.
Seaya is the second EIF investment in a Spain-based technology scale-up fund under ETCI. It will make equity investments in European companies at the growth stage (series C), operating in AI, smart manufacturing, supply chain resilience, capital market autonomy, cybersecurity and environmental and climate solutions. The EIF becomes the anchor investor in Seaya, playing a catalytic role in helping the fund reach its €1 billion target size through additional investments.
Empowering growth and reigniting support for European scale-ups with ETCI 2.0
ETCI has become instrumental in nurturing Europe's tech ecosystem, fostering collaboration, and fuelling the growth of transformative ventures. Through strategic investments and partnerships, it is empowering the next generation of European tech champions, shaping the digital future in Europe. ETCI is also a strong contributor to the integration of the financial markets in Europe and represents an example of how the EIB Group can pioneer the Capital Markets Union.
Since launching in 2023, the initiative has supported 13 technology megafunds, almost doubling the number in the European ecosystem. ETCI-backed funds have already invested in 38 fast-growing high-tech European companies operating in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, financial technologies, biotechnology, and healthcare.
In Spain, in addition to supporting Seaya and Kembara megafunds, ETCI-backed funds have already invested in four growth phase Spanish companies (three of them unicorns): Factorial, Inke, TravelPerk and Fever Labs.
Building on the success of ETCI 1, the EIB Group is shaping up for the second European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI 2.0) forming part of the EIB Group's TechEU - the EU's largest financing programme to support Europe’s best technology companies on their innovation and growth journey on home ground. In December 2025, the Boards of the EIF and EIB committed a total of €1.25 billion of their own funds to ETCI 2.0 with further fundraising and investments expected to launch in early 2026. Beyond EIB Group and national public contributions, ETCI 2.0 will also be open to private institutional investors.
Background information
About the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI)
The European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) is a fund-of-funds programme launched in 2023 by the EIB Group, in collaboration with six EU Member States: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
ETCI is managed by the European Investment Fund and is dedicated to supporting Europe’s venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) ecosystem to address the financing gap experienced by European technology scale-ups. It is designed to invest in large-scale VC and PE funds the most promising tech companies to grow and compete globally. Building on the success of ETCI 1, the EIB Group is shaping ETCI 2.0 within its TechEU program. ETCI 2.0 will be open to national public contributions and private institutional investors.
About the EIF
The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, designs venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that absorb part of the risk that is taken by a wide range of selected financial intermediaries when they finance businesses, individuals and infrastructure projects, thereby improving access to finance in Europe. This encourages funds to invest, banks to lend and private investment to be crowded in to boost innovation, competitiveness and climate action, as well as improve sustainability, social impact and skills.
About Seaya Growth Tech Fund I
Seaya Growth is raising up to €1 billion to address the European growth-stage funding gap as a native, tech-driven platform. The fund will invest in high-growth companies that underpin European resilience, with a focus on Applied AI, DeepTech, Fintech, and Commerce. Managed by GPs with a proven track record of scaling tech leaders across the continent, Seaya Growth is committed to helping Europe realize its full potential by building enduring global champions.
About Seaya
Seaya is a leading European multi-stage tech investment platform, with offices in Madrid, Barcelona and London. Since launching its first fund in 2013, Seaya has backed exceptional entrepreneurs to create some of the category leaders in Europe.