Dutch and French State Investors Join Forces to Fund European Tech Champions
The Hague, Friday 16 October 2026
Invest-NL and Bpifrance have signed a strategic agreement to co-invest in high-growth technology scale-ups, aiming to execute at least three joint deals over the next twelve months.
A Strategic Alliance for Late-Stage Scale-Ups
The formalisation of this cross-border partnership took place on 14 October 2026 at the NL-FR Summit, hosted by employer federation VNO-NCW in The Hague [1][2]. Signed by Invest-NL Chief Executive Officer Rinke Zonneveld and Bpifrance Executive Director Pascal Lagarde, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishes a operational framework designed to pool sovereign capital, institutional networks, and domain expertise [1]. Under the agreement, both public investment institutions aim to execute at least three joint co-investments over the next twelve months, targeting high-growth companies and venture capital funds across France and the Netherlands [1].
Targeting European Scale-Up Capital Deficits
The initiative addresses a long-standing structural vulnerability within Europe’s digital economy: the late-stage capital gap [GPT]. While early-stage funding for technology startups across software-as-a-service (SaaS), artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and fintech has matured, growing scale-ups frequently encounter capital deficits when seeking late-stage growth equity to expand globally [GPT]. With co-investment mechanisms scheduled to commence operations in the fourth quarter of 2026, the coalition provides Dutch and French ventures with direct cross-border funding to scale software solutions and digitise legacy industrial sectors [1][2].
Bridging Complementary Tech Ecosystems
This bilateral agreement builds upon three years of work under the Netherlands-France Innovation and Technology Pact, spearheaded by VNO-NCW in conjunction with French enterprise network MEDEF [2]. The Dutch tech ecosystem brings specialised strengths in semiconductors, photonics, quantum computing, and digital systems, whereas France provides industrial scale, research facilities, and substantial investment capacity [2]. High-level summit participants—including industry leaders and diplomatic representatives—emphasised that combining these technical capabilities is essential for transitioning deep-tech and digital innovations from research environments to commercial markets [2].
Fostering Pan-European Competitiveness
Highlighting the strategic necessity of the pact, Invest-NL Chief Executive Rinke Zonneveld stated that public investment institutions play a decisive role in providing European entrepreneurs with the international reach and growth capital required to build market leaders [1]. Bpifrance Executive Director Pascal Lagarde characterised the MoU as a milestone in forming an integrated European economic framework capable of competing with major global innovation hubs [1]. The strategic alliance mirrors a broader trend toward European promotional bank coordination, following a similar MoU executed between Invest-NL and Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) [1].