DIGITALEUROPE, an organization representing over 56,000 businesses across 30 European countries, advocates for faster funding access and reduced regulatory complexity to support European tech scaleups. The association includes 137 corporate members, such as Microsoft, Google, and NVIDIA, and maintains an office in Washington to represent the European ecosystem, noting that its members have invested €1.7 trillion in the US recently.
The organization manages the Future Unicorn Awards, launched in 2018, which have built an alumni community of approximately 250 scaleups. According to Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, about 50 of these companies secure funding within their first year. Recent initiatives include the Transatlantic Dual-Use Unicorn Award, launched in September in partnership with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence and other entities to connect security tech firms with capital.
A primary focus for the group is addressing the estimated €800 billion investment gap between European and US venture capital markets. DIGITALEUROPE is working with the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund to shorten funding application cycles to three months. The organization also supports the new EU Scaleup Fund, which targets €5 billion in growth-stage capital to help strategic technology companies scale domestically.
Bonefeld-Dahl emphasizes that regulatory frameworks, such as the AI Act, require better alignment with existing rules to prevent duplication, particularly in the medical technology sector. She argues that Europe must transition from being primarily a regulator to becoming a more active customer for its own scaleups. The organization suggests lowering risk barriers for public-sector procurement and utilizing test centers, similar to the NATO DIANA model, to foster innovation.
