EQT’s new Scaleup Europe Fund has made its first investment, co-leading a $1.1 billion funding round for Finnish satellite company ICEYE.
EQT’s new Scaleup Europe Fund has made its first investment, co-leading a 1-billion-euro ($1.1 billion) funding round for Finnish satellite company ICEYE.
As part of the Scaleup Europe Fund initiative, the European Commission is a founding investor alongside private backers.
Managed by EQT, the fund aims to raise 5 billion euros ($5.7 billion) to support European companies in capital-intensive sectors.
It will invest in AI, quantum and semiconductor technologies, robotics, and space.
Other target sectors include autonomous systems, biotechnology, medical technology, and advanced materials.
The initiative is intended to reduce European technology companies’ reliance on non-European funding as they expand.
“This is the goal of our Scaleup Europe Fund: it will ensure our scale-ups can find what they need right here in Europe to grow into world-leading companies,” stated Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
Lajes air base, Portugal. Photo: ICEYESatellite Programs
ICEYE develops and operates synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which can capture images at night and through cloud cover, and provides these capabilities to several European governments.
The firm's technology is used for military surveillance, border monitoring, disaster response, and other government missions.
A joint venture with Rheinmetall is developing space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities for Germany.
German companies Reflex Aerospace, OroraTech, ConstellR, and LiveEO are also involved in combining satellite imagery, data processing, and intelligence analysis within a shared system.
ICEYE also signed an agreement with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence to expand cooperation on space-based intelligence.
The deal gives Kyiv more frequent access to high-resolution radar imagery from ICEYE’s satellite constellation to support Ukrainian military operations.
