{"id":4084,"date":"2019-12-15T12:00:57","date_gmt":"2019-12-15T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/silta.es\/juantatay\/?p=4084"},"modified":"2019-12-15T12:00:57","modified_gmt":"2019-12-15T11:00:57","slug":"launching-europes-unicorn-factory-by-siftedeu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silta.es\/juantatay\/launching-europes-unicorn-factory-by-siftedeu\/","title":{"rendered":"Launching Europe\u2019s \u201cunicorn factory\u201d by @siftedeu"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are creating possibly the biggest deeptech equity fund in Europe.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Origen: Launching Europe\u2019s \u201cunicorn factory\u201d | Sifted<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2026a \u20ac10bn war chest, run by the European Innovation Council (EIC), to back his plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EIC should become Europe\u2019s unicorn factory,\u201d he tells Sifted in an interview. \u201cWe are creating possibly the biggest deeptech equity fund in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EIC has already committed \u20ac1.5bn to a pilot investment programme and will soon announce the first cohort of 50 to 60 companies it is backing.<\/p>\n

\u2026the EIC fund, to be run by an executive agency separate from the commission and based in Luxembourg alongside the European Investment Bank, will focus on deeptech innovation.<\/p>\n

The EIC\u2019s goal is to focus on the riskiest research and development and scaleup stages to help European startups survive the notorious \u201cvalley of death\u201d. Most of the \u20ac10bn will be allocated as grant money, typically in bite-sized packets of \u20ac1m to \u20ac4m, but about 35% will be invested as equity finance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EIC is creating a deal flow in Europe. I hope funds will want to co-invest with us,\u201d he says. \u201cDeeptech innovation is so difficult because the funds don\u2019t have the expertise to assess it. But we have the best experts. By funding researchers with grants we see serious stuff emerging. That is unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

In total the commission will invest up to \u20ac100bn over the next seven years as part of the Horizon Europe programme to sharpen the economy\u2019s competitiveness.<\/p>\n

The commission\u2019s approach has been much influenced by the work of Mariana Mazzucato, the director of UCL\u2019s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, author of The Entrepreneurial State<\/i> and evangelist for mission-driven, public sector innovation. Her argument is that governments should play a far more active role in helping to create and shape markets, rather than just regulating them.<\/p>\n

To that end, the EU has identified five such missions to support that are of direct concern to citizens:<\/p>\n