Innovation & Digitalisation

This year was defined by innovation and digitalisation developments, chief among them the emergence of artificial intelligence and the subsequent proliferation of AI-powered platforms and technologies, and a landmark regulatory agreement at EU level in December.

However, artificial intelligence was just one chapter in 2023’s story of innovation and digitalisation across the EU’s 27 Member States. Addressing the scale-up gap has been a pivotal challenge, one that the EIF and the EIB, along with our shareholders, have addressed head on with a bespoke and particularly ambitious instrument, the European Tech Champions Initiative, aimed at nurturing our thriving tech ecosystems and making sure that great ideas can be born, grow and flourish here.

Developments in the ICT and deep tech domains are pushing the boundaries of innovation and defining what tomorrow will look like. In that regard, we have strengthened our support for our best and brightest innovators, who are shaping the future of a digitally integrated and digitally sovereign Europe.

The New Space sector also represents an important element of this year’s story of innovation, as a surge of space ventures catalysed investments in this exciting and transformative ecosystem. In pursuit of European strategic autonomy, we signalled our commitment to supporting Europe’s New Space industry and also the life sciences sector, with a number of key investments.

In parallel, market-building efforts continued in collaboration with local actors, as we push towards a conducive environment for innovation, digitalisation and sustainable growth across Europe.