Caught in the current geopolitical turmoils, Europe has frequently been pigeonholed as a continent that writes regulations rather than builds tech giants. However, we may be witnessing a shift.
The forces driving the change became increasingly evident on July 1st, 2026, at the Nuqleus Liftoff conference in Croatia's capital. Organized by Nuqleus (the academic entrepreneurship program operating within the FER's Innovation Center Nikola Tesla) with the support of the World Bank, project DIGIT, and the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, the event drew more than 400 scientists, startups, venture capital funds, and policymakers.
The consensus from the ground was clear: Europe’s ultimate competitive moat lies in deep tech: highly complex, R&D-intensive breakthroughs in fields like quantum computing, AI, biotech, defense and robotics innovation.
All participants agreed: by combining Europe's unmatched scientific foundation with massive, newly aligned capital mechanisms, Europe can move decisively to secure its technological sovereignty.
Building the European moat
For decades, Europe relied on a globalized, friction-free supply chain. Recent macroeconomic and geopolitical shocks, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's aggression in Ukraine to escalating trade tensions with China and the U.S., have shattered that complacency.
Speaking at the conference, Marko Primorac, Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), emphasized that the institutional mindset in Luxembourg and Brussels has fundamentally shifted.
"Europe is moving to become a stronger home for innovators, not only a regulator or a source of grants," Primorac stated during his keynote address. "Across Europe, resilience and innovation are becoming two sides of the same coin. Deep tech is what drives competitiveness."
To back this philosophy with raw financial muscle, the EIB Group (comprising the EIB and the European Investment Fund) leverages a €600 billion balance sheet, deploying roughly €100 billion annually. Central to its modern strategy is TechEU, a flagship program designed to invest €70 billion in debt and equity specifically for innovation, digitalization, and deep tech by 2027 — a move expected to mobilize up to €250 billion in total private and public capital.
Unlike traditional software startups, deep tech companies require patient capital and heavy infrastructure. They cannot be built on tiny budgets in a garage; they need advanced connectivity, secure digital systems, and massive upfront R&D. TechEU is explicitly designed to act as a "one-stop-shop" targeting priority, high-moat sectors: semiconductors, photonics, quantum computing, space tech, clean tech, and defense. These are the exact verticals that will dictate European independence in the decades to come, Primorac concluded.
Why European unity is our secret weapon
While critics point to Europe’s fragmented market of 27 different member states as a weakness, the architectural reality of the European Union offers a unique, counter-intuitive advantage: the power of transnational collaboration.
During a fireside chat titled "What the Heck is Europe Doing?", Michiel Scheffer, President of the Board of the European Innovation Council (EIC), joined moderator Andrea Čović Vidović (Deputy Head of Representation and Head of Media for the European Commission in Croatia) to challenge the narrative of European stagnation.
"We have one huge benefit compared to the US and China," Scheffer noted during a fireside chat. "We are the biggest peace project in humankind. Never before have countries pooled their sovereignty and their talents to work together like this. That is unique."
This collaborative DNA is highly visible within Europe's deep tech leadership. Scheffer pointed out that over 50% of the CEOs of EIC-beneficiary companies are alumni of the Erasmus cross-border study program. To supercharge this edge, policymakers are pushing for two major overhauls: The "28th Regime" (EU Inc.) and Single Market expansion. He noted renewed efforts to unify highly fragmented sectors (specifically healthcare and energy) into true single markets, allowing European biotech and clean-tech startups to instantly access 450 million consumers without facing 27 separate regulatory hurdles.
Addressing the friction of tech laws like the EU AI Act, Scheffer pushed back on the idea that European regulation is uniquely stifling, noting that operating in the U.S. actually forces companies to navigate a maze of separate state laws. He emphasized that unified European regulation provides a stable framework for ethical, long-term tech development.
Bridging the Valley of Death
And to be clear, the bottleneck for European tech has never been a lack of ideas; it has been the Valley of Death, the funding gap that occurs when transitioning from early-stage research to capital-intensive industrial scale. According to the landmark Draghi Report, Europe requires a staggering €800 billion in additional investment every year to successfully navigate the digital transitions and close the productivity gap with the U.S. "And the 800 billion is roughly what we invest every year in the U.S.," Scheffer points.
To anchor this capital at home, public authorities have stepped up. The EIC Fund has grown into the largest deep tech venture investor in Europe, backing over 350 companies, from quantum computing (e.g., IQM, Pascal) to nuclear fusion (e.g., Marvel Fusion).
"Since 2010, public authorities have been much more active in investing, basically to provide funding for covering the valley of death," Scheffer explained. "The VC landscape is now very much different than it used to be, because there are much more actors who are willing to invest in tech, understanding tech."
Also, programs like the EIB’s Future Finance Program (which chose Croatia as one of its five pilot countries) are actively providing free advisory services to founders, ensuring that brilliant academic research coming out of institutions like Croatia's FER can easily navigate the EU's financing machinery.
The next goal is to make sure the next generation of deep tech startups don't have to look abroad for growth capital. Matija Srbić, coordinator of the Nuqleus program, emphasized the strategic focus of bringing these European institutions directly to Zagreb:
"The Croatian deep tech ecosystem has flourished over the past 4 years. With Liftoff, we want to prepare the ecosystem for the growth and expansion of deep tech companies, which requires much larger capital than what is currently available on the local market. That is why we are proud to host the leaders of key European institutions... bringing leading European VC funds so deep tech startups can secure their next funding round in 'their own backyard' in Zagreb."
"Europe of Unicorns"
The conference closed with a showcase of research transitioning from the lab to the market. Alongside regional startup incubator programs from the Infobip Startup Tribe, ZICER, and Science Park Graz, the event featured the Nuqleus Demo Day. A jury of international investors evaluated 3 spin-offs built on the foundations of scientific research.
The winning startup, Metastruct, perfectly embodied the conference's theme. The company utilizes parametric design, advanced materials, and additive manufacturing to develop topologically optimized, lighter, and more sustainable construction elements, proving that European academic research is ready to tackle heavy industrial challenges.
If there is one conclusion we could take from Nuqleus Liftoff conferece, it is that the old narrative of a technologically stagnant Europe is expiring. When Čović Vidović closed the fireside chat by asking what headline should define their next meeting at Liftoff 2030, Scheffer offered: "Europe of Unicorns." If Europe continues to lean into its deep tech moat, pool its regional talent, and back it with massive strategic capital, that headline is well on its way to becoming a reality.
Member discussion