PARIS (Reuters) - A new publicly funded multi-billion euro fund is being created to boost investment in Europe's tech sector, to allow it to compete with U.S. and Asian rivals, France's finance minister said on Monday. Bruno Le Maire said home-grown European tech start-ups needed far higher levels of financing if Europe is to reduce its dependence on foreign tech giants.
He added that he would give details of the new fund of funds on Tuesday with his German counterpart Christian Lindner, but said it would feed 10 to 20 funds "at a minimum value of one billion euros to finance tech champions".
"Our ultimate target is to have 10 technology companies worth more than 100 billion euros each by 2030," Le Maire said as he opened a conference on digital sovereignty.
The German finance ministry said in a statement that Berlin would add one billion euros to the fund.
Europe's venture capital funds are often too small to be able to finance the development of European tech start-ups, leaving them few choices other than turning to much bigger U.S. funds.
Meanwhile, many U.S. and Chinese tech firms have benefitted from public funding at some stage in their development, something which has been more complicated in the past for European firms due to the EU's strict state aid rules.
Bruno Le Maire – Biography
Bruno Le Maire, who was born on 15 April 1969 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, is a French politician and diplomat. He currently holds the position of Minister for the Economy and Finances in Edouard Philippe’s government under Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. An alumnus of the École normale supérieure, holder of a higher degree (agrégation) in French language and literature, graduate of Sciences Po Paris and former student at the École nationale d'administration (ENA), Bruno Le Maire began his career as Foreign Affairs Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (known as the Quai d'Orsay). In 2002, he became Strategic Affairs Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs followed by Adviser to the Minister of the Interior in 2004. In 2002, he became Strategic Affairs Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs followed by Adviser to the Minister of the Interior in 2004. In 2005, he joined Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin at Hôtel Matignon, first as an adviser and then as his Chief of Staff from 2006 to 2007. In June 2007, he was elected as MP for the first constituency of the Eure département. In December 2008, he was named Minister of State for European Affairs in François Fillon’s government before being appointed Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in June 2009. He held the latter position until May 2012. In 2012, he was re-elected as MP for the Eure département. In 2012, he was re-elected as MP for the Eure département. In October 2012, he resigned from the foreign affairs advisers corps of the senior civil service. In November 2014, he was candidate for the presidency of the UMP party and took part in the centre-right primary for the French presidential election in November 2016. In 2017, he was re-elected as MP for the Eure département.
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