EU startup agenda advances procurement reform, scaleup funding and AI infrastructure

The European Commission is expected to publish its Public Procurement Act on 9 September 2026, replacing the three 2014 procurement directives with a single directly applicable Regulation for public contracts, utilities and concessions. The planned reform aims to simplify procedures, create a digital EU procurement marketplace and introduce “Made in Europe” criteria in strategic sectors. Public procurement accounts for around 14% of EU GDP, with limited SME and cross-border participation among the issues the overhaul is intended to address.

The Scaleup Europe Fund completed its final legal steps on 4 August 2026 and now sits within the European Innovation Council Fund, with an initial target of €5 billion. EQT will act as independent investment manager, making market-based decisions for companies in strategic technologies including AI, quantum and clean technologies. The fund is not a grant scheme and has no application form.

The EU also opened a tender on 30 July 2026 for up to seven AI Gigafactories, combining up to €10 billion in EU and national funding with at least €20 billion in expected private investment. Proposals close on 12 November 2026, and the facilities are intended to support startups, scaleups, SMEs, industry, academia and public authorities with infrastructure for training, inference and fine-tuning frontier AI models.