In September 2025, Europe’s top artificial intelligence lab, Mistral, closed a €1.7bn Series C funding round. While media coverage focused on the size of the round, the most relevant detail was who wrote the check. ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, took an 11% equity stake in the company.
This transaction is one clear illustration of a broader pattern in European finance. In this case, Europe’s largest hardware company stepped in as a venture capital investor while the €15trn managed by European pension funds and insurers remained mostly on the sidelines. When an industrial equipment manufacturer fills the gap for software scale-ups, it shows how the growth capital deficit can function as an ownership chokepoint.