Time for Europe to Scale it Up – meet the ASTRA Alliance – a shared ambition for European Growth Infrastructure and Sovereignty

Europe stands at a defining moment in its pursuit of competitiveness and technological sovereignty; our research excellence and entrepreneurial talent are undeniable. Yet when companies reach decisive growth phases, the path to scale remains outside Europe.

ASTRA - the Alliance for Strategic Tech Resilience and Acceleration - emerges to bridge that divide, uniting capital, ecosystems and execution at a true European scale.

The Alliance brings together five leading European growth investors - 360 Capital, Bullhound Capital, Redstone, Truffle Capital and UVC Partners - combining over €4bn invested in Europe, a presence in 16 EU countries, and 28DIGITAL’s 16+ years of experience building pan-European innovation ecosystems.

Together, ASTRA unites deep sector expertise in strategic technologies, from deeptech, industrial tech, AI, climate and robotics to medtech and biotech, with strong research, corporate and cross-border connections.

In varietate concordia - united in diversity - is more than a motto. What it captures is ASTRA’s essence: diverse strengths aligned in purpose, accelerating Europe to its deserved scale.

“Europe’s foundations are strong. We have unmatched scientific depth, entrepreneurial ambition, and industrial resilience. Yet when companies reach decisive growth phases, rounds are too often led outside Europe” notes Redstone’s Co-Founder & General Partner Michael Brehm, “and with them go strategic influence, ownership and long-term value.”

This dynamic does more than redirect capital. It has slowed down the development of a sustained European growth-investing base. Europe not only sees its technological champions scale abroad, but it also struggles to build a strong community of growth-stage managers capable of scaling them at home.

“ASTRA represents a step towards changing that trajectory,” says Jonathan Sibilia from Bullhound Capital, “We are not a traditional syndicate, but a coordinated growth-stage platform formed by investors who have built expertise across cycles and sectors, and who are now choosing to bring that wealth of experience to Europe.”

With over €4bn under management, 19 offices across 16 countries in Europe and over 800 invested companies, the ASTRA Alliance brings together decades of growth-stage investment and ecosystem building experience.

The founding partners share long-standing professional relationships built through years of selective co-investments, structured deal flow exchange and coordinated support to scale-ups across countries. ASTRA now turns this cooperation into a coordinated growth-stage platform, fully aligned with the Commission’s ambition to create scalable, cross-border investment capacity for strategic technologies.

The Alliance represents an immediately operational framework capable of deploying growth capital at a true European scale.

“Europe’s strength lies in the depth and diversity of its innovation ecosystems,” says Diva Tommei, Chief of Innovation & Investments at 28DIGITAL. “From leading hubs to widening regions, scale will only happen if innovation capability moves seamlessly across borders, and ASTRA’s unique configuration makes that cross-border connectivity structural.”

From the investor side, the focus is firmly on execution. “Our focus is on execution. We help scaleups move from technical validation to industrial deployment and international expansion faster and with the right partners around them”, adds Fausto Boni from 360 Capital.

“With ASTRA, we are building a European force in growth capital,” says Bernard-Louis Roques from Truffle Capital. “Together, the five partners represent over €4bn invested across hundreds of EU companies. Our shared ambition is to actively support Europe’s innovators as they scale into global champions in strategic sectors.”