Luxembourg City Incubator, on the premises of the House of Startups, is the place where investors have put the most tickets into startups with patents. Library photo: Matic Zorman/Maison Moderne

Luxembourg City Incubator, on the premises of the House of Startups, is the place where investors have put the most tickets into startups with patents. Library photo: Matic Zorman/Maison Moderne

How many companies have patents in an investor's portfolio? The European Patent Office has published a new study that measures the Technology Investor Score, which is average in Luxembourg but where the Luxembourg City Incubator stands out.

The Technology Investor Score is a new measurement tool designed to identify investors specialising in technology companies. It measures the percentage of patent-holding companies in an investor's portfolio. The portfolios of more than 6,100 global investors active in Europe and more than 8,000 investors in companies in the United States have been screened using this tool presented by the European Patent Office on Wednesday 15 January 2024.

It shows that 88% of European portfolios have a positive but fairly weak result. Only 8% of portfolios have at least 50% stakes in companies that protect their innovation with patents.

Luxembourg has an average TIS of 0.14, which places it in the "moderate" TIS category. Luxembourg has 197 investors, who have completed a total of 407 transactions, for total financing of €2.345bn.

The main investors in Luxembourg, in terms of number of transactions, are the incubator of the City of Luxembourg (with a TIS of 0.033), the Ministry of the Economy (0.070) and Expon Capital (0.161).

On the podium of this study, to be put into perspective because it simplifies a very complex ecosystem:

- the UK stands out for its very active venture capital market, with the highest number of deals (42,576) and significant total funding (€224.790bn). Its average TIS of 0.25 also places it in the 'high' category. Among the largest UK investors are Innovate UK, Tech Nation and Crowdcube.

- France ranks second in terms of number of deals (17,169) and volume of funding (€82.261bn). Its average TIS of 0.29 is also among the highest in Europe. Bpifrance, a public investor, is a major player in the financing of innovation in France.

- Germany comes third with 16,017 transactions and total funding of €84.771bn. Its average TIS is 0.24, placing it in the "high" category. The High-Tech Gründerfonds is one of Germany's leading public investors.

In addition to these three countries, other players stand out for their commitment to technology start-ups:

European programmes: the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) and the European Innovation Council are among the most active investors in Europe, with high TIS and significant funding volumes.

Investors specialising in cutting-edge technologies: some private investors, such as Biomed Partners in the healthcare sector, have a very high TIS, indicating a strong interest in innovative companies.

Read the original French-language version of this news report /

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