EUROPE ON THE WAY TO FINANCE CYBERSECURITY COMPANIES’ GROWTH
With an initial target size of €1 billion, DEF 2.0 aims to support the emergence and growth of pan-European venture capital, private equity, private credit, and infrastructure funds focused on defence and cybersecurity. Building on the success of the InvestEU Defence Equity Facility, DEF 2.0 broadens the European Investment Fund’s support for the sector through an expanded mandate and increased scale. Aiming to support 25-30 portfolio funds that in turn invest in companies across all stages, DEF 2.0 expands its investment remit to defence and cyber technologies, hardware and infrastructure, helping to strengthen Europe’s industrial base.
At last ! should we say. And even at this promising turnpoint, questions still loom: while it is interesting to consider cybersecurity under the angle of Defense, how much of the effort will really go to cybersecurity vendors? And what are the mechanisms that will forbid investors to exit … by selling to non European interests? A basic question, which we have no reason to think has not been considered.
THE EU COMMISSION TO REGULATE AWS AND AZURE CLOUD SERVICES
On June 25, 2026, the Commission announced that it had informed Amazon and Microsoft of its preliminary position that their cloud services, AWS and Microsoft Azure, should be designated as “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the regulation on digital markets.
If this decision is confirmed, both providers will have to comply with a series of obligations, including a ban on favoring their own services, stricter requirements on interoperability, data portability, and switching providers, as well as rules to ensure fair access for business users.
Market dominance outweighs thresholds
Brussels’ position is notable because AWS and Microsoft Azure do not meet the quantitative thresholds set out in the text, especially in terms of the number of users. However, the DMA allows the Commission to designate a company when an investigation shows that it still has an influence comparable to that of an access controller.
ALAN THE FRENCH SUCCESSFUL INSURETECH: NOW A UNICORN, YET TO BETTER PROTECT CUSTOMERS’ DATA
After a new funding round, the company’s valuation is now over 5 B€, thanks to a profitable yearly revenue of some 800 M€, growing at more than 50% a year..ALAN has massively invested in AI, transforming many business processes. The weak point resides in its AWS choice to store customer data, a situation that theoretically exposes civil servants’ health data to U.S. extraterritorial laws, sparking opposition from several French lawmakers and cloud industry players. Some MPs are requesting ALAN to move to a sovereign cloud, as some competitors have done.
THE DATA PRIVACY FRAMEWORK BETWEEN THE USA AND THE EU ON THE HOT SEAT ?
This agreement passes in 2023 between the USA and the EU authorises data transfer including personal data, assuming that such data benefit from an equal protection level on the two sides of the Atlantic. However, to back this agreement the US Federal Trade Commission plays a central role. Indeed, it is responsible for ensuring that these entities keep their commitments and for stepping in if there’s a proven malfunction.
The problem is that a recent judgement by the US Supreme Court of Justice recognizes the right for the US President to change the FTC commissioners at his sole will. It’s likely that the EU Justice will consider this hampers the independence of the FTC, hence making its role of arbitration unlawful…
