David von Rosen is a German billionaire entrepreneur and investor and the Principal of the VONROSEN family office, which invests in and launches businesses across the globe with a strong focus on green tech and real estate. In 2024, he appeared as one of the youngest billionaires in Swiss publication Bilan’s annual list of the 300 richest Swiss (Bilan).

Von Rosen’s intervention comes hot on the heels of the EU Commission's plan to allocate €100 billion to support clean manufacturing within the bloc (POLITICO), which seeks to crowd in private investment while supporting decarbonisation efforts across both public and private sectors.  

The announcement is primarily concerned with supporting innovation within traditional and established sectors, but David believes greentech unicorns will be the main player in driving innovation in Europe. 

David is urging the bloc to throw its weight behind high-risk, high-value ventures at the cutting edge of greentech in areas such as green energy, deeptech, and biomaterials. This, he says, will catalyse a wave of entrepreneurs and startups on the continent that will secure the EU’s leadership in this sector.

Von Rosen is the founder of online lottery giant Lottoland and Dubai-based super-prime real estate developer 25 Degrees. Through his family office, he holds investments in green energy firms MaxSolar, ECO STOR, and The Greencells Group.

David von Rosen, Principal of VONROSEN, said: “The EU has to boost grassroots entrepreneurship if they want to encourage cutting-edge innovation and foster the next generation of leading greentech startups.

“The European Union has already fallen behind China and the US in other key industries such as artificial intelligence, and it’s now ceding ground to these competitors in green tech too. It can’t afford to take its foot off the gas in this area, which could be its saving grace when it comes to economic stagnation.

“The continent has the right ecosystem to be a world leader in green tech – it's got the knowledge, research, and customer and consumer appetite to support the innovation it needs. But it’s putting all of its eggs in the wrong basket. Support for emissions cutting and green initiatives in established, polluting sectors will solve some issues at home – but it’s not going to make the EU a global exporter of green technologies.

“Innovation and leadership in the AI industry isn’t driven by the in-house development of AI tools in traditional and established industries and companies. It’s driven by startup unicorns who are breaking and setting new benchmarks for innovation. The green tech space will be no different.

“Real green tech innovation will come from high-risk, high-value ventures at the cutting edge of the industry, such as in green energy, deeptech, and biomaterials. And the EU must be bold in throwing its weight behind the greentech industry with a €100 billion package to foster entrepreneurship in this space.”

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