New deeptech fund for startups closes at €77 million

Investment firm Elaia has announced the close of a new fund at €77 million for Europe’s up-and-coming deeptech startups. Working in partnership with Inria, the fund is well over its initial target of €65 million, demonstrating that Europe’s investment landscape is alive and well.

Based in Paris, Elaia has been championing investment in startups across Europe since 2002 and is certainly one of the continent’s most well-known names. The company has just reaffirmed its commitment to investing in Europe – closing its second deeptech dedicated fund at €77 million. Elaia Alpha II Fund is to become a key part of the firm’s proactive strategy to promote technological entrepreneurship.

Leaidign ivnestors taking part in this exciitg new capital pool include VINCI Concessions, Inria, Bpifrance for the Fonds National d’Amorçage 2 (FNA 2), Covéa Finance, BNP Paribas, L’Oréal and Malakoff Humanis.

Inria is a key partner in this fund as the relationship between Inria and Elaia has continued to grow over time. In early 2019, Inria announced the launch of Inria startup studio, in partnership with Bpifrance, to support, from 2023 on, over 100 startup projects per year.

Dedicated to the deep tech space, the money will be deployed in pre-seed and seed stages in 30 – 40 European startups in various sectors – including AI, data science, digital health, cybersecurity, digital infrastructures, enterprise software, industrial IoT, and embedded systems. Already 14 investments have been made – highlighting just how proactive the team aims to be.

The firm Elaia has supported startups like Criteo, SeqOne, Armis and Elevo – so this new cohort of startups will be in great company. All investments made by Elaia are also considered around ESG principles.

Source: labsoflatvia.com