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A bunch of traders has launched a brand new European enterprise capital agency looking for to boost not less than €600mn to again native start-ups, as a restoration in funding for know-how firms picks up after a two-year drought.
The fund, Noteus, is led by a crew that break up off from French funding agency Eurazeo, and has already invested greater than €300mn into tech teams since its founding earlier this 12 months, in accordance with an individual conversant in the group.
Noteus finally plans to boost not less than double that quantity for its debut fund, which can again European start-ups in additional superior levels of growth.
“There’s a lack of skilled progress traders native to Europe,” stated the individual conversant in the trouble. “They’re not doing this slowly.”
The launch of Noteus comes after a pandemic-era surge in know-how funding got here to a halt as rising rates of interest and geopolitical tensions hit the market, forcing European start-ups to chop prices as VC funding dried up.
Virtually €29bn price of enterprise capital offers had been struck in Europe within the first half of this 12 months, in accordance with information compiled by researcher PitchBook.
Dealmaking has accelerated in latest months, pushed by a brand new craze for synthetic intelligence start-ups, and the European enterprise capital trade is now on monitor for its most energetic 12 months because the growth interval through the pandemic. Balderton Capital final month raised $1.3bn in Europe’s largest enterprise funding targeted on start-ups within the area.
Some Silicon Valley traders have additionally expanded to Europe, with Andreessen Horowitz and IVP opening places of work in London final 12 months.
Noteus is led by chief government Yann du Rusquec, who beforehand headed a crew targeted on later-stage start-up offers at Eurazeo that invested in a few of Europe’s most extremely valued start-ups, together with electronics refurbisher Again Market and cloud information specialist Aiven.
The brand new fund is concentrating on a niche available in the market for European funds that present financing to superior start-ups, as a lot of the funding for extra mature European tech teams comes from overseas traders.
Noteus has constructed up a crew of 14 together with 10 traders. The group contains three different normal companions who additionally labored at Eurazeo — Nathalie Kornhoff Brüls, Guillaume d’Audiffret and Zoé Fabian-Frey.
The traders departed Eurazeo throughout a turbulent time for the agency. Virginie Morgon, one of many uncommon feminine leaders of a personal fairness group, was ousted final 12 months as chief government after shedding the assist of Eurazeo’s two largest shareholders.
Noteus has invested in six firms since its founding, together with Goldman Sachs-backed stay leisure group Fever and French well being app Doctolib, in accordance with the individual conversant in Noteus.
The fund has already established places of work in London, Paris and Berlin, and plans to open an outpost in Madrid. Noteus has additionally tapped Sabine Bendiek, a former government at Microsoft and SAP, as a senior adviser.
A consultant for Noteus declined to remark.
