The Franco-German focused IrisNext fund will be backed by $83m from each of Orange and Publicis, and aims to attract more corporates for its first close, in 2016.

France-based corporates Orange and Groupe Publicis agreed yesterday to jointly commit €150m ($166m) to a venture capital fund called IrisNext that will also look to secure additional corporates as limited partners.

Telecommunications company Orange and marketing and public relations firm Publicis will each invest €75m in IrisNext. The fund also aims to lure major international corporates based in nations including France and Germany, as well as institutional investors.

IrisNext will be managed by Iris Capital, the France-based venture capital firm…