Chanel, Cisco, Ecnocom, EDF, Groupama, JCDecaux, Orange and RATP were among the limited partners for the first close of Paris-Saclay University's seed fund.
Paris-Saclay University achieved the first close of its €50m ($53m) seed fund last week thanks to contributions from investors including several corporates.
Luxury consumer goods producer Chanel, networking equipment maker Cisco, digital services provider Econocom, energy utility EDF, insurer Groupama, outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux, telecommunications firm Orange and public transport operator RATP all supplied capital.
Additional finance came from financial services firms BNP Paribas and Société Générale, French public investment bank Bpifrance and several dozen angel investors – made up alumni from participating universities, entrepreneurs and heads of corporations listed in France.
The 17 Grandes Écoles, universities and research centres that make up the Paris-Saclay University ecosystem also supplied cash, either directly or through their respective foundations.
Paris-Saclay University was established by the French government as a federal research institution with the aim of generating a research-intensive technology cluster in Paris that would rank in the global top 10. Its first academic year began in September 2015.
The fund will provide between €100,000 to €2m in funding for seed and series A-stage spinouts and startups emerging out of the Paris-Saclay ecosystem.
A total of 70% of the fund’s capital is managed by VC firm Partech Ventures and will be invested in IT, internet and digital companies. The remaining 30% is overseen by Kurma Partners and will go towards life sciences and medical technology businesses.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.
