VC Fundraising in France
GEORGES HAZAN
Global Strategic Advisor | Corporate Finance | Impact Investment + Social Innovation | Venture Philanthropy
Last year saw a record of nearly €2.2 billion raised across only 12 funds. Several large vehicles contributed significantly to that tally (including Winch Capital 4’s €450 million fundraise and BioDiscovery 5’s €345 million fundraise). The small number of funds is pronounced.
Prior in the decade, it was much more common to see dozens of French venture funds close, albeit with less capital committed in aggregate. This trend indicates that a typical winnowing effect occurred throughout this decade; namely, a flock of funds sized under €50 million closed early.
While many are still likely active, others have wound down operations or grown significantly, contributing to the volume of total capital raised. This aligns with early-stage figures, where those successful funds that raised potentially larger vehicles have since helped fuel the rise in early-stage volume.
It remains to be seen whether that cycle will repeat given the growth in the French ecosystem overall, and a new crop of micro-VCs will help augment the angel & seed pipeline in the coming years