French VC firm Partech has closed another seed fund dedicated to early-stage tech startups — the fund is called Partech Entrepreneur IV. This time, Partech has raised €120 million. It represents $124 million at today’s exchange rate.
In 2020, Partech raised $100 million for Partech Entrepreneur III. At the very end of 2016, Partech raised $107 million for its previous seed fund. So Partech will have a bit more money to invest in early-stage startups, but it won’t be a massive difference.
With today’s new fund, the firm plans to invest anything between €300,000 and €3 million. For many startups, this will represent their first VC investment, at the seed stage and sometimes even pre-seed stage. Partech can lead or co-invest in the round.
When it comes to follow-on rounds, a VC firm that chooses to invest once again in a portfolio company used to be an exception. It has become the norm for many VC funds. And Partech is following this trend as it says that it will be able to reinvest until the Series B round.
But Partech Entrepreneur IV remains a dedicated seed fund because Partech thinks seed investments require a dedicated team with some specific skills. “Backing and working with exceptional founders from the very beginning of their journey is the shared passion — and only focus — of our team. It is, in our experience, a unique craft, requiring stage-specific expertise, commitment and mindset,” General Partner Boris Golden said in a statement.
As for verticals and geographies, Partech doesn’t have any specific industry, market or model in mind. It is an opportunistic seed fund mostly focused on Europe, with some investments in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.
“We are convinced that spotting the future leaders of new emerging categories often requires a broad scope, and a genuine open-mindedness towards what the most talented founders come up with,” General Partner Romain Lavault said in a statement.
While Partech doesn’t list all the limited partners in its new seed fund, the firm says that 150 entrepreneurs (current or past) contributed to the new fund. There are other backers as well, such as financial institutions, multinational corporations and family offices.
In the past, Partech has invested in the seed rounds of Alan, Sorare, Jellysmack, Xendit and Merama. And now, Partech has raised enough money to invest in another 50 tech startups.
