US-based venture capital firm Partech Ventures reached the final close of its growth equity fund, Partech Growth, at €400m ($440m) today having raised cash from limited partners including several Europe-headquartered corporates.
The LPs for the fund include car manufacturer Renault, retail chain Carrefour, payment technology provider Ingenico Group, insurance firms AG2R La Mondiale and CNP Assurances, and state-owned investment bank Bpifrance.
Partech Ventures has made more than 300 investments since 1982 and has offices in offices in San Francisco, Paris and Berlin.
Partech Growth will invest between $11m and $55m in digital and technology companies that already generate “significant” revenue. It was established in order to fill a growth-stage funding gap in the European tech sector, but is investing in both Europe and the US.
The fund has so far provided more than $130m to a total of five companies since it was launched in January 2015, including in-game advertising service RockYou, wireless service provider FreedomPop and social media data technology provider Brandwatch.
Omri Benayoun, general partner at Partech Ventures, said: “When we launched Partech Growth at the beginning of 2015, we aimed at raising a €300m fund.
“Faced with strong demand from LPs and startups alike, we decided to increase our capacity to €400m which will enable us to fund the ambitious global expansion plans of the best startups across Europe and the US.”