Canada-based venture capital firm Chrysalix Venture Capital has reached the first close of a fund with a $120m target, having secured capital from several corporates.
Diversified trading group Mitsubishi Corporation, steel producer Severstal, mining company Teck Resources, petroleum supplier Petronas and an unnamed mobility company were among the limited partners for Chrysalix RoboValley Fund.
The corporates were joined by property investment firm Golden Properties and Mistletoe Venture Partners International, the VC arm of technology and startup hub Misteltoe, as well as Delft University of Technology, which is located in Delft, the Netherlands.
Founded in 2001, Chrysalix concentrates on industrial, energy and intelligent systems technology developers. Chrysalix RoboValley will focus on industrial innovation in resource-intensive areas, investing in technologies that use smart systems to drive the transition to new energy infrastructure.
Andrey Laptev, director of business development and corporate venture projects for Severstal’s operating company, AO Severstal Management, said: “These kinds of initiatives are important for the sustainable growth of our businesses as they give us priority access to the best new technologies in the world.
“At Severstal, we are constantly working to identify and introduce breakthrough technologies that will ensure we maintain our position as the lowest cost metal producer, by further optimising our production processes. We are also focused on developing unique products that will help us to grow our market share in certain sectors.”
LPs in earlier Chrysalix funds include chemicals producer BASF, oil and gas suppliers Total, Sabic, Shell and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, aerospace manufacturer Boeing, energy utilities EDF, Essent and Fortum, and financial services firms Citigroup and Credit Suisse.
