Frédéric Rombaut, formerly managing director of corporate venturing funds for network equipment supplier Cisco and mobile semiconductor technology provider Qualcomm, has joined UK-based venture capital firm Seraphim Capital as general partner.
Seraphim has raised a $95m fund focused on the $350bn space technology market, and plans to launch an accelerator called Seraphim Space Camp and a new fund with a wider global scope. It is backed by limited partners including corporates SES, Airbus and Telespazio.
A previous GCV Rising Stars award winner, Rombaut was managing director of Cisco’s Cisco Investment International unit. He left in early 2016 to focus more on personal investments through his FR Development vehicle, with Jon Koplin replacing him as UK-based managing director of Cisco Investments.
Before joining Cisco in January 2012, Rombaut had been managing director of Qualcomm’s European investment unit, Qualcomm Ventures Europe, for six years, having spent almost as much time at private equity firm Apax Partners up to 2003.
Rombaut began his career with IB2 Technologies, a joint venture between computer producer IBM and industrial group Bouygues. He went on to launch Bouygues Group’s corporate development arm where he co-founded Bouygues Telecom, a €10bn ($12.4bn) mobile network operator.
Rombaut said he had worked on 75 transactions totalling more than $14bn over his career and had joined Seraphim because “I am interested in backing the boldest entrepreneurs leading this spacetech revolution.
“Space-enabled data has the potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems by revolutionising innovation in a multitude of sectors, including telecoms, energy, smart city, agriculture, transport, maritime and logistics.
“With Qualcomm and Cisco I have witnessed first-hand the transformational impact such paradigmatic shifts can have on huge global markets.”
Rombaut’s arrival at Seraphim follows its recent recruitment of Matt O’Connell, formerly the CEO of both satellite operator OneWeb and GeoEye, the geospatial intelligence provider acquired by Digital Globe for $1.3bn.
Mark Boggett, CEO of Seraphim Capital, said: “We are thrilled to have Frédéric joining the team. His unrivalled experience of having headed up the European corporate venturing divisions of two of the tech industry’s titans alongside, and his extensive private equity and M&A experience further strengthens our credentials.
“Frédéric has also been a successful pioneer investor in key areas within the space-tech ecosystem including satellite communications systems, geospatial location-based services, and data/AI disruptors.”