With a heritage that dates back to the year 2000, when it first began backing European teams, Paris-based early-stage fund Alven has established itself as a reputable player in the venture capital landscape. Having invested in unicorns such as Qonto, Dataiku, Algolia, Stripe, and Ankorstore, Alven now boasts €2 billion in assets under management.
However, yesterday is history, and today marks a new chapter for Alven with the launch of its sixth fund. The fund has already hit a hard cap of €350 million, exceeding its initial target of €300 million, making it one of the largest early-stage funds operating out of France. This significant milestone comes after more than 70 exits, including recent sales such as Sqreen to Datadog, Cardiologs to Philips, and Frichti to Gorillas.
A Global Reach with a Local Touch
While Alven is known for its Francophile approach, the fund has also established a presence in London, which it plans to expand. As part of its strategy, Alven will deploy funds across Europe, as well as support European founders operating in the U.S. in relevant sectors.
"We pride ourselves on building long-term relationships with entrepreneurs," said Charles Letourneur, co-founder of Alven. "This also applies to investors in Alven. Not only have our existing LPs continually invested in us, but we’ve also welcomed a number of new investors who want to be part of the French Tech success story."
Diversification into New Growth Areas
Alven recently launched Operation3, a talent program aimed at web3 entrepreneurs. The fund will now focus on new growth areas, including:
- Web3: Alven has invested in Kaiko, a market data provider for digital assets.
- Developer and Data Tooling: Mindee, a document parsing tool for developers, is one of the notable investments.
- Climate Tech: MyTraffic (physical location data analytics), Carbonfact (a carbon footprint API), and Stoik (data-driven cyber insurance) are some of the key players in this space.
In an interview with TechCrunch, partner François Meteyer emphasized the importance of hiring talented individuals to build a successful VC firm. "We’ve been consistently hiring what we think is the next generation of successful VCs, first in France, and then in Europe," he said.
Rising to the Challenge
Given the potential recession looming on the horizon, I asked Meteyer about his thoughts on just-in-time groceries. He replied, "We have seen many M&A in the past, and we’ll see more and more. We think just-in-time groceries is going to continue to matter — it will be about price."
A Strong Network of LPs
Alven’s success can be attributed to its strong network of Limited Partners (LPs), who have trusted the fund with their investments. "Our LPs trust us, and every backer from our previous fund invested again in this new fund," Meteyer said. "And then we decided to extend the LP bases and bring more global institutions in as LPs."
Conclusion
With its sixth fund now up and running, Alven is poised to continue its mission of supporting innovative startups across Europe and beyond. As the venture capital landscape continues to evolve, Alven’s commitment to new growth areas such as web3, crypto, and climate tech will undoubtedly be a key factor in its success.
About Alven
Alven is a Paris-based early-stage fund that has been backing European teams since 2000. With €2 billion in assets under management, the fund has established itself as a reputable player in the venture capital landscape.
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