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For a VC house , the second fund is a make - or - break moment . With the initial fund , you raise money establish on an investment thesis because you do n’t have any cart track record , any return key on investment to prove that you ’re a capable investor . It ’s a different history when it ’s sentence to raise the 2nd fund .
AndSingular , a Paris - based VC firm co - base by Raffi Kamber and Jérémy Uzan that invests across Europe , has two pieces of information to share on this front . First , after raising € 225 million forits initial fund($245 million at today ’s exchange rate ) , Singular managed to produce € 400 million for the second investment trust . Second , all the investors who take part in the first fund are back as limited partner in the 2d monetary fund — this is a proficient sign .
This was n’t an obvious outcome for the VC house , as it ’s been a furious drive over the preceding two or three years in venture cap . After the investment frenzy of 2021 and early 2022 that take to harebrained valuations , things have come down back to earth in a dramatic way .
According to Atomico’sstate of European technical school report , European startups are on track to raise $ 45 billion this year . In 2022 , European startup raised $ 85 billion .
“ There were a lot of companies raising funds at moderately rapid cycles , and raising the top end of what they could raise . And so , statistically , the mean check had gone up and the pace of deployment had speed up a bit , ” Jérémy Uzan told me .
“ So we found ourselves in a position where we had to take ourselves , what are we proceed to do ? Do we engage or do we stay out ? Shall we play or not play ? . . . We choose to roleplay this secret plan — after speaking with our LPs , of grade , ” he sum .
Now , many startups are enkindle rounds with a vapid valuation or even a dispirited valuation than their previous round . How did it strike Singular ’s performance ? The firm is n’t deal any metric unit on its first fund ’s financial performance . “ It ’s good , ” Uzan said .
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He also reiterated that survive LPs induct once again in the 2d fund . And the implications of the VC investment frenzy were square . It meant that Singular had to raise its second investment company more quickly .
Singular raised its fund from gravid investors — pension funds , self-governing funds , big family part . Most of them have at least $ 10 billion of assets under direction and are based all around the universe , from the U.S. to Singapore .
Building a big European VC fund
Unlike many VC firms found in Paris , Singular has been investing in European startups from 24-hour interval one . In many way of life , Singular is trying to build a tier 1 VC firm that could rival Index Ventures , Accel , Balderton , Atomico , EQT , etc .
“ There are lots of small-scale funds spring up , very often built around someone , either with a solo general practitioner approach , or a seed fund advance with a particular upright , or focused on a particular geographics , ” Uzan said . “ But a generalist VC firm on a European scurf , with no erect , no geographics , just competing with the few brand name that naturally come to mind , I ’m not trusted if there were many newfangled ace . ”
He appoint Blossom Capital and Felix Capital as relatively recent newcomer with this sort of opportunistic venture investiture background . But , allot to him , it ’s hard to add up up with a French VC firm as an example .
Many Gallic VC firms still remain focused on France first , with a few European investment here and there . Around one - third of Singular ’s portfolio companies are base in France . But the quietus of them — the majority — are distribute across several European countries .
funny invests in Series A rhythm and later . “ Our approach is that we have abstruse pockets , so we can do a Series A where you involve a large check to get in . But at the same clock time , we obviously do n’t predominate out financing very , very good teams at the very former degree , ” Uzan said . “ And we have nothing against Series B rounds when we feel there ’s still plenty of possible top . ”
Some of Singular ’s portfolio party that I ’ve previously address on TechCrunch admit cancer care computer software startupResilience , incarnate genial health servicemoka.care , data monitoring platformSoda , automated accountancy startup for freelancersIndy , societal stock trading appShares , material company reusing carbon fibre compositeFairmat , real - time analytics API startupTinybird , life insurance startupLife5 , enterprisingness software program company for the hospitality industryThynkand AI - base R&D startup focused on textile scienceOsium AI .
As you may see , it ’s a large mix of industries and verticals . There ’s no decipherable common thread between these companies , except that there was an investment opportunity .
“ We still have this approach — it ’s a bit of acliché , but it ’s existent — which is to await for the best teams . We consider that the team will lead us to projects with a high potential , ” Uzan said .
And once they see an investment opportunity , Singular try out to lead troll as much as potential so that it can remain very much involved with portfolio companies and their CEOs . “ Raffi says we think we ’ve done a good job if we ’re one of the 10 names on the speed dial leaning on your iPhone , ” Uzan suppose .
