After the success of its Smart City I Venture fund, Eurazeo has announced the initial closing of its Smart City II Venture fund at EUR80 million to invest in the most promising energy, mobility proptech and logistics start-ups worldwide.
This first round of fundraising has brought together top-tier investors including longstanding partners of Smart City II Venture Fund as well as new partners in Europe and Asia: French, German and Asian groups (carmaker Stellantis, electric utilities EDF and Mainova, public transportation operator RATP, energy major Total, logistics champion Duisport and Thaï real estate developer Sansiri), institutional investors as PRO BTP and family offices.
The success of this round of fundraising reflects the strategy adopted by the Smart City Venture team which, through its Smart City I Venture Fund, has already made nearly 25 investments spanning not only Europe but also thanks to the Group’s international presence, Asia and North America. Most of these portfolio investments have already demonstrated their international growth potential. This is the case, for example, for the Spanish last-mile logistics specialist Glovo, the American leader in charging networks for electric vehicles, Volta Charging, and the Chinese pioneer of autonomous mobility, Weride.
The Smart City Venture team invests into innovative digital companies which are supporting rapid transformation of cities for the benefit of their residents: work from home, shared mobility, electric mobility, food delivery and the renewable energy transition. The public health crisis has massively accelerated and amplified these changes in all major cities. Positioned at the intersection of digital technologies and the renewable energy transition, Eurazeo Smart City II is one of Europe’s most prominent funds supporting progress in energy, mobility, proptech, logistics and Industry 4.0 – all core components of a green recovery.
Matthieu Bonamy, Partner at Idinvest Partners, a subsidiary of Eurazeo, says: “We are proud of the trust given by our investors. The Smart City Venture strategy aims to select and support the future global leaders in each of their sectors thanks to an expertise in our investments themes and a selectivity rate at the level of the best generalist funds. The fund benefit is also extra-financial as we support entrepreneurs who take decisive action to reduce carbon emissions and enable the development of more inclusive and resilient cities. This is crucial today as cities consume 78 per cent of the world’s energy and produce more than 60 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases.”