Aster has raised an additional EUR240 million bringing its total funds under management to EUR500 million. A specialist in digital transformation and industries of the future, the investment company provides support to growing companies in the sectors of energy, mobility and industry.
Building from a Business Hub, a true acceleration platform serving entrepreneurs, Aster provides them with support to jump-start their development projects and benefit from corporate investor networks.
A EUR240 million capital increase is to be invested primarily in Europe and the United States. The EUR240 million in capital raised in the first closing by several industrial players of the related areas will be used to finance companies, at all levels of maturity. Investments will range from EUR250K at the seed level to EUR15M in the growth segment.
Jean-Marc Bally, Managing Partner at Aster, says the fundraising: “proves all the confidence our subscribers have in Aster’s unique model and in the vitality of venture capital in France”.
The funds will be invested primarily in Europe and the United States, with potential for action in Asia. Aster covers all the world’s major innovation hubs, with offices in Paris, San Francisco and Tel Aviv, as well as a presence in China and Africa, through partner funds.
Aster’s investments will be focused on the digital and industrial transformations of the energy and mobility markets, the team’s areas of expertise for the last 17 years.
The energy transition will be the first development line. The second angle for investment will be the mobilities of the future, in particular: new usages; technologies and infrastructures fostering sustainable mobility and multi-modality; and connected and autonomous vehicles.
According to Fabio Lancellotti, Partner at Aster: “The transformations underway in the energy and mobility value chains are creating opportunity for budding companies, as well as for industrials. We want to energise the sector by combining our strengths through our ‘Business Hub’ approach.”
Aster provides the funded companies with an acceleration platform, facilitated by a dedicated team which mission is to encourage business opportunities. Thanks to its Business Hub approach, Aster provides support to entrepreneurs at all stages of their projects and enables them to reach the most relevant players, networks and markets for their development.
Over the last twelve months, the Business Hub has enabled more than 500 contacts and generated around twenty partnerships between start-ups and industrial players.
