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2023 was our Year 1
- We have experienced significant growth since our inception in 2022. Our team has expanded from 4 to 14 across our two offices in Paris and Singapore, with additional recruitments planned for Paris early in Q1.
- We have also made significant investments, with over €25m deployed in 10 promising companies: 4 in France, 2 in Germany, 2 in Singapore,1 in Spain, and 1 in the UK. We have invested in technologies that will not only decarbonize road mobility but also maritime routes and supply-chains.
- We have built a well-balanced group of value-add LPs both financial (60% of total commitments to-date) and corporate (40% of total commitments) which contributes to the uniqueness of our value offering. Our network of experts has demonstrated its value both before and after investment.
- Our Impact Committee is fully operational, with Professors Tima Bansal and Rodolphe Durand continuously advising us on best practices related to sustainability matters and on what it means to be an Article 9 Fund.
- Yes, we are only one year old and just getting started!
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Fund Raising
- Notwithstanding the complex global environment for raising VC funds in 2023, we have come a long way since our first close at €100m end of 2022 and we are on target to hit €200m in Q1.
- While our ambitious goal of reaching €250 million in fund size at final close may seem daunting, we are confident in our ability to secure key investors which we are in discussion with, which will propel us towards achieving our objective.
- Being a thematic impact fund, with a strong added-value offering, of significant size, and in its early phase of deployment is a real plus in the current macroeconomic context.
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Our Portfolio
We have invested in 10 companies so far, and this across 5 key themes:
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Vehicle-embedded tech:
- Photonics and AR technologies can help replace all screens in cars by projecting dashboard and infotainment displays on windshields. Eyelights has made spectacular progress working with OEMs and Tier 1s over the past 12 months. 2024 should see its technology on board of vehicles and if you happen to be in Las Vegas for CES 2024, seize the opportunity to visit their booth for an exceptional showcase of this cutting-edge technology.
- Using virtual sensors and ML to turn raw vehicle data into value-added insights can play a major role in predictive maintenance and in extending the life of vehicles. ComPredict is now accelerating, having convinced a first car OEM to embed Compredict’s virtual sensors natively in its future models for the series production. Follow their news: they will also be showcasing their solutions at CES 2024.
- Leveraging software and AI to cleanse and pre-process sensor data can help significantly reduce the energy consumption from ADAS / AD algorithms. Berlin-based Teraki has proven its ability to do it, striked partnerships with leasing sensors’ OEMs and is collaborating with multiple carmakers. Teraki is also leveraging its unique technology to fully automate forklifts and last-mile delivery robots.
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Greener logistics:
- Road, maritime, air and rail logistics used to be operated as silo legs and poor visibility on the shipments would hinder supply chain productivity. Today, with Shippeo real-time transportation visibility platform, clients can optimize and automate further their operations, as well as make informed decisions to decarbonize their logistics across transport modes. A clear leader in Europe, Shippeo is now expanding further in the US and even Asia to claim global leadership.
- The continuous acceleration of maritime logistics and offshore industries has significant impacts on marine biodiversity, fauna, and flora. Since its inception, Sinay‘s project has been to use maritime data insights to enhance sustainability and drive efficiency oceanwide. The Sinay Hub enables environmental monitoring for industry leaders to make relevant data-driven decisions, whether it concerns the quality of air, water, or noise. Now, reaching new markets with intensive maritime activities, such as South East Asia, enables Sinay to scale up its impactful value proposition.
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Green motorization:
- Last year 82% of light commercial vehicles sold in France were still diesel powered. Even long after the 2035 European ban for non-electrified cars, there will still be millions of diesel powered LCVs on our roads. The retrofit makes sense both for the planet and the wallet. TOLV electrification platform allows to accelerate the electrification of the market without wasting all the resources used to produce the vehicles on our roads today. In 2024, TOLV will be the first LCV retrofit company to operate at scale with hundreds of retrofitted vehicles.
- Another proud investment in 2023 was in Barcelona-based bound4blue: adding their suction sails to cargo ships will save up to 30% of the fuel consumption. Recently, bound4blue announced that Louis Dreyfus Company, the leading global merchant and processor of agricultural goods, has chosen its technology to install 26-meter-high eSAILs on its juice vessel in 2024. Similar news will follow this year, as the company has many new projects in the pipeline.
- The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. It targets to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2050. Maritime decarbonisation efforts are typically centered over the large shipping industry instead of the understudied and underserved coastal vessels and maritime ancillary services industry. Yet, coastal vessels in Singapore only for instance emit around 300k tonnes of CO2 annually, in addition to other GHGs/PM2.5 particles. Pyxis is an asset-light Electric Vessel manufacturer focused on electrifying coastal vessels fleets in Asia (SAM of US$22bn for 42,000 vessels regionally). Pyxis first Electric boats will be seen on Singapore waters early Q1-2024.
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Circular economy:
- Recycling Lithium for EV Batteries: under the European Green Deal, material recovery targets for lithium will reach 50% by 2027 and 80% by 2031, but only 1% of lithium from EV batteries in Europe today are recycled. In that context, we believe Neu Battery Materials’s patented electrochemical modular technology enjoys immense growth potential in the coming years. 2023 saw Neu Battery signed some first key partnerships with battery cell manufacturers and global waste management companies. 2024 should see its technology operate at scale in its first Singapore-based factory.
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Smart mobility:
- Riding bicycles and e-bikes is growing at an incredible pace: in Europe only, the sale of e-bikes is projected to surpass new car sales before the end of the decade. With its innovative collective insurance model that places the customer at the center of its concerns, Laka is rewriting the rules of insurance for bicycle users. 6-time winner of “Best Cycle Insurance Provider”, Laka is growing across Europe at an accelerated pace, fuelled by strategic partnerships, being the bike insurance of choice from leading brands such as Decathlon or Gazelle to name a few.
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2024 Outlook
2024 looks exciting : We will relentlessly expand our portfolio by investing in 6-8 ground-breaking companies, fuelling their accelerated growth and global reach. Our cross-border platform will connect Europe and Southeast Asia, enabling at least 50% of our start-ups to tap into new markets. Our deep-rooted partnerships with global OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers will expedite the implementation of our startups’ solutions into series vehicle rollouts, shaping the future of mobility.
We can’t wait for our Year 2 to begin !
“If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed” – David Viscott
Wishing you and your loved ones a Fabulous New Year !
