Start-up financing: the Pertinence Invest 2 Fund

Are you a start-up ready to scale up?

Good news! Sofimac Innovation offers a new innovation financing opportunity dedicated to deep-tech start-ups: the Pertinence Invest 2 Fund.

As partners of this new investment fund, we at Dynergie are convinced that an efficient financing strategy is the key to successful growth. This is why, in parallel to obtaining your Research Tax Credit (RTC), we support you in a complete strategy for financing your R&D and innovation projects.

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SOFIMAC INNOVATION: A REGIONAL PLAYER

Sofimac Innovation is a management company member of the Sofimac Investment Manager Group(Sofimac Innovation and Sofimac Régions). With more than 750 million euros under management, including 400 million euros dedicated to innovation capital, the group created 40 years ago is one of the French leaders in investment and support for start-ups and SMEs.

Indeed, Sofimac Innovation supports innovative start-ups in their growth projects thanks to a wide range of investment vehicles. Thanks to its active offices in Marseille (in addition to those located in Paris, Lyon and Rennes), the company has become, since 2017, a real player in the region's local fabric.

Investing in a wide variety of technology sectors, particularly in the engineering sciences and healthcare, it relies on a team of experienced investor-entrepreneurs specialized in their field.

THE RELEVANCE INVEST 2 FUND

A very interesting financing for early-stage start-ups in addition to the CIR / CII!

The fund, which currently has €47 million in capital, is designed to finance the innovation of deep-tech start-ups at the pre-seed and seed stages that have emerged from or are linked to the academic world. It will also have the capacity to accompany the participations during subsequent rounds, in a patient capital logic.

Closed in March 2020, the Pertinence Invest 2 Fund was created in partnership with some twenty partner institutions comprising engineering schools and universities located in major innovation territories: Aix-Marseille University, the INSA Group, Grenoble INP, the École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers, Écoles Centrale (Lyon, Marseille and Nantes), the University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux INP, the University of Pau and the Pays de l'Adour, the University of Limoges, La Rochelle University, the University of Nantes, as well as IFP Énergies Nouvelles.

In the southern region, the University of Aix-Marseille and Centrale Marseille are actively supporting this project.

The sectors targeted by this fund will be engineering sciences and health/nutrition for which Sofimac Innovation is advised by the management company Merieux Equity Partners.

Although the health crisis has disrupted the economic world, Sofimac Innovation, thanks to its Pertinence Invest 2 fund, has had an active investment policy with 10 investments made since March 2020, including two in the South of France: Nothing2Install and ACWA Robotics.

QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS

Sofimac Innovation wanted to bring a different vision to the business of seed investment, by associating large industrial companies, ETIs and SMEs with this innovation financing, so that they could develop relationships with start-ups at an early stage in a benevolent open innovation approach.

Groups such as bioMérieux, Michelin and Seb, as well as some of the world's leading SMEs, have joined the project to help accelerate the growth of the start-ups it supports.

These companies benefit fromthe support of industrialists as well as from a link with the best research institutions and laboratories.

In return, industrial partners have qualified access to the world of innovation, an active watch on subjects of interest and also a gateway into the institutions to discuss R&D contracts or simply develop their employer brand with students. A bridge that currently does not exist very often!

Finally, this innovation financing also has the support of Bpifrance and banking players withwhom it shares deal flow and financing issues. Indeed, in the South of France, Sofimac Innovation works closely with the teams of CEPAC and BNP Paribas.

IN A FEW FIGURES...

In summary, the Relevance 2 Fund is :

• 20 institutions (6 universities, 13 engineering schools, 1 public research organization)
• 466 research laboratories
• 17,000 researchers
• 14 industrial partners
• 7 financial partners
• A deal flow of more than 1,000 projects per year
• An initial closing of €41 million
• A size of 47 M€, with a target of 50 / 60 M€ at the second closing
• A first ticket between 100 and 700 k€, with possibility of reinvestment
• Approximately 30 participations targeted

THE WORDS OF AURÉLIE VIAUX

Investment Director SOFIMAC INNOVATION, Marseille Office

" We feel that we have been forerunners in the development lines of French deeptech that the government has been giving for a year: developing links between start-ups and industrial groups, but also working on local ecosystems We feel that we have been a forerunner in the development of French deeptech, which the government has been promoting for the past year.

We are clearly in a a local eco-system perspective around qualified actors able to accompany our projects. It is in this logic that we regularly work with Dynergieour partners. They bring their skills and professionalism on important subjects for start-ups: consulting and financing (non-dilutive & CIR). This is an inseparable part of our investment!

Participating in this movement allowing the passage from the research laboratory to its application to make it a future technological leader of tomorrow... That's what motivates me every day! And the adventure is just beginning. We obviously have other projects for the years to come in our territory.

Aurélie Viaux.

TO GO FURTHER

You want to accelerate the development of your start-up?

Our experts can help you optimize your chances of success by obtaining the best financing and developing your partnerships.

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