Aquiti closes AVA1 seed fund at nearly €60M for the French South-West
What's the deal? Bordeaux-based fund manager AquitiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has closed its AVA1 seed fund at nearly €60 million, reaching its target size two years after a €30 million first close in 2024. The venture fund backs pre-seed and seed technology startups across France's greater South-West.
Who backed it? Investors include Bpifrance's Fonds National d'Amorçage 3 — managed for the state under the France 2030 plan — the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region via Société Nouvelle-Aquitaine Participations, Crédit Mutuel ArkéaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, MACSFDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and entities from the Crédit Agricole and BPCE groups. Entrepreneurs and company directors rooted in the South-West also subscribed.
What's the endgame? AVA1 targets startups in health and the environment, devoting at least 70% of its resources to those themes. Initial tickets run from €100,000 to €3 million, rising to €6 million through follow-on investments, and the fund plans a portfolio of 25 to 30 companies over four to five years.
Why now? The fund is already operational, having backed 13 companies, mostly at very early stages. Investments span five regions: Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Pays de la Loire, Occitanie, Centre-Val de Loire, and the former Auvergne.
What they said: "The objective we set ourselves has now been met," said Jean-François Cochy, Aquiti associate director and head of AVA1 (translated from French). "Future technology champions can emerge anywhere, provided they find a partner who believes in their potential from the earliest stages."
Early portfolio companies include SynboliDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Mérignac polymer developer; RelaiSantéDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Bordeaux care-continuity platform; CurlimDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Limoges firm treating peripheral neuropathies; and Nantes-based SpeeralDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The signal: Classified as an Article 8 fund under SFDR rules, AVA1 is one of the larger regional seed vehicles in France. Its size makes it a notable tool for financing early-stage startups outside the Paris-concentrated circuits — a growing push to back founders beyond the country's main hubs.
Read more: frenchtechbordeaux.com
Image credit: olilynch
