Partech launches its successor €360M venture fund

Partech launches its successor €360M venture fund to back mission-critical software, data and fintech specialists in Europe and announces its first investment in Smartpricing

Paris, December 14th, 2023. The latest fund of Partech (simply called Partech Venture) is doubling down on the same focus as its predecessor (Partech International Ventures VII) i.e. unearthing and backing mission-critical software companies powering the digital transformation of Enterprises and SMBs.

The investment team, led by Philippe Collombel and Reza Malekzadeh is reinforced by experienced international team members, including Jean Sini, Simone Riva and Elena Moneta. Together, they bring extensive experience as operators and investors, combining a highly technical, international, and business-oriented approach. They will leverage their expertise in Product, Business Development, Go-To-Market, M&A, C-Level Hiring and raising capital to support the portfolio companies of the new fund. The companies will also be able to tap into the specialist platform teams of Partech. “We are continuing to build on the success of our previous venture, with experienced partners that have built a portfolio of leading European companies and we have added some new talent to increase our coverage of the best European deals.” comments Philippe Collombel, General Partner and co-founder of Partech.

Partech Venture will invest across four key themes: Application Software, Deep Tech Software (Data & AI Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, DevOps), B2B & B2B2C Vertical Platforms and Fintech & Insurtech Applications. The thesis and ambitions remain the same; leading investment in 22 to 24 Series A / Series B stage European companies which have from €1 to €10M recurring revenue.

“We are essentially keeping the same investment strategy for our venture fund: we will seek to support promising category leaders that are striving for either European dominance or the potential to expand to the US.” comments Reza Malekzadeh, General Partner. He adds that “We have only scratched the surface of the huge market potential arising from the digital transformation of European enterprises and SMBs. European capabilities in creating mission-critical applications for productivity, digital infrastructure, data protection and cyber security, as well as tools that leverage data and AI, have dramatically improved over the last 10 years”.

Partech Venture welcomes a diverse cohort of investors ranging from international institutions to sovereign funds and leading multinational corporates, including the likes of Allianz France, BNP Paribas, Bpifrance, CDP Venture Capital, Edenred, FDJ Ventures, JCDHolding, and Lombard Odier Investment Managers. "We are thrilled by the robust backing received by Partech Venture, a testament to the success of our prior fund, the effectiveness of our investment strategy, and the dedication of our team,” adds Philippe Collombel. “Already, half of the fund, €180M, has been committed, drawing support from a diverse range of investors”.

First investment in SmartPricing

Partech Venture has already started putting this new fund to work and has made its first deal, leading the €13M Series A round of Italian-based Smartpricing. The company, founded in 2020 in Arco, Trentino, offers revenue management software for hotels which enables hoteliers to increase their turnover through technologies based on machine learning models. It uses a proprietary algorithm to processes various types of data, including those related to the market, saturation, price trends in a specific geographic area and the hotel’s history, to propose the best possible price to improve the performance of hospitality structures. “In merely three years, Smartpricing has orchestrated 2 million bookings for over 3,000 hotels, B&Bs, and other such travel accommodation, elevating their turnover by an impressive average of 30%” comments Philippe Collombel. “Extending its footprint, notably in Italy and the DACH region, Smartpricing is poised to emerge as the global leader in revenue management for small and medium-sized hospitality structures.” This new round of funding will allow the company to execute on its plans to expand its team, launch new products and further consolidate its position in the software and fintech vertical for the hospitality sector.

About Partech Venture

Partech Venture is the successor fund of PIV VII. With its venture strategy, Partech has backed global category leaders including:

• ABTasty (AI-driven customer experience optimization platform),
• Agicap (Cash-flow monitoring & forecasting platform),
• Akeneo (Product Information Management & Product Data Intelligence software),
• Bitrise (Mobile DevOps Software platform),
• Compte Nickel – acquired by BNP Paribas – (The first Phygital Neobank),
• Fresha (Vertical ERP for the beauty industry),
• Guardicore – acquired by Akamai – (Micro-segmentation and workload protection solutions for datacenters),
• Kantox – acquired by BNP Paribas - (FX risk management automation software),
• ManoMano (B2C and B2B vertical DIY marketplace),
• Medigate – acquired by Claroty – (Cybersecurity platform for medical devices),
• Memfault (IoT reliability platform),
• Odaseva (Data governance & security platform),
• Papernest (Smart solution to manage contracts and subscriptions),
• Platform.sh (Global DevOps infrastructure platform),
• Shippeo (Supply-chain real-time visibility platform).

Since the end of 2021, Partech has realized 11 exits generating at least a 3x multiple on invested capital, including 6 from the venture portfolio, with 5 exits above 5x.

About the Partech Venture Team

The international team is made up of software and industry experts and operators with a comprehensive set of functional and sector-specific skills. The team spanning Paris, New York, Milan, and London includes:

• Philippe Collombel (Founding and General Partner): he recently invested in Agicap, Fresha, Kantox, ManoMano, Compte Nickel, Papernest, Perfectsay, Shippeo, and SideCare.
• Reza Malekzadeh (General Partner): he invested in AB Tasty, Akeneo, Bitrise, Elopage, Guardicore, Odaseva, and Platform.sh.
• Jean Sini (General Partner): he invested in Medigate, Memfault, and, prior to Partech, in Canva, Datakin, Fieldwire, and Treasure Data.
• Simone Riva (Senior Principal): he invested in Koro and, prior to Partech, in Contentsquare, Deliveroo, Flixbus, GetYourGuide, Sennder, Sumup, Wefox and Bending Spoons.
• Elena Moneta (Principal): she has invested in Roger and, prior to Partech, in PrimaryBird, Peppy, and Semble.
• Nikhil Punwaney (Associate): he recently joined in Q3 2023. Nikhil, the former CTO of DeepBench, brings deep expertise in Deep Tech, DevOps, Cybersecurity, and software engineering, with a background at LinkedIn and Acquia.

About Partech

Partech is a global tech investment firm headquartered in Paris, with offices in Berlin, Dakar, Dubai, Nairobi, and San Francisco. We are a team made up of independent thinkers. We are unconstrained by hype, trend or fixed ways of working. We believe in the power of alliance in action, working together and side-by-side with the founders we back, in the shared pursuit of success. We bring together capital, operational experience and strategic support for the entrepreneurs we back from seed through to growth stage. Born in San Francisco 40 years ago, today we manage €2.5B AUM and our current portfolio of 220 companies in 40 countries, across 4 continents.

For media inquiries:

Isabelle Tresson: +33 7 86 08 85 85 itresson@partechpartners.com