Arkéa, White Star, Wind Capital inject €5m into Klaxoon

The funding round also included business angels such as Xavier Niel, the founder of French telecoms company Free.

Company founder Matthieu Beucher retains a controlling stake in the group following the transaction.

This first round of funding should enable the startup to launch its international development, potentially as far as the US. It will also look to establish new partnerships with large brands, adding to its current list of customers that includes international firms L'Oréal, Dior, Nestlé and Decathlon.

Klaxoon will recruit an extra 50 staff members to support its growth, reaching a 150-strong workforce. With these developments, the group aims to achieve a €10m turnover by year-end.

Arkéa, which invested via its Arkéa Capital Investissement fund, is the private equity arm of insurer Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, and takes minority stakes in French SMEs with equity tickets ranging between €1-10m. The group recently announced the launch of its latest investment vehicle, Arkéa Capital Managers, a €200m evergreen fund.

Company
Launched in 2014, Klaxoon develops software aimed at boosting participation and memorisation during training, meetings and conferences. The product creates a network to which up to 40 participants can connect without any external internet connection. It creates its own wifi network and can be accessed from a mobile or laptop.

The software also offers an array of activities enabling participants to interact, including quizzes, surveys, challenges and live messaging. It currently counts 100,000 users in 114 countries.

People
White Star Capital – Eric Martineau-Fortin (managing partner).
Wind Capital – Xavier Gury (investor).
Arkéa Capital Investissement – Pierre-Emmanuel Boulic (head of innovation).

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