Iris Capital holds €250m first close for IrisNext

The fund will be the largest raised by Iris if it closes on its undisclosed target, and is the firm's second multi-corporate vehicle, according to the GP. The first generation was OP Ventures – a €300m vehicle incorporating French telecom giant France Télécom-Orange and advertising company Publicis Groupe. OP Ventures is now fully invested, with around 20% of the fund having been divested.

The GP did not confirm IrisNext's target and hard-cap, but said it would be raising "significantly more" over the next year – the set fundraising period for the vehicle.

IrisNext will be largely focused on the digital sector, looking to invest in fast growing companies trying to reshape certain sectors through core themes including the Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, 5G networks, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing and software design.

It will back startups at various stages of growth that are interested in building towards European or international expansion.

Over the last few years, Iris has established what it calls a "multi-corporate VC model" enabling it to cooperate with corporates such as Orange and Publicis Groupe to support the development of its portfolio companies with a larger network.

Investors
IrisNext has so far been largely backed by corporate backers such as Orange, Publicis and Valeo. They were joined by financial investors and institutions such as BPI France and Banque Populaire.

Private investors and entrepreneurs also contributed to the fundraise. Most investors are France-based, the GP told unquote".

Investments
Similarly to OP Ventures, IrisNext will look to invest in around 60 European startups at different stages of development, from seed to growth stage. Tickets will be slightly larger than with the previous vehicle, ranging between €1-30m (€1-5m for early-stage fundings on average, and €5-30 for later stages).

Geographically, the vehicle will remain largely EU-based, with a particular focus on France and Germany. An investment strategy in the US will also be established. Israel should be another area of interest, the GP told unquote". In both cases, investments will be completed by taking stakes alongside local GPs.

People
Iris Capital – Erkan Kilicaslan, Erik de la Rivière (managing partners); Pierre de Fouquet, Antoine Garrigues (co-founders/managing partners).

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