Elaia holds €65m close for PSL Innovation

The vehicle was launched in Q3 2018 in partnership with Paris-based PSL University and is dedicated to investing in startups from the university. 

Elaia is planning to close the fund on its hard-cap in the next few months. 

The French VC previously raised Elaia Alpha, which closed in 2012; and Elaia Delta, closed in 2015. These funds specialise in seed and early-stage investments, respectively.

Investors
Investors that have backed the vehicle include the European Investment Fund, BPI France and Vilmorin & Cie, according to a statement by the firm. Funds-of-funds, corporates and family offices are equally investing in the vehicle, Unquote understands. 

Some backers of Elaia's previous funds have made commitments to PSL as well, a person familiar with the situation told Unquote. 

Investments
The VC and university will collaborate together on the dealflow, as the PSL fund will invest in startups linked to the university's research labs. 

The fund backs seed investments in startups dedicated to AI development, "deep-tech" (companies based on substantial scientific advances and high-tech engineering innovation), and the machine learning subset known as "deep learning", which uses artificial neural networks to manipulate large datasets.

The fund will provide equity tickets in the €300,000-1m range, Unquote understands. 

PSL Innovation has already made four investments from the fund in the startups Gleamer, Sancare, SeqOne and Cosmian. Two more deals are currently in the pipeline, according to a statement.

People
Elaia – Sacha Loiseau (partner).

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