Augure raises €15m from Serena Capital et al.

José Rojo
30 March 2015

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Software publisher Augure has secured €15m from existing investors Serena Capital, Ventech, OTC Agregator and Amundi, which were joined for this fifth round by Seventure and BPI France.

Details surrounding the breakdown of the round have not yet been disclosed.

The funding round marks the fifth injection of capital into Augure since 2003. That year saw the French company raising €2m from OTC Asset Management, SGAM and CPR Private Equity.

The second round took place in 2005, when SGAM and OTC Asset Management contributed €1.25m each, with management holding onto a significant minority stake.
In 2006, SGAM and OTC were joined by Ouest Ventures for a €4.5m capital injection. The deal, sourced through a Sagax-run selection process, saw Augure's management retain their minority stake.

Lastly, Augure received €8m in 2008, when Ventech and Serena Capital came on board alongside existing investors SGAM, OTC and Ouest Ventures.

Augure's management intends to use the latest capital increase to hire an extra 30 staff in its sales and technical teams.

According to the company, the capital will also be dedicated to the development of its joint research program with INRIA and its expansion into the US market, with plans to set up an office in New York in 2015.

Company
Founded by Michael Jais in 2002, Augure develops software allowing corporate clients to manage their communications in a personalised way. Its algorithms analyse five million articles and posts by influencers on a daily basis and then provide the data to almost 20,000 professionals from the public relations and digital marketing sectors, according to the company's figures. Augure most recently posted a €9m turnover.

People
Seventure was represented by partner Bruno Rivet, while managing partner Xavier Lorphelin led the deal for Serena Capital. Michael Jais is CEO at Augure.

Advisers
Equity - Jones Day, Charles Gavoty (Legal); ASC Consulting, Hugues Lisan (Financial due diligence).
Company - Cabinet Villechenon, Morgan Hunault, Paul Albert Legrand (Legal); 66 NTH, Thomas Gubler (Corporate finance).