Emblem, a Paris-based early-stage venture capital fund, has announced that it has secured €50M in the first close of its first flagship fund to help pre-seed and seed-stage startups across France, Denmark, and Sweden.
The VC is planning to hold a second close at €75M in Q3 2023.
The fund is anchored by the Danish sovereign fund (Vaekstfonden) and has also attracted investment from the French corporate Edenred and several French and Nordic family offices.
It is backed by LPs drawn from 70 leading tech entrepreneurs in Paris and Copenhagen, including the founders of 3shape, Dixa, Falcon, Kantox, Peakon, PeopleDoc, Planday, Pleo, Qonto, Silae, Spendesk, Swile, and Zendesk.
Investment between €500k to €3M
The French-VC plans to write a cheque between €500k and €3 million across 25-30 companies in verticals such as B2B SaaS/marketplaces, AI, Future of Work, Fintech, Data & DevOps tools, Digital Health and InsurTech.
The regional split will be approximately 50% in France and 50% in the Nordics, says the VC.
Female entrepreneurs Bénédicte de Raphélis Soissan and Guillaume Durao founded Emblem in 2023.
The founding duo is also seasoned business angels, having invested in various startups such as French-based Sorare, Dalma and Gourmey, Danish-based Growblocks and All Gravy, and Swedish-based Ark Kapital and Goals.
Emblem says its partners will provide hands-on, intensive support to their portfolio companies during the crucial first two years. It includes assistance in the recruitment of the first ten hires, finding first customers, fundraising, founders’ coaching, etc.
Guillaume Durao, the co-founder of Emblem, said: “The first two years of a startup are about hustling and craftsmanship, a pressure that rests heavily on founders’ shoulders who need to be supported. Building unique, non-replicable things like culture and product are critical, and we’re dedicated to helping founders tackle these challenges at the earliest stages of their journey. We have chosen to focus on France and the Nordics because it’s where we have the most presence and their tech scenes still offer an underserved opportunity at the seed stage.”
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