The French VC, Eurazeo announced the second closure of the Smart City II fund, adding 70 million euros to the European Investment Fund from the first last year. The company’s Smart City venture fund aims to fund Startups in the energy, mobility, proptech, industrial technology and logistics sector on a global scale.
Specifically, the fund invests in Startups that facilitate key social changes, such as EV (Electra) urban charging, sharing e-bikes with subscription (DANCE), reused packaging (Pyxo), door-to-door car sharing fleet from remotely controlled vehicles (Vay), property management services (Witco) and supply chain for e-commerce (Cubyn).
Having doubled the size of the fund in less than a year, Eurazeo not only insists on its commitment but also seals the approval it has received from new institutional and corporate investors, such as the European Investment Fund (EIF), The Korean Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC), Momentum Venture Capital (SMRT), SCG and German electricity provider SWK.
These new investors are on top of existing ones from Europe and Asia, including the car manufacturer Stellantis, the electricity companies EDF and Mainova, the public transport company RATP, the energy giant Total, the logistics company Duisport and the Thai real estate development company Sansiri, as well as the institutional investors PRO BTP as well as a number of distinguished family offices.
With activity in the smart cities sector since 2016, Eurazeo’s fund has already brought 5 portfolio companies comprehensive exits through IPO’s or acquisitions in 2021, talking about Volta Charging, Bird, Forsee Power, Glovo and Grab.