HCVC, a venture capital firm headquartered in Paris, has just announced the successful closure of its second fund, named “Fund II,” with a total capital raise of $75 million (€69 million). This substantial funding will be utilized to support early-stage companies in both Europe and North America.
Initially specializing in investments in hardware startups, HCVC has since expanded its focus to include a broader range of deep tech startups. These encompass companies engaged in fields such as climate technology, biotechnology, robotics, space exploration, and more. Notable companies within HCVC’s portfolio include Cowboy, a manufacturer of electric bikes, Renaissance Fusion, a nuclear fusion technology company, as well as Span, Caper, Automata, Radia, and Augmenta.
The name “HCVC” originates from the Hardware Club, a community comprised of hardware and deep tech companies that collaborate, exchange knowledge, and offer support to one another through this network. The Hardware Club boasts a membership of over 600 companies.
It’s important to note that the Hardware Club is not primarily a profit-making venture, and HCVC does not invest in every company within the Hardware Club. Since 2018, the firm has provided backing to 50 companies through its original $50 million fund.
With the launch of HCVC’s new fund, the venture capital firm intends to make approximately 40 investments, translating to an average of around 10 deals each year. The funding per deal is expected to range from €250,000 to €2.5 million ($260,000 to $2.6 million).
Alexis Houssou, the founder and managing partner of HCVC, articulated the firm’s mission, stating, “We want to back founders that create a future with more clean energy, more powerful computing, more context-aware robots, better defense tools for democracies, and biomanufacturing that enables us to decarbonize food production.”
In addition to Alexis Houssou, the fund comprises three other partners: Jerry Yang, Aymerik Renard, and Alex Flamant, with Alex Flamant being a recent addition to the team. Previously, Flamant served as a principal at Singular, another Paris-based VC firm, and also gained experience at Notion Capital.
HCVC secured funding from various limited partners, including the European Investment Fund, Isomer Capital, and Molten Ventures, along with individual investors such as Albert Wenger (managing partner at USV), John Elkann (chairman of Stellantis and Ferrari), and Toto Wolff (team principal and CEO of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team).
Notably, HCVC highlights that its fund is exclusively supported by investors from Europe, the United States, and Japan, without the participation of Saudi Arabian investors, distinguishing it from many U.S.-based VC firms.
