Frst, a French VC firm, secures an initial $80 million for its newly launched seed fund
Paris-based VC firm Frst, known for its lack of vowels in its name, is currently raising its second fund, Frst 3.
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The firm has already achieved a first closing of €72 million (approximately $80 million), maintaining its tradition of being the first VC firm to invest in tech startups.
Frst has an unconventional approach, with approximately half of its term sheets sent even before the startups are formally incorporated. With the infusion of fresh capital, the firm intends to continue this successful strategy and invest in promising ventures over the next few years.
Co-founded by Pierre Entremont and Bruno Raillard, who previously worked together at Otium Venture, Frst established its own VC firm in 2019 and raised its initial fund, Frst 2, which amounted to €90 million (about $100 million). Now, with Frst 3, the firm aims to raise up to €100 million ($110 million). Notable investors in the new fund include the European Investment Fund, Bpifrance's Fonds National d'Amorçage 2, Axa Venture Partners, Isomer, and various individual investors associated with companies like Payfit, Owkin, Shippeo, Pigment, Electra, Supercell, Wolt, Aiven, and Homa Games.
While Frst does not specialize in a specific vertical, the firm anticipates numerous exciting investment opportunities in the coming years due to the growing prominence of artificial intelligence. Pierre Entremont emphasized the transformative potential of AI across various sectors, including work, medicine, defense, education, and natural resource management.
With assets managed or advised totaling over €200 million ($219 million) when factoring in Otium Venture's original €44 million fund, Frst has positioned itself as the largest seed fund in France focused on supporting local startups.
Bruno Raillard expressed confidence in France's ability to play a leading role in the impending AI revolution, citing the country's abundance of top technical talent. Frst has a history of investing in teams with exceptional technical expertise, evident in their past investments such as Owkin and Doctrine.
Having already invested in several startups like Pigment, Electra, Poolside, Doctrine, Payfit, Shippeo, and Owkin, Frst intends to deploy its new fund by investing between €1 million and €3 million in approximately 30 companies.
