Fundraising

Capagro launches €200m agtech fund

The Paris-based firm will target sectors including robotics, specialty ingredients and carbon farming for its follow-on vehicle.

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French asset manager Capagro has launched a food and agtech fund that has a target of raising €200 million.

Capagro Agri-Food Innovation Fund II is the successor to the 2014-vintage Fund I, which eclipsed its €120 million target to close on €124 million in 2017.

Fund II has taken commitments from Avril Group, LSDH, Terrena, Bel Group, Crédit Agricole Group, Bpifrance and Euralis. Capagro did not disclose the amount of capital already raised by the vehicle.

Capagro II will seek to act as a lead or co-lead in roughly 15 start-ups, making investments worth between €3 million and €10 million.

The fund will target the whole food and agtech value chain “with an ‘ecosystemic’ approach that integrates the planet, humans and animals,” a statement from the firm said.

Key sectors of focus include robotics, specialty ingredients, innovative packaging, alternative proteins, personalized nutrition, new distribution channels and emerging sectors such as carbon farming.

The vehicle has already made its first investment, placing €10 million into personalized health start-up Cuure.

“This new investment will allow us to share our vision of health with as many people as possible – easy to access, holistic and tailored to everyone’s needs,” said Cuure CEO and co-founder Hugo Facchin.

Capagro managing director Anne-Valérie Bach commented: “As a catalyst for innovation in the agri-food ecosystem, Capagro draws on a proprietary open innovation platform that not only favors the emergence of champions but also facilitates the adoption of innovations by our partner investors, which include agricultural cooperatives and major food industry groups.

“This unique positioning opens the way for three-fold value creation in the domains of finance with optimization of our risk/reward profile, strategy, via the synergies generated between the companies in the portfolio and the investors, and impact by supporting companies having their core activity in tackling the current environmental and health challenges.”