Anything you can hear in the other quarter will seem to be linked to the environment and society. At least that's one conclusion drawn from the news that European expert VC Revent has shut down its 100 million euro ($109 million) Fund II to invest in “planetary and social health” startups.
Released from Berlin by Otto Billunbaum and Lauren Lenz in 2021, Levent's paper was (and remains) that it might be very valuable as the most ambitious entrepreneurs want to build companies that promote social progress. Something high-minded.
Certainly, geopolitics has moved in a way that suggests that it may seem completely different from what we saw in 2021. However, the pair have assembled key LPS to support the new fund.
These include German retail giant The Otto Group, Goldbeck, Wepa, Oetker, Beiersdorf, Hymer, and many European technology founders. The European Investment Fund has also increased its commitment to Revent's second fund.
Lentz told TechCrunch that the fund is looking for startups such as energy transition, industrial decarbonization, healthcare, climate, economic empowerment and restkill.
Since its launch, it has been invested in 26 companies. “A lot of climate technology, some are part of health technology, empowerment. Overall, things are going very well. There were a lot of companies that were featured in the general funds of Tier One,” she said.
According to Lenz, the fund has always been trying to position itself in the third category. “As a performance-focused fund, we invest in the health of our planets and society from a long-term value creation perspective. In our early days, we were skeptical and didn't understand why we didn't influence ourselves or call the climate. By investing in important long-term transitions, we promote value.”
Revent's LPS is very long-term oriented, she said. “I don't think they're afraid of what's going on in the US right now. In fact, they believe it's important to continue investing in these spaces despite what's going on in the US. And I think there's the idea of Europe, to get up and punch and get a sense of the big value in these spaces and invest.”
She believes more capital is heading towards what is called reindustrialization, European sovereignty and defense, and if there is a surge in new emerging specialist funding now, it would be “not surprising.” “I think Europe now needs to understand what that means… I think technology and innovation are part of it, and capital flows in that direction to some extent.”
The team is currently divided into Berlin, London and Paris, and currently has a venture partner in San Francisco.