Paris-based VC firm Singular raises $435M for second fund targeting European tech startups

Singular, a venture capital firm based in Paris, has been keeping a low profile for the past three years, operating somewhat secretly. Despite flying under the radar, the firm has managed to raise over €600 million since its launch in 2020, putting it in the league of some of France’s major investors.

Now, Singular has finally stepped into the spotlight with a significant funding announcement. Today, the firm revealed it has closed a new €400 million (approximately $435 million) early-stage fund, building on the success of its initial €225 million fund launched in early 2020, Sifted reported. This move positions Singular in direct competition with funds raised by some of France’s most seasoned investors, all while operating with a team of just over 10 individuals.

All the investors from the first fund, who also served as limited partners, backed the new fund, with some contributing larger amounts. In addition, Singular broadened its limited partner base to include a US foundation and family offices from both the US and Europe. The fund reached its hard cap in the second half of 2023.

Singular, co-founded and led by former Alven investors Jeremy Uzan and Raffi Kamber, plans to support European companies across various sectors, focusing particularly on Series A investments but covering seed to Series B rounds. Ticket sizes will range from €1 million to €25 million. The venture capital firm has already invested in four companies with the new fund, including Osium AI, a French new materials startup, Thynk, a hospitality CRM, and Continuum Industries, a Scottish AI company.

Uzan and Kamber, known for their involvement in high-profile investments such as Algolia, Qonto, and Stripe, highlighted their decade-long successful collaboration as a key factor in attracting investors to Singular. Despite challenging fundraising conditions, the duo exceeded their initial €350 million target for the second fund.

“When you’re a good team working together for 10 years with a good track record, and you say you’re going to start your own thing, LPs see the potential,” says Uzan. “It’s a bit like being a seed-stage startup. If you’re repeat founders who have done good things, everyone wants to shoot a term sheet.”

Unlike other Paris-based VC firms, Singular has differentiated itself by consistently investing in European startups since its inception. The aim is to establish Singular as a tier 1 VC firm capable of competing with well-known names like Index Ventures, Accel, Balderton, Atomico, and EQT. Uzan emphasized the scarcity of new generalist VC firms on a European scale, highlighting Singular’s unique position in the market.

“There are lots of small funds springing up, very often built around individuals, either with a solo GP approach, or a seed fund approach with a particular vertical, or focused on a particular geography,” Uzan said. “But a generalist VC firm on a European scale, with no vertical, no geography, just competing with the few brand names that naturally come to mind, I’m not sure if there were many new ones.”