Seventure Partners, a French venture capital firm focused on life sciences, has launched AVF, a new €24m ($29.4m) venture capital fund directed at companies focusing on the field of animal health, feed, and nutrition. Adisseo, an industry leader in the animal feed sector, is partnering with Seventure on the fund.
Isabelle de Cremoux, CEO and managing partner of Seventure Partners, said the goal of the fund is to invest in approximately 15 startups working in animal health and nutrition.
“With the demographics of the planet, and food trends in Asia, the demand for livestock-derived products is increasing, and so is the demand for innovation to increase yield, reduce costs, replace antibiotics, and improve sustainability,” de Cremoux told AgFunderNews. “Adisseo shares our strategic vision on how innovation can impact the industry and make our lives better, so they are a perfect match with our fund.”
The fund, she noted, will focus on two segments—animal health, feed and nutrition and digital technologies serving the livestock industry, investing at every stage, regardless of geography.
“It was created to address a very specific and expanding need in the market: preserving animal health, gaining a better understanding of the entire food value chain, as well as developing technologies to cultivate and produce food in a better way,” de Cremoux said.
Nicolas Besse, external development director with Adisseo, said the company’s goal is to invest in strategic collaborations combining the agility of start-ups with Adisseo’s expertise.
“We want this to capture innovation from those thinking outside the box,” Besse told AgFunderNews. “We think we are really well placed to bring technology solutions to the problem.”
Opportunities in the animal health sector include improving food digestibility, its nutritional value and energy potential, as well as the traceability of the entire animal food chain. The goal, Besse said, is to do this while also lessening the environmental impact.
There is no timeframe for choosing the companies, as Besse noted it’s more important to really investigate the best startups that can help solve the problem. To that end, he forecasts that about two to three companies could be selected per year.
“We want to take our time because for us, it’s a strategic investment for the future,” he said.
de Cremoux added that while she expects startups to be selected from Europe, North America and Israel, candidates will be considered from anywhere in the world where innovative technology and products are working to solve this important issue.
Previously, Seventure Partners implemented Health for Life Capital, which raised €160m with strategic partners such as Danone, Novartis, Tereos, Lesaffre and Bel investing in microbiome, digital innovation and in human health/nutrition/food.
