Qbic, a St-Denijs-Westrem, Belgium inter-university venture capital firm focusing on the transformation of technological breakthroughs into sustainable businesses, held the first close of its third fund at EUR 49m.
Qbic III sees continued commitment from investors in Qbic’s previous funds, including SFPI-FPIM, PMV, BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, LRM, Noshaq and, finance&invest.brussels, backed by additional investors including private individuals and family offices.
As with previous funds Qbic I and II, Qbic III will invest in spin-offs from multiple partner institutes, building a diverse portfolio of early-stage companies in deeptech, software, biotech, and medtech.
The firm has partnerships with key Belgian universities (UGent, VUB, UAntwerpen, UHasselt, and ULiège), research institutes (VITO and imec), and eight innovative hospitals. Through this relationships, Qbic III has access to the deal flow of these partners.
Led by Sofie Baeten, Managing Partner, Steven Leuridan and Cédric Van Nevel, Partners, and Sara Vandenwijngaert, investment manager, Qbic supports companies 12-18 months before they’re incorporated with pre-investment coaching for projects in close collaboration with its knowledge partners. The firm is a signatory on the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), with Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) principles forming an inherent part of investment decisions.
The fund is launching with an existing pipeline and expecting to review an average of 100 potential projects annually. Some names from the Qbic I portfolio include: Biotalys (IPO Euronext Brussels), Confo Therapeutics; PharmaFluidics (acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific); Biogazelle (acquired by CellCarta); Multiplicom (acquired by Agilent Technologies); and Molecubes (acquired by Bruker). Qbic II includes amongst others: Aphea.Bio; Indigo; Sentea; MRM Health; Blue Foot; and Aloxy.
FinSMEs
23/03/2022