Blisce becomes the latest VC firm to launch a fund focused on climate change technology, with plans to raise up to €150 million (approximately $162 million). The company has hired investor Pierre-Edouard Bellion to lead the fund, and Too Good to Go co-founder Lucie Basch will support the fund as a venture partner.
For those not familiar with Blisce, the Paris-based VC firm also has offices in New York and is best known as the investment vehicle of Alexandre Mars (pictured above). Mars is an entrepreneur turned philanthropist who founded several technology companies in the early 2000s and sold them to major companies such as Publicis and BlackBerry. Blisce’s last fund raised 240 million dollars (approximately 225 million euros).
More recently, Mars launched a classic for-profit VC firm called Blisce, which is labeled as a B Corp. He also founded Epic, a nonprofit foundation that funds organizations that reduce children’s inequities in education and health, and supports organizations that fight climate change.
It’s hard to talk about Blisce without mentioning Epic. A portion of Blisce’s profits are reinvested into Epic to cover the Foundation’s operating costs. Similarly, the Blisce team has committed 20% of its holding profits to Epic.
This seems to be working, especially since Blisce has invested in several unicorns such as Spotify, Pinterest, and Headspace. Most recently, the company invested in his Brut, Sorare, and Welcome to the Jungle. As you can see, the company’s portfolio is a mix of consumer technology companies and has not yet focused on climate change technology.
Bliss wants to use the firm’s new fund to invest in technology startups that have a positive impact on climate change, particularly in polluting industries such as materials, food, construction, mobility and energy. The company plans to assemble a specialized team for this fund, and, as mentioned above, has hired Pierre-Edouard Bellion to lead it.
Berion is a familiar face in Parisian VC circles. He joined Raise Ventures as a partner after working for several years as an investment director at Eurazeo (investing in Zenly, Withings, and Vestiaire Collective).
As for Lucie Basch, she is already familiar with the Blisce team as they are investors in her company Too Good To Go. She will be a venture partner in a new climate change fund. In VC terms, that means she will remain at Too Good To Go and support the foundation alongside her. Blisce is still raising money for the new fund, so it will be interesting to see how much money they can raise.
