Keles will invest in “European growth-stage companies with demonstrated profitability and approaching a scale-up inflection point,” the firm said in a press release. It aims to bridge between the gap between startup innovation, international scaling and global impact by investing in companies that work in sectors like research and development, diagnostics and patient care. The Keles SCSP Sicav-Raif fund, which has been established in Luxembourg and has a target size of €250m, is on track for a first close in Q1 2025. Investment tickets will range from €8m to €30m.
Keles will have bases in Paris, London, Brussels and Luxembourg. When it comes to specific plans for the grand duchy, founder and managing partner Laurent van Lerberghe told Paperjam: “Luxembourg became the top choice for Keles on account of its central location in Europe and its well recognised expertise as a global centre for venture capital and fund management. Since I started my career 30 years ago in Luxembourg [editor’s note: van Lerberghe worked at PWC from 1993 to 1996], the country has consistently deployed a very ambitious vision and has continued to strengthen its position on the global playing field. This is a critical element for us and our investors, and a reason why Luxembourg was the first location to get a Keles base. Beyond our service providers’ dedicated teams, we have already hired our CFO here, Gianni De Bortoli, as well as our independent board member, Rikard Lundgren. We will continue mobilising local talent as we grow Keles as a successful venture.”
Unlocking growth with new solutions
“Worldwide, healthcare systems are under immense pressure due to ageing populations, staff shortages, an increasing burden of chronic diseases and increasing complexity of care. Now more than ever, new solutions are needed to ensure that systems and providers can deliver efficient, quality care to an ever-growing number of patients,” commented managing partner David Buller in a press release. Buller is also a founding partner of UK digital health fund Ascension Life Fund. “It’s clear that we’ve reached an inflection point in the market. Now is the moment to strategically inject capital into the ecosystem to unlock urgently needed-growth.”
“We will back the technologies that will leverage AI in the most useful ways, and those that accelerate drug discovery and deliver smarter diagnostics,” added van Lerberghe, who previously worked as chief strategy officer for the pharmaceutical and healthcare company Sanofi in Paris and is now an investor in digital health. “We will look for technologies that set new standards of care, those that are tackling the root causes of inefficiencies in healthcare, and those that improve outcomes for patients and populations.”