Cathay Innovation Closes $1B Venture Capital Fund to Bring Vertical AI to Critical Industries

• Backed by 20+ leading international corporations, Cathay Innovation has built the world's largest VC platform that invests and connects emerging startups to real world industries including consumer, healthcare, financial services and energy
• Fund III marks the largest AI-dedicated venture capital fund out of the European Union investing globally in vertical AI
• To date the fund has made 14 investments across the U.S., Europe and Asia

PARIS, May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cathay Innovation today announced the final close of its latest venture capital fund at $1B, making it the largest AI-dedicated fund out of the European Union. While headquartered in France, the fund invests across Europe, the U.S., and Asia in vertical AI solutions in four key sectors: digital health, fintech, consumer and mobility / energy.

The successful close signals a greater shift in AI-era venture capital, where the success of startups and established industry players are increasingly intertwined. Fund III is backed by a diverse base of institutional investors as well as multinational corporations looking to access the latest AI startup technologies key to industry wide transformation. This includes major organizations such as Sanofi, TotalEnergies, Valeo, BNP Paribas Cardif, Groupe SEB and Groupe ADP (Paris Aéroport) since first closing, joined by several international industry players including Vale Ventures, Copec WIND Ventures and more.

"In one of the most challenging fundraising periods the venture industry has seen, Fund III illustrates the power of value-added capital," said Mingpo Cai, Founder and Chairman of Cathay Capital and Cathay Innovation. "The benefits of the Cathay platform go far beyond capital, it's rooted in providing solutions that are useful to our investors, corporate partners and founders. Regardless of macroeconomic uncertainties, the AI-driven transformation of industries will go on. Our mission is to support local champions and create ecosystem synergies that benefit all stakeholders while creating lasting economic and societal impact."

Where AI Meets Industry: Largest Platform for Collaborative Transformation

Beyond investment, Cathay Innovation's global platform connects startups with its corporate ecosystem, a broad network of 20+ Fortune 500 corporations to facilitate deeper industry collaboration. This includes strategic partnerships, co-investments or other business development opportunities such as global biopharma Sanofi's ongoing AI initiatives with Cathay Innovation portfolio companies Owkin, AQEMIA or Inato. This not only helps startups scale earlier and faster, but it helps corporations access cutting-edge technologies at a time when transformation is mission critical.

"Fund III represents a new kind of VC fund built for the AI era, with the capital and ecosystem needed for real industrial and societal change," said Denis Barrier, Co-founder of Cathay Innovation. "AI is a general-purpose technology—like electricity— not offering incremental improvements, but with the potential to reinvent entire industries. This shift has redefined the role of startups from disruptors to transformation partners, with collaboration now the new currency for success. Over the past decade, we've built the world's largest venture capital platform that can connect startups and corporate innovation under one roof to drive this transformation together."

Cathay Innovation Fund III: Purpose-built for the New Industrial Era

Fund III primarily focuses on startups applying AI deeply tailored to specific sectors. Focusing on Series A, B and late-stage startups, Fund III invests between $5 and $100 million, leading or co-leading rounds and reserving capital for follow-on support. To date, it has invested in 14 startups across the U.S., Europe and Asia including:

• Healthcare: Nabla (AI co-pilot for physicians), AQEMIA (AI + quantum physics drug discovery), Bioptimus (first universal foundation model for biology), Nelly (European fintech simplifying healthcare payments)
   
• Financial Services: Range (AI-driven wealth management), Flowdesk (full-stack market-making for digital assets), Ping++ (Open banking and payment infrastructure)
   
• Consumer: Ghost (B2B marketplace for excess inventory), Reebelo (marketplace for refurbished tech devices), Imagino (customer data platform for modern brands), Mogic (genAI-powered short-form video creation), Beatbot (intelligent robotic cleaning systems)
   
• Energy: David Energy (next-gen retail energy platform), Entalpic (foundation model-based materials discovery for low-carbon innovations)

The firm's geographic diversity is a strategic advantage in today's fragmented world, helping startups in the U.S., for example, operate successfully in Europe, Latam or other parts of the world and vice versa. Fund III is also classified as an Article 8 fund under the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), reflecting its commitment to environmental and social impact. It backs high-growth companies where AI is used to advance industries in ways that are locally grounded, globally scalable and socially positive.

About Cathay Innovation

Cathay Innovation is a multistage venture capital firm, affiliated to Cathay Capital, investing in founders building transformative businesses across Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Its platform connects founders with investors and its ecosystem of leading Fortune500 corporations to help startups scale and transform industries with consumer to enterprise and AI solutions in commerce, fintech, digital health and mobility / energy. Founded in Paris in 2015, Cathay Innovation now manages over €2.5B AUM with additional offices in San Francisco, Berlin, Madrid, Shanghai and Singapore and has invested in over 120 startups including Chime, Pinduoduo, Glovo, Wallbox, Owkin, Getaround, Ledger, ZenBusiness, Alma, Descartes Underwriting and more. To learn more, visit us at www.cathayinnovation.com.

Media Contact:
Michael Celiceo, CodePR
[email protected]

SOURCE Cathay Innovation