Serena

What Serena does

Serena is a privately held European venture capital firm founded in 2008 and headquartered in Paris, operating a €1 billion investment program that deploys capital across multiple fund vehicles. The firm backs pre-seed to Series A founders in Europe and the United States, writing first tickets from €100K to €15 million and selecting 15 to 20 new teams per year with a stated preference for leading or co-leading rounds. Its investment strategy is organized into four pillars: Serena IV (€200M, launched October 2025) for Applied AI and Energy Transition, Serena Data Ventures II for infrastructure covering modern data stack, AI, open-source, blockchain, and quantum, Racine² (€80M) for impact investing in environment, education, and well-being jointly with MGEN and makesense, and the legacy Serena III (€300M closed in 2021) early-stage fund.

Serena's core differentiator is its "Investment-Operating" duo model, operationalized through the PALM intrapreneurship platform and what it describes as Europe's largest in-house operating partner task force. Over 50% of staff are former founders or company operators, and the firm has nearly doubled its operating partner team in 2025. The Serena Squad community, comprising approximately 500 C-level executives and key personnel from portfolio companies, acts as a cross-portfolio collective intelligence engine distributing templates, playbooks, workshops, and on-demand expertise. The Talent Club provides a structured channel for executive and technical hiring into the portfolio. Proprietary technology assets include the PALM platform, the LP Access portal hosted at serena.vasco.fund, and the annual European SaaS Benchmark, which functions as flagship thought-leadership content.

Economically, Serena earns traditional venture fund management fees (typically ~2% annually on committed or invested capital) plus performance-based carried interest from successful exits. With multiple concurrent fund vintages (Serena III, Serena IV, Serena Data Ventures II, Racine²) totaling more than €580M in recent flagship and impact raises alone, the firm's fee base scales with new closings. Capital deployment is supplemented by an active co-investment syndicate that includes Korelya, IRIS, BGV, Partech, Speedinvest, 3VC, Crane Venture Partners, OTB Ventures, Alpha Intelligence Capital, Balderton, Headline, and Cathay Innovation, providing deal-flow scale and follow-on participation rights across European deep tech, AI, and SaaS. Notable portfolio outcomes include Dataiku (unicorn status reached in 2019), Electra, Descartes Underwriting, DeepIP, Pelico, Waiv, Evaneos, iBanFirst, and LaFourchette (acquired by TripAdvisor for $140M).

Name

Serena

Legal name

Serena

Website

https://serena.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Serena is a Paris-based European venture capital firm founded in 2008, managing a €1 billion investment program across multiple funds. It backs 15 to 20 pre-seed to Series A startups annually in Europe and the US, focused on Applied AI, Energy Transition, infrastructure, and impact.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Private Equity Fund Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Impact Investment & Development Investment Funds (BPADACAO)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Early-stage funding
• Applied AI investments
• Impact fund management
• Infrastructure seed investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Fund Management Fees & Carried Interest: Recurring management fees on committed capital across flagship funds (Serena III €300M, Serena IV €200M, Racine² €80M impact fund) plus performance-based carried interest from successful exits. Multiple fund vintages active concurrently including Serena IV focused on applied AI and energy transition, and Serena Data Ventures II for pre-seed/seed infrastructure.
2. Sustainability / Impact Fund Management (Racine²): Management fees and carried interest from the €80M Racine² impact fund launched in partnership with MGEN and makesense, focused on environment, education, and well-being investments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Serena is a European venture capital firm managing a €1 billion investment program across multiple fund vehicles, including Serena IV (€200M applied AI and energy transition fund), Serena Data Ventures II (infrastructure seed fund), and Racine² (€80M impact fund). The firm invests at pre-seed to Series A stages in Europe and the US, writing first tickets of €100K to €15M. Beyond capital, Serena wraps investments in an operating platform (PALM), the Serena Squad community of 500 portfolio C-levels, and a talent network for portfolio companies.

Product overview

Serena operates as a European venture capital firm rather than a unified software product. Its core offering is a €1 Bn investment program deployed across multiple fund vehicles: Serena IV (the early-growth Applied AI and Energy Transition fund), Serena Data Ventures II (the infrastructure fund spanning modern data stack, AI, open-source, blockchain, and quantum), and Racine² (the impact fund covering environment, education, and well-being). Beyond capital deployment, Serena wraps its investments in a set of operating services and communities—the PALM intrapreneurship platform, the Serena Squad community of portfolio C-levels, the Talent Club recruitment network, Capital Boost operating support, and Templates and Reports—together with thought-leadership publications such as the European SaaS Benchmark and The Ultimate VC List.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Serena Data Ventures: Serena's dedicated pre-seed and seed vehicle focused on infrastructure (modern data stack, AI, open-source, blockchain, quantum).
• Racine²
• Serena Squad

Named customers9 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Linux FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Co-author with COSSA and Serena of a report showing venture investment in open source ($26.4B in 2024) outperforms proprietary software, supporting Serena's thesis on open-source infrastructure investing.
• COSSAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Co-author with Linux Foundation and Serena of the open-source venture investment report highlighting valuation, funding velocity, and liquidity outperformance of open-source startups.
• makesenseflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2022Co-initiator of the €80M Racine² impact fund with MGEN and Serena. Makesense provides impact sourcing, ecosystem, and operational support that complements Serena's investment team for impact ventures.
• Tech Your PlacecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSerena is among the 9 French VC funds that added a diversity and inclusion clause in their partnership agreements under the Tech Your Place initiative, aligning portfolio commitments with inclusive tech practices.
• SISTAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSerena is a signatory of SISTA commitments, supporting gender balance in tech and venture capital.
• France InvestminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMember of France Invest, the French private equity and venture capital industry association.
• PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSignatory of the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, reflecting Serena's ESG integration across the fund program.
• FfB (France Fintech)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMember/partner of the France Fintech ecosystem, supporting fintech founders across France.
• IC (Institut du Capitalisme Responsable)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner of the Institut du Capitalisme Responsable within Serena's sustainability and ESG commitments.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Northzone: Nordic-origin pan-European VC investing from seed through growth. Comparable to Serena in multi-stage European mandate and operator-led value-add philosophy.
• Atomico: London-based European VC founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström, investing across early and growth stages with a strong operator network. Comparable to Serena in European footprint, founder-led thesis, and emphasis on operator value-add.
• Index Ventures: Pan-European venture capital firm investing from seed through growth stage. Direct peer to Serena given overlapping European focus, similar early-stage mandate, and comparable founder-support orientation.
• Partech: Paris-based venture and growth firm with deep European coverage. Co-invests with Serena on OpsMill, Pelico, and Lifen rounds; comparable stage range and founder-support orientation.
• Notion Capital: London-based European VC focused on B2B SaaS and enterprise software. Comparable to Serena in European SaaS thesis, recurring-fund structure, and founder-support orientation.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: Berlin-based European VC with seed-to-growth funds. Comparable to Serena in European tech focus and stage diversification, with similar emphasis on deep-tech and AI investments.
• Balderton Capital: London-headquartered European early-stage VC. Recurring co-investor with Serena (DeepIP Series B, Kili Technology Series A), directly comparable on stage focus and pan-European deal sourcing.
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based European early-stage VC. Recurring co-investor with Serena (Polaron, Emmi AI), with directly comparable seed-stage ticket sizes and sector-vertical fund structure.
• Korelya Capital: Paris- and London-based European growth VC. Recurring co-lead investor with Serena on DeepIP and other AI deals, with directly comparable European tech focus.

Broad incumbents

• Bpifrance: French state-owned investment bank with broad PE/VC activity. Operates as a broader incumbent in the same French/European ecosystem, overlapping with Serena on funding rounds but not specializing in its operator-led seed/Series A niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/serenavc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/serenaVC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments160 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Serena