Racine2

What Racine2 does

Racine² is an impact-focused venture capital initiative operating as a partnership between Serena Capital, a tier-1 French VC firm accredited by the AMF (registration GP 08 0000 16) with $1 billion in combined assets under management, and makesense, a pioneering impact non-profit. The fund is anchored by MGEN as its capital partner. Racine² deploys a $100 million fund across pre-seed to Series A rounds, with $1-4 million initial tickets and $8 million+ follow-on capacity reserved for conviction deals. Investment activity is concentrated in four impact themes: Climate, Health/Lifestyle, Sports, and Education, spanning 15 countries with an active portfolio of approximately 130 companies across the broader Serena/makesense platform.

The firm's commercial differentiation centers on operational support rather than purely financial capital. Eleven Operating Partners — repeat founders and senior executives from Europe's top scale-ups — work hands-on with portfolio companies on go-to-market, international expansion, leadership, and organization design. An in-house Talent Manager sources approximately 30% of portfolio key hires, drawing on Serena Squad, which is described as Europe's largest peer-to-peer community of more than 500 C-level executives. Portfolio composition spans climate infrastructure (Clevergy, Electra, Jimmy, Accenta), carbon markets (Rainbow, CarbonFarm), healthcare (Lifen, Inato, Implicity, Epoca, DESKi, Norbert Health), education (Educ-up, Santé Académie, Frello, Poppins), and consumer lifestyle (Lokki, Kotcha, WeDressFair, May).

Racine² is not a standalone legal entity; it operates as a program and strategic branch under Serena Capital and makesense. It does not sell products or services to end customers and does not generate revenue through licensing or royalties. The revenue model is fund management — management fees on the $100 million fund plus carried interest on realized exits — with deal flow sourced through LinkedIn, industry events, direct founder outreach, and the combined network of Serena and makesense.

Name

Racine2

Legal name

Racine²

Website

https://racine2.vc

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Racine² is an impact-focused venture capital initiative that deploys a $100M fund (pre-seed to Series A, $1-4M tickets) across Climate, Health, Sports, and Education startups, operated jointly by Serena Capital and makesense with MGEN as anchor LP.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Investment

akta.pro primary industry

Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Impact investing
• Pre-seed funding
• Series A investment
• Climate tech investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: Racine² generates returns through equity investments in early-stage startups. They invest $1-4M tickets initially with capacity for $8M+ follow-on investments in successful portfolio companies. The fund is managed in partnership between Serena Capital (a tier-1 VC firm accredited by AMF) and makesense (impact non-profit), with funding from MGEN.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Racine2 is an impact-focused venture capital firm that invests $1-4M initial tickets (with $8M+ follow-on capacity) in pre-seed to Series A startups across four impact themes: Climate, Education, Lifestyle/Health, and Sports. The firm is operated jointly by Serena Capital and makesense, funded by MGEN, and provides portfolio companies with hands-on operational support through 11 Operating Partners and an in-house Talent Manager.

Product overview

Racine² is not a product company; it is an impact-focused venture capital firm operated by Serena Capital in collaboration with makesense, funded by MGEN. As a VC firm, its offering consists of investment capital and operational support for early-stage startups. The firm invests across four impact themes: Climate (investing in innovations that safeguard the environment), Health/Lifestyle (solutions that improve quality of life and bring people together), Sports (integrating movement into daily life), and Education (breaking down barriers to education). Racine² provides preseed to Series A funding with $1-4M initial tickets and up to $8M+ in follow-on investments, backed by an operating team of 11 partners (repeat founders and serial executives) and an in-house Talent Manager. The firm has backed 130 companies with $1B in assets under management across 15 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Impact-Focused Venture Capital Investment

Quantifiable outcome

• 130 companies backed by Serena & makesense combined
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Serena CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRacine² is operated by Serena Capital in collaboration with makesense. Serena Capital is a tier-1 VC firm accredited by the French Securities and Exchange Commission (AMF) under number GP 08 0000 16, with $1B assets under management. Serena provides investment expertise, deal flow, and institutional backing.
• makesensecoreStrategic or Co-development Partnermakesense is a pioneering impact non-profit that partners with Serena Capital to operate Racine². The partnership combines commercial VC expertise with deep impact investing knowledge and network.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Satgana: Climate-tech focused early-stage VC based in Europe backing founders tackling the climate transition. Comparable as a European impact-oriented pre-seed/seed lead that co-invests in Racine²'s climate portfolio.
• Acequia Capital: European early-stage investor focused on digital and sustainability themes. Comparable as a European seed VC that co-invests with Racine² across similar geographies.
• Kurma Partners: European healthcare and life-sciences focused VC active from seed to growth. Comparable as a thematic European specialist VC that co-invests with Racine² in healthtech portfolio companies.
• Speedinvest: Pan-European early-stage VC with deep climate, deeptech and industrial tech franchises. Directly comparable as a European pre-seed/seed lead investor that co-invested with Racine² in Polaron and overlaps heavily in sector focus and stage.
• Kfund: Spanish early-stage VC investing across Southern European tech ecosystems. Comparable as a European seed investor that co-invests with Racine² and operates in adjacent geographies.
• Alven: Paris-based early-stage VC investing across French and European tech with strong consumer/internet heritage. Directly comparable as a European seed lead and known co-investor alongside Racine².
• Seedcamp: One of Europe's leading early-stage seed funds with broad sector coverage. Comparable as a European seed lead investor that co-invests with Racine² and competes for top pre-seed/seed founders.
• Ring Capital: Paris-based impact venture firm investing in tech-for-good startups across Europe. Highly comparable as a French impact VC peer that co-invests with Racine² and competes for the same thesis-driven deal flow.

Regional players

• True (True Ventures): US-based seed-stage VC with a strong founder-first, hands-on operating model. Comparable as a co-investor with Racine² and in operating-partner-led seed investing, though geographically focused on the US rather than Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Eurazeo: Large publicly listed European investment firm with private equity, growth and venture strategies. Comparable as a major French/European capital provider that co-invests with Racine², though it operates at much later stages and broader mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments10 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Racine2