Breizh Up

What Breizh Up does

Breizh Up is a regional co-investment fund created in 2019 by the Région Bretagne with financial backing from the European Union (FEDER), dedicated to channelling growth capital into young innovative companies headquartered in Brittany, France. The vehicle holds €30 million of total capital (€26 million contributed by the EU, the balance by the regional government), and invests from seed onward through minority equity and quasi-equity instruments (shares, bonds, blocked current account advances, participating loans), always pari passu alongside private co-investors. Minimum tickets start at €100,000 per company, cumulative exposure per investee is capped at 10% of fund capital, and the stated target is approximately five new investments per year across five priority verticals aligned with Brittany's Smart Specialisation Strategy: maritime economy, food economy, health and wellness economy, digital economy, and industrial economy. The fund is classified as an SFDR Article 8 vehicle with mandatory ESG integration.

The fund's core "product" is therefore its co-investment capital, not a technology platform; it does not develop proprietary software or own IP. Operations are run by UI Investissement, an independent French investment manager selected through an open procedure, via a three-person team in Rennes operating within a broader firm of approximately 80 employees and 10+ regional offices. The fund sources deals through regional ecosystem partnerships, business angel networks, and direct outreach, and assembles rounds alongside 40+ private co-investors including professional VC funds (GO Capital, Seventure, Omnes, Demeter, Innovacom), business angel associations (Armor Angels, Bretagne Sud Angels, Finistère Angels, Logoden Participations, Mer Angels), crowdfunding platforms (Gwenneg, Anaxago), and family offices. Returns are generated exclusively through capital gains on portfolio exits over a 4–7 year holding horizon; Breizh Up does not charge management fees to itself and earns no recurring revenue from investees.

As of mid-2024 the portfolio spans 30+ companies across the targeted verticals, including Unseenlabs (maritime RF satellite surveillance, €85 million round in June 2024), Agriloops (saline aquaponics, €13 million round), 52 Hertz (underwater bone-conduction communication, €800k seed), Thrasos (industrial cleaning optimization, €1.5 million), Defants (cybersecurity), Agriodor (biocontrol), and ANOZR WAY, among others. Breizh Up is governed by a Conseil de stratégie chaired by Laurence Fortin (Vice-President, Région Bretagne), with Daniel Gallou as President of the fund. Domiciled in Rennes (RCS 814 171 229), Breizh Up functions structurally as a regional economic-policy instrument designed to attract private capital to Brittany-based innovation rather than as a profit-maximising venture fund.

Name

Breizh Up

Legal name

Breizh Up

Website

https://breizhup.bretagne.bzh

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Breizh Up is a €30 million regional co-investment fund created by the Brittany Region with EU support and managed by UI Investissement, providing minority seed and early-stage capital to innovative Brittany-based SMEs alongside 40+ private partners under pari passu terms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Venture Capital Fund

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Project Finance Capital Raising Intermediation (FSAEALAJ)

Keywords

• Regional venture capital
• Seed-stage co-investment
• Innovation financing
• Minority equity investment
• ESG fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Capital gains from portfolio exits: Breizh Up generates returns through capital gains realized when portfolio companies are exited. Investment horizon is 4–7 years with clear and realistic exit modalities. The fund operates as a minority investor in equity and quasi-equity instruments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Breizh Up is a regional co-investment fund providing seed-stage and follow-on capital to young innovative SMEs in Brittany, France. It deploys minority equity and quasi-equity instruments (shares, bonds, blocked current account advances, participating loans) from a minimum of €100,000 per company, always co-investing pari passu alongside private partners. The fund is managed by UI Investissement and is backed by the Région Bretagne and the European Union (FEDER), with a total capital of €30 million.

Product overview

Breizh Up is a co-investment fund created by the Région Bretagne with support from the European Union, not a product company. The fund has a capital of 30 M€ and is managed by UI Investissement. It provides seed-stage investment to young innovative companies in Brittany across five key economic sectors: maritime economy, food economy, health and wellness economy, digital economy, and industrial economy. The fund co-invests pari passu with private partners including venture capital funds, business angel networks, crowdfunding platforms, and family offices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Breizh Up Co-Investment Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• Aims to make 5 new investments per year on average

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bpifrance: France's national public investment bank. Operates as a much larger, established regional and sector fund provider that frequently co-invests alongside regional vehicles like Breizh Up, providing much broader geographic reach and larger ticket capacity.
• Seventure Partners: France-based VC firm investing in ICT and Life Sciences. Co-investment partner of Breizh Up with a national/European footprint and significantly larger fund size — comparable as a French early-stage investor with regional deal flow overlap.
• BNP Paribas Développement: Banking-group investment arm supporting performing SMEs, mid-caps, and startups across France. Listed as a Breizh Up co-investor partner; broadly comparable as a national bank-affiliated investor with similar SME/ETI mandate.
• Omnes Capital: French private equity and venture capital firm with activities in renewable energies, venture capital, sustainable cities, and co-investment. Listed as a Breizh Up co-investor; comparable as a larger, multi-strategy French investor with overlapping regional deal flow.
• Crédit Agricole (via Force 29 / Ille et Vilaine Expansion): Crédit Agricole's regional investment vehicles (Force 29 in Finistère, Ille et Vilaine Expansion) provide equity and quasi-equity capital to innovative Breton companies. Comparable as a bank-affiliated regional investor with overlapping co-investment activity.
• Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (Banque des Territoires): French state-owned financial institution that channels public savings into regional and territorial development, including equity support for regional funds and startups. Comparable to Breizh Up's public-mandate, regional development role but at a national, much larger scale.

Direct peers

• UI Investissement: Independent French investment company managing Breizh Up and operating across multiple regional capital pools. Closely comparable as both the fund manager of Breizh Up and a direct peer running other regional co-investment vehicles for SMEs and startups in France.
• GO Capital: Regional venture capital firm managing €170M and investing in innovative companies across the Grand Ouest (Western France), including Brittany. Directly comparable to Breizh Up as a Brittany/Grand Ouest investor backing early- and growth-stage regional startups, and is itself a co-investor partner of Breizh Up.
• Sodero Gestion: Regional investment company supporting SMEs and startups in Pays de la Loire, with a similar public-private partnership model anchored to regional development goals. Closely comparable in structure and intent — a French regional co-investment vehicle serving startups outside Paris.
• Ouest Croissance: Multi-regional investor supporting SMEs and mid-caps in Western France (Grand Ouest), co-investing alongside Breizh Up in portfolio companies such as Thrasos. Directly comparable as a regional growth investor covering overlapping geographies and deal sizes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/breizh_up
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/breizh-up

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments33 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Breizh Up