CEA Investissement

CEA Investissement is the strategic investment vehicle of the CEA, the national research organisation, which owns it outright. It takes equity stakes in young technology companies and is advised and operated by the management company Supernova Invest.

Services

• Equity stakes in start-ups: shareholdings in early companies, with the aim of turning research results into businesses while earning a financial return.
• Co-founding spin-outs: takes founder shares when a CEA activity is spun off into a new company.
• Fund participations: may hold stakes in other investment funds.
• Maturation support: through the Semprin scheme, it can step in before a project is ready for seed funding, for example when the proof of concept or business case is still unclear.
• Access to CEA research: portfolio companies may draw on the organisation's researchers, patents and industrial facilities.

Who it works with

Start-ups in areas such as life sciences, energy, microelectronics, materials, industrial equipment, health, defence and security.

Key facts

• Active since: 1999
• Owner: Wholly owned by the CEA
• Manager: Supernova Invest
• Track record: Has financed and supported several dozen start-ups