French VC firm Frst reaches $80 million first close for its new seed fund

Frst, the Paris-based VC firm with no vowel in its name, is in the process of raising its second fund. The firm has already reached a first closing of €72 million (nearly $80 million at today’s exchange rate).

And if there’s one thing to say about this new fund is that it’s business as usual for Frst. As the name suggests, Frst aims to be the first VC firm to invest in a tech startup.

Frst even tells me that around half of the VC firm’s term sheets are sent before the startups are incorporated. The firm has decided to keep the exact same formula with some fresh capital to invest over the next few years.

The team led by Pierre Entremont and Bruno Raillard originally met when they were working for Otium Venture as part of Pierre-Edouard Stérin’s family office. In 2019, the team created its own VC firm and raised the initial Frst fund (called Frst 2). At the time, Frst raised €90 million (nearly $100 million at today’s exchange rate).

With today’s new fund called Frst 3, the investment firm expects to reach the upper limit of €100 million ($110 million)….