C4 Ventures announces €80 million fund, led by former EMEA head of Apple Pascal Cagni

C4 Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by Pascal Cagni, head of Apple in Europe from 2000 to 2012, has launched a second fund at €80 million. 

Based in London and Paris, the European VC typically leads Series A rounds and co-invests in later stages. Since its founding in 2014, C4 Ventures has invested in over 30 companies around three major themes: smart hardware, future of commerce, and digital media. Five of these companies – Nest, Formlabs, Via, Riskified and Graphcore – have reached unicorn status. The new fund will go to startups and scale-ups that have proven agile in the face of the pandemic. 

Cagni believes the economic slowdown after COVID-19 is “going to be a breeding ground for innovation and change through disruptive tech.” Fund II has already invested in seven companies that the VC believes “are perfectly adapted to the coming challenges”, including Zoov DriveNets and Trouva.

Launched in the middle of the lockdown, the fund surpassed €40 million in first-closing commitments by May 11, according to a press release. The firm hopes to close the round with support from LPs over the next few months.

Cagni is not the only ex-Apple employee at the fund; its business development partner Raph Crouan, helps the team from London, where he is also president of the local La French Tech chapter.