Dutch pension funds PME and PMT have invested €75m in the third Innovation Industries fund.

Innovation Industries is launching a third fund that provides capital to technology companies.

In the first financing round, €200m was raised from PME and PMT, Rabo Investments, the Brabant Development Agency, TNO and several private investors.

The fund is expected to raise a total of €300m to €400m and is looking for around 15 deep tech startups and scale-ups.

Deep tech companies focus on applying advanced technologies to solve complex societal bottlenecks in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, energy and manufacturing.

PME and PMT’s €75m investment is in addition to previous investments to which both funds have contributed, with hundreds of millions of euros expected to be invested in Dutch tech companies in the coming years.

Innovation Industries previously raised €275m with two comparable funds.

Since 2017, the funds of the investment company – which have been designed in part by MN Asset Management, the executor of PME and PMT – have built up a business portfolio of 25 mainly Dutch deep tech companies.

Previously invested companies include SMART Photonics, Effect Photonics, Nearfield Instruments, Onera, Axelera AI and Solynta.

“Innovative start-ups and scale-ups are essential for the competitiveness of the Netherlands, the energy transition and a circular net-zero economy,” said PME executive director balance sheet and asset management, Marcel Andringa.

“Availability and access to venture capital in all phases of life, from start-up to scale-up, is extremely important in order for new technologies to come to fruition.

“In addition, these companies are completely in line with our sector.”

PMT chief investment officer, Hartwig Liersch, added: “PMT wants to contribute to sustainable employment and prosperity by driving innovation. We realise that with this impact investment. Good for our sector and for our participants.”

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