VIVES Partners manages the VIVES family of early-stage technology funds, which were initiated by UCLouvain in 2004 and originally managed by the university's technology transfer company, Sopartec. It invests in research-based ventures with strong intellectual property, concentrating on life sciences, agricultural technology and hard engineering, and takes tickets from EUR 0.1M to EUR 7M from seed through Series A. Its current vehicle, the VIVES Inter-University Fund, is a cross-border fund built with five partner universities - UCLouvain, KU Leuven, Université de Paris, Wageningen University and the University of Luxembourg - and also backs non-university European start-ups outside Switzerland and the UK. Investment activity was separated from Sopartec at the start of 2024 into the independent management company VIVES Partners SRL in Wavre.
EUR 128M (funds under management, stated on vivesfund.com) AUM68/100 Power Score™2004 FoundedWavre, Belgium
Life SciencesBiotechAgritechMedical DevicesDeep Tech
VIVES I created at the initiative of UCLouvain, a EUR 15M seed fund for high-tech start-ups, with BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity Belgium, the EIF and KBC Private Equity among its backers.
2011
VIVES II closes its first financing round at EUR 43M, described at the time as the largest European investment fund ever initiated by a university; managed by Sopartec S.A., UCLouvain's technology transfer company.
2020
VIVES Inter-University Fund (VIVES IUF, also referred to as VIVES III) launched on 2 July with EUR 32M and five partner universities: UCLouvain, KU Leuven, Université de Paris, Wageningen Universiteit and Université du Luxembourg. Investors included Sopartec, SFPI-FPIM, ING Belgique, BNPP Fortis Private Equity Belgium, regional invests and the fund's own investment team.
2024
VIVES IUF announces a second closing bringing the fund to EUR 70M, with EUR 25M committed by the European Investment Fund; the fund can now invest up to EUR 7M per company.
2024
Roles split from Sopartec at the start of the year: VIVES Partners SRL is incorporated in Wavre on 3-4 January 2024 with Philippe Durieux, Yannick Vancoppenolle and André Vandemeulebroecke as directors, and Durieux steps down after more than 15 years leading Sopartec (succeeded by Xavier Bastin) to run VIVES Partners.
2025
Portfolio company The Akkermansia Company acquired by Danone.