Geneva-based Forestay is one of the few Swiss VCs focussing on growth stage investments. This second fund has received backing from some of the largest family offices in Europe and Switzerland. Forestay II will primarily invest in Enterprise AI and Software as a Service (SaaS) sectors.
Forestay was founded as an enterprise technology fund of B-FLEXION, the private entrepreneurial investment firm established by the Bertarelli family, and is led by Frederic Wohlwend, former Global Chief Digital Officer of Serono and Merck KGaA.
Fund I showed strong proof of its focused investment strategy, backing 13 companies, including Wasabi, Nexthink, Scandit, and K2View, of which three reached unicorn status and two were acquired at an average gross IRR exceeding 50%. Swiss companies backed by Forestay I included Nexthink, Scandit, Bluebotics and Kandou.
Forestay has now its second fund, Forestay Capital II ILP (“Forestay II”), securing $220 million in commitments. Specialising in fast-growing Enterprise AI and Software as a Service (SaaS) technology companies, Forestay II will make high-conviction investments with a focused portfolio strategy primarily across Europe and Israel.
With an early growth $10-15M lead investment sweet spot, Forestay invests in visionary teams reaching growth inflexion points and actively partners with them to catalyse accelerated growth. Forestay II has already partnered with enterprise AI startups such as Israeli cybersecurity solution, Veriti, and Swiss engineering intelligence company, Neural Concept.
“The close of Forestay II is evidence of the success of our investment strategy,” stated Fred Wohlwend, Founding and Managing Partner of Forestay Capital. “Our strategic focus allowed us to cultivate a concentrated portfolio of future category leaders in Enterprise AI and SaaS and we are well-positioned to continue to drive innovation and scale within the sector with Forestay II.”
In its second fund, Forestay has received backing from some of the largest family offices in Europe and Switzerland, including a partnership with Anaïs Ventures, the investment vehicle for certain members of the Firmenich family.
Julien Firmenich, a limited partner in Forestay II commented, "Forestay's focused investment strategy and operational acumen, honed through years of industry experience, align perfectly with our vision. We are excited to be part of Forestay II and look forward to driving innovation alongside them."
(Press release / SK)
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