Venture Capital in United States – AXA Private Equity US

French Venture Capital companies invested € 332 million in French and European new technology companies in H1 2004. The recovery in investments by Venture Capital firms has been confirmed. Investments rose by 22% compared to the previous year-half and by 56% compared to H1 2003. Another sign of the segment picking up is that new investments are rising faster than recapitalisation transactions. Though these new investments represented 35% in H1 2004, the figure has been rising steadily over the last two half-years. AXA Private Equity’s Venture Capital team has stepped up its level of investments in 2004 while remaining highly selective. The investment strategy aims to favour diversification, both by sectors of activity (IT, Life Sciences, Electronics) and by maturity of companies (from early stage to late stage and listed companies). © AXA Private Equity