Multi-stage VC, Paris

Serena

Venture capital firm · Paris · Founded May 2008

Quick read

Serena is a Paris-based multi-stage VC, founded in 2008 by Xavier Lorphelin, Marc Fournier, and Philippe Hayat, with €750M under management. It backs companies from pre-seed to Series B with initial checks of €500K–€15M, and runs the largest operational support team in Europe — seven former senior entrepreneurs embedded to work directly with portfolio companies. 75% of its Seed companies reach Series A, versus a 29% market average.

Key facts

Founded
May 2008
Founders
Xavier Lorphelin, Marc Fournier, Philippe Hayat
Employees
36
Sectors
saas, enterprise, ai, healthcare, generalist
Website
www.serena.vc/

Investment thesis

Serena backs ambitious European founders from pre-seed to Series B, with a concentration in SaaS, AI, and enterprise software. The firm pairs capital with an operational support team of former senior entrepreneurs to help portfolio companies scale faster and raise follow-on rounds at above-market rates.

Recent activity

  • May 2026investment
    Serena-backed OpsMill raised $14M in a Series A round to build a network automation data layer, with Partech Partners and BGV among co-investors. tracxn.com
  • Mar 2026investment
    DeepIP secured a $25M Series B with Serena participating alongside Korelya Capital and Balderton Capital, backing AI tools for the patent lifecycle. tracxn.com
  • 2025fundraise
    Serena closed €200M for Fund IV (Serena IV), pushing total AUM above €1 billion. The fund targets European early-stage startups in applied AI and the energy transition, with checks up to €15M per company. The hard cap is €250M, expected to be reached by 2026. Existing LPs accounted for 80% of the first close. sifted.eu
  • 2025investment
    Serena IV made its first four investments, including Formality, an AI-driven contract management platform founded by the team behind TVTY (a prior Serena portfolio company acquired by Nielsen). vestbee.com
  • Dec 2025investment
    Serena co-invested in Bitstack's $15M round alongside Y Combinator, AG2R LA MONDIALE, and 13books Capital. Bitstack is building a Bitcoin savings product for European retail users. tracxn.com
  • Recentinvestment
    Serena-backed Cometh joined forces with Kaiko to scale MiCA-regulated onchain data infrastructure across Europe. fr.linkedin.com
  • Recentleadership
    Elodie Charles expanded her role at Serena to Talent and Community Manager. She oversees recruiting for portfolio companies (25%+ of executive hires now sourced through Serena) and manages the Serena Squad, a community of 500+ founders and C-level executives. She also launched SerenaGPT in 2025, an AI assistant built on over a decade of Squad knowledge. fr.linkedin.com
  • Recentleadership
    Martin B. joined Serena as Compliance Manager. fr.linkedin.com
  • May 2026investment
    Serena co-led the €11.9M Series A in OpsMill, an AI infrastructure data solutions startup, alongside IRIS and Partech Partners. tracxn.com
  • Mar 2026press
    Three Serena-backed companies ranked in the French Top 10 fundraises during a record-breaking month of €1.5B in total French startup fundraising. linkedin.com
  • Mar 2026product
    Serena published the 2026 European SaaS Benchmark, drawing on data from 800+ companies to help founders and investors assess market performance. serena.vc
  • Mar 2026investment
    Serena participated in DeepIP's $25M Series B alongside Korelya Capital and Balderton Capital; DeepIP embeds AI across the patent lifecycle. tracxn.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Marc Fournier · Partner
    LinkedIn
  • Xavier Lorphelin · Co-founder & Managing Partner
  • Philippe Hayat · Co-founder & Managing Partner
  • Amélie Faure · Partner

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Serena?+

Serena is a Paris-based multi-stage VC, founded in 2008 by Xavier Lorphelin, Marc Fournier, and Philippe Hayat, with €750M under management. It backs companies from pre-seed to Series B with initial checks of €500K–€15M, and runs the largest operational support team in Europe — seven former senior entrepreneurs embedded to work directly with portfolio companies.

Where is Serena headquartered?+

Serena is headquartered in Paris, France.

When was Serena founded?+

Serena was founded in May 2008 by Xavier Lorphelin, Marc Fournier, Philippe Hayat.

What sectors does Serena invest in?+

Serena focuses on saas, enterprise, ai, healthcare, generalist. They primarily invest in these sectors.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Serena?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated July 10, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

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