Hi Inov-Dentressangle Research
Investment Thesis
Hi Inov (branded "Hi inov · Dentressangle") is a European B2B venture capital firm headquartered in Paris with additional offices in Munich and Lyon. The firm's stated mission is "we invest beyond technology," built around two core convictions: that AI technologies are increasingly running the enterprise, making trust critical to scale, and that they back the companies that create that trust and the founders who can scale them. Hi Inov is structurally tied to the Dentressangle family investment holding (the logistics and industrial group founded by Norbert Dentressangle), giving portfolio companies access to industrial family capital and corporate networks alongside venture capital.
The firm organizes its thesis around several themes, the first and most prominent being "Infrastructure Intelligence" — investing in software that gives asset-heavy industries (energy, real estate, logistics, agriculture) the ability to sense, model, and act on their environment in real time, spanning Energy OS, grid orchestration, building performance, and decarbonization. This is described as the leading edge of a broader shift where "every industry where atoms need a software brain" becomes investable. Beyond infrastructure, the firm's portfolio and check-writing pattern show a strong secondary emphasis on productivity and workflow software, enterprise data platforms, and cybersecurity.
Stage Focus
Hi Inov is an early-stage investor, per its own homepage positioning ("Early Stage Stage"), typically entering at Seed through Series A, with selective participation in Series B rounds as a follow-on investor. The firm also runs a dedicated Seed Program as a distinct entry point below its main check size.
Check Size
The firm's stated ticket size is €1M–€15M per investment, consistent with a fund that leads seed and Series A rounds and follows into larger rounds for existing portfolio companies.
Lead Tendency
Hi Inov frequently leads its rounds. Portfolio news consistently uses language like "Hi inov leads Actionable's $10M round," "Hi inov leads investment in German deep tech startup Xelera," "Hi inov leads €8m financing round in low code platform Ninox," and "Hi Inov leads 8,8 Mio. Series A for Kenjo." This pattern, repeated across multiple funding announcements over several years, indicates the firm positions itself as a lead investor rather than a passive follower.
Recent Activity
The firm is actively deploying. In the past 12 months it led a $10M round in Actionable (September 2026), sold its stake in Kaiko Systems following its acquisition by UniSea (June 2026), led a €3.5M round in Covalo (April 2026), led a €10M round in MyC (February 2026), extended Rencore's Series A to $15M (November 2025), invested €1.8M in Partnify's seed round (November 2025), and led a seed investment in German deep tech startup Xelera (October 2025). Fund III had its first closing of €75M in October 2023 and the firm has continued to deploy steadily since. Overall fund status: actively deploying.
Portfolio Highlights
Hi Inov's homepage reports 42 backed companies and 19 exits across three fund generations. Notable recent exits include Zelros (sold to Earnix, April 2025), Deepomatic (sold to IQGeo, March 2025), Hiflow (sold, October 2023), and ForePaaS (sold to OVH, April 2022). Active portfolio companies visible on the site include 360Learning, Agorapulse, Deepki, Platform.sh, Ninox, awork, Luzmo (formerly Cumul.io), Acodis, Commanders Act, Skillup, Kenjo, Glopal, Rencore, Dipeeo, Anozr Way, Famoco, Covalo, and Customs4Trade (C4T). Deepki itself has grown into one of the firm's flagship names, raising a €150M Series C in March 2022 and acquiring Fabriq in the UK the same year.
Team
The Paris/Munich/Lyon team spans investors, operators, and support functions:
- Pierre-Henri Dentressangle — Co-Founder & Chairman
- Valérie Gombart — Co-founder & CEO
- Wolfgang Krause — General Partner
- Julius Jürging — Partner (joined October 2024, leading German dealflow)
- Alexandre Pelletier — Venture Partner, Portfolio Management
- Nicolas Butin — Senior Associate
- Maxime Christian — Investment Analyst
- Marie Role — Head of Legal, Compliance & Sustainability
- Aurélie Sorel — Chief Administrative & Financial Officer (appointed CFO January 2026)
- Audrey Caramelle — Middle-Office Manager
- Juliette Hombert — Investment Team Support
- Andrea Vaugan — Operating Partner, Business Development
- Frank Bossel — Operating Partner, Sales Efficiency
- Rainer Witzgall — Operating Partner, Cybersecurity (joined October 2024)
- Guillaume Vives — Operating Partner, Product Management
Decision Process
With a General Partner, a Partner, multiple Venture/Operating Partners, and a dedicated investment team (Senior Associate, Investment Analyst), the firm operates as a partnership rather than a solo-GP shop. The presence of operating partners dedicated to business development, sales efficiency, cybersecurity, and product management points to a hands-on, platform-support model for portfolio companies.
Founder Preferences
Hi Inov's language ("founders we trust to go the distance with us") and its operating-partner bench suggest a preference for technical, execution-focused founding teams building mission-critical B2B software, particularly in infrastructure-heavy or regulated verticals (energy, cybersecurity, compliance, industrial data) where the Dentressangle family's industrial network adds real value beyond capital.
Geographic Focus
France, DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), and Benelux are the firm's three core investing geographies, matching its Paris, Munich, and Lyon office footprint and the country tags (France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands) visible across its live portfolio.