Decathlon co-leads €40m first close of industrial-focused ventures fund

Decathlon, through its investment arm, Decathlon Pulse, is one of the leaders of the first closing of the investment fund/studio OSS Ventures (Paris). The fund has raised €40 million and aspires to €75 million.

“This isn’t a fund for financing ideas,” the announcement reads. “It’s an amplification vehicle, designed to scale companies we’ve built from the factory floor, after they’ve proven themselves in the field.”

OSS Ventures has since 2019 established 22 companies, which have put their products and services to use in more than 3,600 industrial sites in various parts of the world. Together these companies have raised more than €100 million, and, one way or another, they all deal in data. Examples are:

• Vitesse: developer of V, the first no-code and low-code automation platform for industrial manufacturers
• Fabriq: developer of a tool to help industrial and logistics teams hit daily operational targets
• Juno: developer of AI models that collect data from factory floors and make recommendations
• NRJx: developer of an AI that collects consumption, production and contextual data from industrial sites, so as to smooth operations and ensure regulatory compliance
• Cinqo: developer of a CSR as a service for the waste management of factories
• Bonx: developer of a no-code ERP

Decathlon’s co-leader is Teknor Apex (Pawtucket, Rhode Island), a family-owned materials-science firm with ten sites in the US and others in Belgium, Germany, Singapore and China. Rounding out the investors are Groupe Peugeot Frères (French family-owned holding company, worth something like €6bn), French Tech Accélération (a €200m fund backed by Bpifrance and the French government) and Tikehau Capital (Paris, €47bn under management).

When did Decathlon go into venture capital?

At least as far back as 2019 – that is, even earlier than July 2024, when it introduced Decathlon Pulse to the world.

Pulse is a wholly owned subsidiary looking to “invest and partner with forward-thinking businesses and brands” and “drive additional long-term growth.”

Pulse maintains offices in Paris and Boston. Its CEO is Franck Vigo, a 20-year member of Decathlon’s executive committee with a four-year specialization in M&A, and its Chairwoman is Barbara Martin Coppola, Decathlon’s Global CEO.

Its activity is threefold:

• “Build and scale ideas and concepts with strong potential to create standalone new businesses […]”
• “Invest as a shareholder” in companies that could “change the sport ecosystem and accelerate the adoption of new sustainable business models”
• “Acquire strong and forward-looking sports brands and sporting goods distributors” with “revolutionising ideas and trailblazing business models”

Decathlon says it has invested about €400 million since 2018 in startups and small companies and in the acquisition of majority stakes in pure players. Five companies have benefitted so far: AllTricks, Bergfreunde, Recyc’Elit, Rebike Mobility and Bikeleasing Group.