Nicolas Penet
Investment Director
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- Full Name
- Nicolas Penet
- Title
- Directeur associé / Partner Investment Director
- Firm
- UI Investissement
- Firm Type
- Independent private equity and venture capital investment firm
- Investment Stage
- Seed and early-stage deeptech, with follow-on capacity through industrial and commercial scale-up
- Check Size
- €400,000 to €2 million initial tickets through Pertinence Invest 3; follow-on participation possible
- Target Company Profile
- Deeptech startups, often spun out of or backed by public research laboratories, with breakthrough technology and a path from lab validation to industrial deployment
- Sector Focus
- Future of Industry, Sustainability & Environment, Health & Life Sciences; broader focus on industrial deeptech, cleantech, medtech/biotech, engineering sciences, and technology transfer
- Geographic Focus
- France and Western Europe, with Pertinence Invest 3 expanding into Belgium/Benelux
- Location
- Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Background
Nicolas Penet is a Directeur associé at UI Investissement, based in Lyon. UI lists him on its team as a partner-level investor, and the February 2026 Pertinence Invest 3 announcement identifies him, Jean-Philippe Zoghbi and Nicolas Boulay as the experienced team managing the Pertinence deeptech strategy.
Before joining Sofimac Innovation, now part of UI Investissement, Penet spent 13 years at INSAVALOR, the technology-transfer and research-valorization subsidiary linked to INSA Lyon. INSAVALOR announced in October 2019 that he was leaving for new functions after 13 years, with Laure Corriga succeeding him as Présidente du Directoire. CFNEWS reported in December 2019 that Sofimac Innovation recruited him in Lyon as Directeur d’investissements, describing him as a technology-transfer and entrepreneur-support specialist.
Penet’s education and technical background are unusually relevant to his investing work. M2CARE states that he graduated from CPE Lyon, the University of Strasbourg and emlyon business school. It also notes that he is passionate about technology transfer, is listed among qualified persons in industrial property, and has served as a consultant for INPI and the European Patent Office, as well as in roles with Réseau CURIE and La Ruche Industrielle.
His current work centers on Pertinence Invest, a deeptech seed platform built around academic laboratories, industrial partners and institutional investors. In a 2021 editorial for PULSALYS, Penet described the strategy as bringing together research institutions, large industrial groups and institutional investors to create the best environment for emerging startups.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Invests in deeptech startups “from the seed stage” that deliver breakthrough solutions in Future of Industry, Sustainability & Environment, and Health & Life Sciences.
- Focuses on companies that can move from “ça marche au labo” to “ça tourne en conditions industrielles” — from lab proof to industrial operating conditions.
- Looks for startups emerging from European research laboratories; Penet and Jean-Philippe Zoghbi stated in 2026 that “innovations emerging from European research laboratories will bring significant value to industry over the next 15 years.”
- Uses an ecosystem model: more than 25 academic/research partners and more than 10 industrial partners feed deal flow, technical expertise, open-innovation needs and potential industrial collaborations.
- Initial Pertinence Invest 3 tickets are typically €400,000 to €2 million, with capacity to participate in later rounds as a long-term reference shareholder.
- Prioritizes industrialization: pilots, demonstrators, technical validation, defensible IP, and credible pathways to scale-up matter more than generic software-style traction.
Notable Investments
- bobine — Chemical-recycling deeptech using electrified industrial processes to produce virgin-quality polymers from hard-to-recycle plastic waste; raised €13 million in February 2026 with UI Investissement, Axeleo Capital, Angelor and others.
- Eclore Actuators — Industrial polymer-folding technology inspired by origami, targeting robotics, defense and space; announced as one of Pertinence Invest 3’s first investments in February 2026.
- Dionymer — Converts food biowaste into PHA, a biodegradable polymer material; announced as one of Pertinence Invest 3’s first investments in February 2026 and listed in UI’s portfolio.
- MECAWARE — Battery-recycling greentech using CO2-based extraction to recover critical metals and rare earths; UI invested in a €2.5 million round in September 2021, and Penet commented publicly on the deal.
- Farwind Energy — Offshore wind-energy vessel startup developing remotely operated wind-powered energy ships; UI, business angels and Centrale Innovation backed a first round of more than €1 million, with UI identifying Nicolas Penet as the investor.
- Antaios — Semiconductor memory company spun out of SPINTEC, developing SOT-MRAM technology; UI/Sofimac invested in July 2020, and Penet was quoted in Antaios’s $11 million funding announcement.
- Enosis — Industrial biomethanation company producing renewable gas from non-reusable waste; UI invested in December 2022 alongside Industrya and Banque des Territoires.
- Mablink Bioscience — ADC oncology platform company backed by UI from seed through Series A; UI notes the company was acquired by Eli Lilly after five years of development.
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