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StarQuest
StarQuest was founded in Paris by Arnaud Delattre and Emmanuel Gaudé, operating as a dedicated private equity arm within the Montefiore group, which...
StarQuest
StarQuest was founded in Paris by Arnaud Delattre and Emmanuel Gaudé, operating as a dedicated private equity arm within the Montefiore group, which carries €5B in consolidated assets. The firm publicly discloses €400M of its own assets under management, pulling investment exclusively into European and international ventures that address climate mitigation, adaptation, and natural capital regeneration. Its origin is grounded in a thesis that decarbonization technology demands capital deployment across the full lifecycle — from venture to buyout — rather than narrow-stage exposure. The firm structures its deployment through three separate fund vehicles. The Protect fund invests €3M to €20M in Series A through C companies that sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions across energy, mobility, agriculture, industry, and advanced materials. The Biodiversity fund directs €3M to €15M into venture, growth, and buyout-stage companies delivering measurable ecosystem-services and restoration outcomes — including pollination, regenerative agriculture, and MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) solutions. The CCR-Fund deploys smaller €500K to €5M cheques into seed-to-LBO companies addressing climate adaptation and natural-disaster prevention, such as flood protection, drought resilience, and AI-driven risk prediction. Holdings displayed on the firm's portfolio page span ultralight solar roofing, aquaponic food production, landfill biogas conversion, and deep-tech laser applications for telecoms. StarQuest fields a 14-person team from a single Paris office and is targeting €1B in AUM by 2028 (per firm website, 2024). The leadership group includes Harold Dumeurger as Partner, Olga Koulechova leading fundraising, and investment directors Chloé Cohen-Aknine and Quentin Simon. The firm operates within Montefiore's broader asset-management group, though no philanthropic foundations or co-investment clubs are separately disclosed. StarQuest does not publicly list co-investors beside portfolio companies, keeping the investor base opaque. StarQuest's structural differentiator is its triple-fund architecture mandated for a climate-only charter inside a larger generalist asset manager, Montefiore. Most European climate funds blend into a single generalist impact vehicle; StarQuest instead runs three parallel strategies separated by adaptation, biodiversity restoration, and emissions mitigation, each with its own check-size range and stage mandate. That architecture creates low overlap between preservation-oriented nature investing and deep-decarbonization growth equity, while pooling sourcing and operational resources under one roof.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
€400M (per firm website)
Location
Region
Europe
Country
France
City
Paris
Corporate office
Paris, France
Principals
Arnaud Delattre
Founding Partner & CEO
Emmanuel Gaudé
Founding Partner & Managing Director
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at StarQuest?
Investment leadership sits with Founding Partners Arnaud Delattre (CEO) and Emmanuel Gaudé (Managing Director). The firm lists Harold Dumeurger as Partner and names investment directors Chloé Cohen-Aknine and Quentin Simon as senior deal professionals, indicating a centralized investment committee structure under the founders.
How is StarQuest structured in relation to Montefiore?
StarQuest operates as a dedicated private equity subsidiary within Montefiore, a platform with €5B in consolidated assets. The relationship gives StarQuest access to Montefiore's broader institutional infrastructure while StarQuest itself retains operational independence in sourcing, investment decisions, and fund management. Regulatory and compliance separation is not publicly detailed.
What investment stages does StarQuest target across its three funds?
The three funds cover distinct stage bands. The CCR-Fund invests from seed to LBO with cheques of €500K to €5M, giving it the earliest-stage flexibility. The Biodiversity fund spans venture, growth, and buyout stages with €3M to €15M tickets. The Protect fund concentrates on Series A, B, and C companies poised for fast commercial scaling, deploying €3M to €20M per investment.
How does StarQuest separate its climate adaptation investments from its mitigation strategy?
The CCR-Fund exclusively targets adaptation and natural-disaster prevention — flood protection, drought-resilient infrastructure, and AI-driven risk modeling — while the Protect fund focuses on emissions reduction technologies across energy, mobility, agriculture, and materials. The Biodiversity fund sits apart, investing in nature-based solutions such as regenerative agriculture, ecosystem restoration, and MRV platforms. The three mandates rarely overlap in portfolio construction.
Does StarQuest co-invest with external limited partners or other GPs?
StarQuest does not publicly disclose LP co-investment programs or club-deal relationships. Its portfolio page lists portfolio companies thematically without naming co-investors or syndicate partners. The investor base behind each fund vehicle remains unpublicized, though Montefiore's parent-level relationships may account for some capital.
What is StarQuest's geographic investment footprint?
While StarQuest is headquartered in Paris, its portfolio shows reach across Europe and into broader international markets. Portfolio highlights include ultralight solar and hydrogen-mobility technologies applicable to multiple geographies, as well as landfill biogas and aquaponic systems deployed internationally. The firm does not restrict itself to France-only deployment, though explicit geographic allocations per fund are not disclosed.
Does StarQuest maintain any philanthropic or foundation structures alongside its funds?
No philanthropic foundations, donor-advised funds, or charitable vehicles tied to StarQuest are publicly disclosed. The firm's biodiversity and climate-adaptation funds are commercial private equity vehicles, not grant-making entities. Impact measurement is integrated into the investment thesis through MRV solutions rather than separated into a non-profit arm.
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