Carrefour invests in European tech start-ups fund

PARIS (Reuters) - Investment firm Partech Ventures has raised 200 million euros (149.64 million pounds) from investors, including French retailer Carrefour, for a new fund that will invest in European technology and digital start-ups. The creation of the Partech Growth Fund is in response to the lack of availability of funding in Europe in this area, which often forces start-ups to look elsewhere for money, notably in the United States, Partech said in a statement on Monday. Other investors in the fund include French state-owned bank BPI France, insurers CNP Assurances and AG2R La Mondiale, French IT services group Ingenico and carmaker Renault. Carrefour, Europe's largest retailer, said in a separate statement that its investment, the size of which was not disclosed, was in line with its focus on innovation. It could also pave the way for future partnerships between Carrefour and some of the start-ups. Partech Ventures, founded in 1982, has $650 million under active management with offices in Paris, Berlin and San Francisco. Online video-sharing website Dailymotion is among the companies Partech Ventures has invested in. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon. Editing by Jane Merriman)