Bridgepoint leads €200 million fundraising in French HR tech firm Skello, source says

PARIS, July 5 (Reuters) - Bridgepoint is set to provide the majority of a €200 million ($229 million) funding round for French AI-powered HR management software company Skello, becoming the startup's lead minority shareholder, a source close to the matter said.

Bridgepoint's investment will be made through Bridgepoint Development Capital V, the same lower-middle-market fund the firm used to reinvest in French software company Brevo in November 2025, the same source said. A spokesperson for Skello did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Here are the key details:

• Skello's founders, management team and some existing investors are reinvesting as part of the deal; the management team will increase its stake, the source said.

• Skello plans to use the proceeds to consolidate its leadership in France and expand across Europe, and to hire in the second half of 2026, including in AI, the source said.

• Skello raised a €40 million Series B funding round in 2021 led by Partech, with participation from previous investors XAnge and Aglae Ventures, Partech said in a statement at the time.

($1 = 0.8735 euro)

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; Editing by Matthew Lewis)