The venture capital ecosystem in France is progressively growing. After the UK and Germany, France was ranked as the third largest venture capital in 2015 by Ernst and Young in terms of total funds raised. With a high rate of idea development and investment opportunities, France is set to become the home for the world’s largest incubator, with a space for over 1000 startups. Here is a list of the top VC firms in France and Europe that are powering the startup growth in France.
VC Firms With Presence in Paris, France
1) Aster Capital Partner Paris, France. Aster Capital Partners primarily grants Startup/Seed, Early Stage, Expansion, and Later Stage funding. The firm focuses on startups that are involved in solving global challenges in fields of environment, global energy usage, and clean transportation. Aster has invested in companies like Connect Blue, Open Wide, Micro Bridge, Digital Lumens, OpenDataSoft etc.
2) The Carlyle Group Paris, France. Founded in 1987, The Carlyle Group offers funding in areas of healthcare, media and entertainment, telecommunications, and technology. With early stage and expansion stage funding, The Carlyle Group is one of the largest private equity firms in the world. The firm has more than $86.1 billion under management. Their portfolio firms include B&B Hotels, Otor, Sermata, Saverglass, Le Figaro etc.
3) Sofinnova Partners Paris, France. An independent firm, Sofinnova Partners has financed over 500 companies in the last 40 years. With a focus on companies working in the life sciences industry, the firm plays can active role throughout the development of a company. Their investment portfolio includes companies like ZS Pharma, Prothena, Ocera, Innocoll, Histogenics etc.
4) H.I.G. Capital Ventures LLC Paris, France. H.I.G. Capital Ventures, LLC is focused on building large scale businesses that have significant value. The firm invests in industries such as health care, infrastructure, IT services, and technology. Through the years, H.I.G. Capital Ventures LLC has helped over 200 companies. The firm’s investment ranges from $15M to $100M. Some of their portfolio companies are AIRCOM, Cpower, Oasis, Potpourri, Pro-Pet, TLC Vision etc.
5) Innovacom Paris, France. Innovacom offers startups, seed, early stage funding to companies working in the areas of Internet, IT services, software and telecommunications. With maximum investment range of $13 million, Innovacom has helped launch creative telecommunication and information technology startups. Companies in their portfolio include 21Net, Air-Lynx, Cozy Cloud, Microej, Robart etc.
6) IDInvest Partners Paris, France. IDInvest Partners is a leader in European sphere of private equity. The firm specialises in low and middle market segments. The firm has more than €7 billion under management and since 1997, they have financed more than 3,500 European businesses. (3) The firm seeks to invest in high potential businesses and innovative projects in new information technologies. Some of the companies on their portfolio are happn, Deezer, Withings, Peakon, Dynacure etc..
7) ELAIA Paris, France. Founded in 2002, Elaia Partners focuses on Digital Economy and presently manages more than €135 million through Elaia Ventures. Elaia Partners also co-founded France Digitale, the independent VC and startup association in digital Economy. Some of the companies on their portfolio are Cryptosense, ePawn, Opentrust, Pandacraft, Shift Technology etc.
8) Partech Ventures- Paris, France Partech Ventures was founded in 1982. Through the years, the firm has invested in companies dealing in areas of consumer internet and information technology. The investment range of the firm goes from €200k to €40M in tech companies from seed to growth stage. Presently, Partech Ventures has over €1 billion under management in 15 countries. Their portfolio companies include Brandwatch, Bugcrowd, dayuse.com, Freedompop etc.
9) ISAI Paris, France Founded in 2008, ISAI is an entrepreneur’s fund for early-stage Internet startups. With 130 entrepreneurs on board, ISAI aims at helping digital companies that show high potential. Presently, the firm has over €160 million under management. Their portfolio includes companies like BlaBlaCar, Storetail, HopWork, TripNDrive etc.
10) New Fund Paris, France New Fund specializes in financing medical tech startups with early stage investments. Founded in 2008, the firm manages over $200 million today. As an active partner in success of the companies they choose, New Fund helps entrepreneurs through their growth cycle. New Fund’s portfolio includes companies like Aircall, Tradeit, Tageos, Nanolike, and Invoxia etc.
11) Alven Capital Paris, FranceThe firm has invested in over 100 startups in the last 17 years. An independent venture investment firm, Alven Capital has been part of four successive funding rounds. The firm has backed growing startups in French digital and technological arena. The firm’s portfolio includes companies like Stripe, Wynd, Happn, Jobintree, etc.
VCs based in rest of Europe
12) Index Ventures London, UK Index Ventures has an extensive tech portfolio and the company has invested in some of the biggest names in tech world. The firm was launched in 1996 and since then it has funded companies like Facebook, Dropbox, Skype, Zendesk, Etsy, Asos, BetFair etc. Index Ventures has multiple funds, the largest being $706 million.
13) 83North London, UK 83 North has successfully backed European and Israeli startups for many years now. The company has its offices in London and Tel Aviv. Some of the firms that 83North has invested in are iZettle, Just Eat, Actifio, IronSource, Wiliot, etc. The firm aims to build global companies with half of its portfolio companies in operating in the US.
14) Atomico, London, UK The venture capital firm was founded by Skype co-founder in 2006. With a focus on tech-based startups and companies, Atomico has a global presence with offices in Beijing, Sao Paulo, and Istanbul. The firm’s headquarters are in London and the company gives a preference to Europe based startups and entrepreneurs. Atomico has invested in companies like Rovio, Supercell, Skype, Last.fm, Truecaller, Silk etc.
15) Lakestar Berlin, Germany Founded in 2012, the Lakestar team has invested in some of the biggest names in the Internet world today. Some of the companies Lakestar has invested in, are Facebook, Skype and AirBnB, King.com, and Spotify etc. The firm focuses on disruptive businesses that are powered by dedicated entrepreneurs. Lakestar manages over $385 million.
16) Abingworth London, UK The VC firm was founded in 1973, and since then they have focused on investing in companies that work in life sciences and healthcare sectors. The firm helps companies through the early stages to all levels of their growth. With over $1.1 billion under management, the firm has helped 142 life sciences companies. Some of these companies are ArgoMed, Broncus, Clinical Designs, Sensonics etc.
17) Creandum Sweden Creandum has invested in 61 companies till date and the firm focus on Seed and Series A funding. With offices in Stockholm, Berlin, and San Francisco, the company believes in disruptive innovation in the business sphere. Some of the companies they’ve invested in are depop, Planday, Spotify, Instabridge, iZettle etc.
18) Northzone Ventures London, UK Founded in 1996, Northzone Ventures has helped entrepreneurs in tech startups. The firm has over €1 billion under management with investments in companies like Spotify, iZettle, LastMinute, Fuse, Kahoot! etc.
19) Business Growth Fund London, UK Business Growth Fund offers finances for small and medium sized businesses. Established in 2011, the firm is backed by five of UK’s main baking groups. The firm has up to £2.5 billion under management. With a focus on UK based businesses, BGF aims to unlock the potential of fast growing small and medium businesses. BGF’s investment portfolio includes EcoVision, Four Communications, Magma Global, RSK Group, etc.
20) Endeavour Vision Geneva, Switzerland The firm provides financing to companies in medical tech and digital health industries. The firm has invested in over a 100 companies since 1989 and manages over $275 million. The firm’s investments include AudioSoft, SanDisk, Paper.li,Visual Wireless, Wesco etc.
