Top 13 Investor Venture Capital Firms in France [2023]

France is the second largest economy in Europe and the sixth in the world. It is among the five most industrialized nations in the world. It has a large pool of skilled labor, high levels of innovation and productivity with a comprehensive social protection system. The country also ranks well on the Environmental Sustainability and Human Development Index (third). In this article, we will cover some top investor venture capital firms in France, their investment concentration, holding companies, and more.

1. Eurazeo

Eurazeo is a European private equity firm founded in 1994. The company has .1 billion in assets under management, and it invests in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. Eurazeo’s portfolio includes more than 200 companies, including CDISCOUNT, FNAC Darty and Group.

Eurazeo was created by merging several European private equity firms under the same name: Eurazéo Capital Markets (founded in 1993), Eurazeo Finance (founded in 1996) and Société Général Private Equity (founded in 1997). These three entities were then merged into the newly formed Eurazeo group which went public on the Paris Stock Exchange (FR0004166135 – Eurazeo) on February 25, 2001 with an initial market capitalization of €900 million.

2. Karmen

Karmen is a French start-up venture capital fund that was founded in 2010 by Alexandre Bompard (CEO of Group Casino) and Jean-David Blanc (founder of Dailymotion). Karmen has invested in over 100 companies since its inception, including Criteo, Deezer and Blablacar. Currently, Karmen’s portfolio consists of 15 companies with an average valuation of 0 million.

Karmen invests in startups at Series A stages or later. The company typically makes follow-on investments of up to million in Series A rounds and up to million in B rounds.

3. Kima Ventures

Kima Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Paris. The company was founded in 2011 by Jean-David Chamboredon and Julien Grenet, who previously served as vice president of product management at LendingClub.

Kima Ventures invests in early-stage startups with a focus on IoT, fintech and data science. The company has invested in more than 60 companies, including Blablacar, Bond Street Wallet, SOS Reparation (Repair Service), Leetchi (crowdfunding platform), Numa Nutrition and Playtika (Social Gaming).

4.Astorg

ASTORG is a private equity firm with a portfolio of over 40 companies. Astorg has invested in several companies, including Sigfox and Adoption.

Astorg was founded in 1982 by Jean-Louis Beffa and Philippe Camus, who is the current chairman of the board. The firm manages investments for institutional investors, family offices and individuals seeking growth opportunities in France.

5. Alven

Alven is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups. The company was founded in 2015 by Frederic Huynh and Éric Bertinat. The company has invested in more than 100 companies, including the online Forsale Marketplace, which sold to eBay for billion.

Alven is one of the most active VC companies in France with 1,000 investments and more than 200 million euros invested since its creation.

6. Family

The family is a venture capital firm specializing in investing in early-stage startups. The family has been one of France’s most active investors since its founding in 2011, with four billion euros invested and over 200 companies funded, including some of the biggest names in French tech such as Blablacar and Deezer. . The company is headquartered in Paris with offices also located in London, New York and San Francisco.

The family’s key strategy is to invest at scale – up to €100 million per round – in promising young startups at an early stage (ideally before they have raised capital). In addition to providing funding, they provide professional strategic planning and marketing support by connecting entrepreneurs with other key players in their network (such as customers or potential partners) to help accelerate growth.

7. Partech

Partech is a French venture capital firm that invests in seed, early stage and growth companies. He has invested in over 300 companies, with a portfolio of over 100 companies. Partech’s mission is to help entrepreneurs build successful businesses by providing them with the right combination of capital and expertise.

Partech has offices in Paris, London, San Francisco (where they have an office called Partech Silicon Valley) and Shanghai.

8. Aster

Aster is another French venture capital firm founded in 1999 by Jean-Paul Delahaye. The company is based in Paris and has offices across Europe, including Switzerland, Germany and the UK. Aster focuses on early stage and capital investments with a particular interest in high technology industries such as software, internet and digital media.

Notable investments include DailyMotion (acquired by Vivendi for 7 million), Criteo (5 million), Deezer (0 million), and Priceminister (acquired by Rakuten for million).

9. Xange

Xange is a venture capital firm that invests in early stage companies. They invest in sectors such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, fintech, blockchain and healthcare. Xange is based in France and has offices in London and New York.

10. Nombir

NUMA is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage technology startups, with offices located in Paris and London. The company is a member of the NUMA network, which also has operations in New York, Boston and Singapore. NUMA invests in startups through its early-stage accelerator program called Numba Ventures Lab as well as directly through its fund.

Numa has invested in over 130 startups since its inception in 1999, including SoundCloud (acquired by Spotify), Blablacar (acquired by Transdev), Qonto (acquired by Orange Bank), Deezer/Deezer International (Publicis Group) and more recently the Annie Annie Annie app (acquired by Warburg Pincus), Criteo SA, Magnolia SRL and Asaveo Ug GmbH, among others.

11.OSS Ventures

OSS Ventures is a French venture capital firm. The company was founded in 1995 by Marc Simoncini and Jean-David Blanc. OSS Ventures has invested in over 20 companies, including Lyst, Palma and Leetchi.

12.HCVC

HCVC is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. Its investment strategy focuses on software, digital services and telecommunications. The company has invested in over 500 companies, including:

Blablacar, an online carpooling service that connects drivers traveling from one city to another with passengers looking for a ride;

Lemonway, which provides an e-commerce platform for grocery deliveries;

Pixeom, which offers video surveillance solutions for small businesses; And

Qonto (formerly Qonto Finance), a financial marketplace offering banking products to SMEs.

13. Smartangels.com

Smartangels.fr is a French network of angel investors and early stage companies, founded in 2010. Smartangels.fr invests in startups that have reached an early stage of development, with the aim of helping them reach their next stage . Their investors typically invest between €50,000 – €200,000 for around 20% equity stakes in each investment. They have over 1,000 members who contribute to their investments either through loans or equity investments (most often).

Conclusion

Now you know which are the best venture capital firms in France. You can also check out other articles on our blog for more information on startups and startup funding.