Who are the most active French VCs?

Vive la French Tech!

The startup ecosystem in France is booming, as the country actively works to become Europe’s busiest VC market. France is second behind the UK this year with respect to deal count, but the combined effect of Brexit and the promise of a more entrepreneurial environment might see the country catch up.

The French venture capital landscape has gone from strength to strength in recent years, breaking several domestic fundraising records since 2014. VC activity has gone into overdrive since the 2017 election of pro-business President Emmanuel Macron, who has vowed to make the country a “startup nation” with new visas and a €10 billion innovation fund.

A lot has been said about French startups and the thriving environment they create, but what of the investors hailing from the country? Those VCs have been active in promoting businesses in their home nation and participated in the majority of deals there, as well as increased their investing abroad. They’ve been raising more capital as well. Fundraising totals have fluctuated over the past few years, but the general trend is more money across fewer vehicles. In 2018, VCs in France raised nearly €2.2 billion (around $2.4 billion today) across 12 funds, compared with €832 million across 25 funds in 2014, per PitchBook data.

We’ve compiled a list of the 11 most active VCs from France since the start of 2014, excluding accelerators, with their deal counts in parentheses.

1. Kima Ventures (453)
2. Partech Partners (223)
3. Idinvest Partners (173)
4. Alven Capital Partners (107)
5. Seventure Partners (97)
6. AngelSquare (95)
7. Ventech (91)
8. Sofinnova Partners (82)
9. 360 Capital Partners (76)
10. XAnge Private Equity (71)
11. Newfund (65)