Elaia Partners, a Paris-based VC firm founded in 2002, writes checks of €1M to €15M from pre-seed to Series B into B2B and deep tech startups, and manages around €850M. To pitch the fund, read the section How to pitch Elaia Partners.
In 2002, a year after the dot-com bubble burst, French investors were running away from tech. Two partners, Philippe Gire and Xavier Lazarus, made the opposite bet: European B2B tech companies could become global leaders. They founded Elaia Partners. Eleven years later, their investment in a then-unknown adtech startup called Criteo paid off when it went public on NASDAQ in 2013. Since then, Elaia has weathered four economic cycles, built a portfolio of 183 companies and established itself as the deep tech reference in French venture capital, with around €850M under management (figures published on elaia.com, accessed March 2026).
Screenshot of the elaia.com homepage (March 2026)
The history of Elaia Partners
Elaia Partners was born in conditions few investors would envy. 2002 was the bottom of the dot-com crash. You could count European venture capital firms on two hands. Institutional investors were turning away from tech. Philippe Gire and Xavier Lazarus picked that moment to launch their fund.
The origins: a countercyclical bet
The name "Elaia" comes from ancient Greek and refers to the olive tree, a symbol of longevity and resilience. From day one, the founders built a fund designed for the long haul. Their conviction: Europe, and France in particular, had an underexploited tech base, thanks to the quality of its engineering schools and research labs.
The Criteo win (2007-2013)
The investment that changed Elaia's trajectory was Criteo. Founded in 2005 by four researchers from École normale supérieure and CNRS, Criteo built ad retargeting technology powered by machine learning. Elaia invested very early, when Criteo was still little more than a lab project with a handful of customers. In 2013, Criteo listed on NASDAQ, the largest French tech IPO at the time. For Elaia, it validated the thesis: B2B companies spun out of French research can become global leaders.
2015-2020: the deep tech era
Building on Criteo's success, Elaia doubled down on deep tech. The fund invested in Mirakl (marketplace SaaS, now a unicorn), Shift Technology (AI for insurance, now a unicorn) and Teads (video adtech, acquired by Altice). Marie Ekeland, a long-standing Partner, left Elaia in 2015 to co-found Daphni, but the fund kept its course.
The DV4 fund (Numérique Venture 4) raised €115M in 2017. A dedicated €200M deep tech fund followed in 2023.
2025-2026: the DV5 fund and the Lazard alliance
In February 2026, Elaia announced the first close of its fifth flagship fund, DV5, at €120M, with a final target of €300M. Through the Lazard Elaia Capital joint venture, the firm supports its startups all the way to late stage, drawing on Lazard's institutional networks. The alliance gives portfolio companies access to investment banking networks, large enterprise customers and capital markets when they prepare for an exit.
Timeline of Elaia Partners' key investments and milestones
The founders and the team
Philippe Gire: the quiet visionary
Co-founder and Partner Philippe Gire is Elaia's strategic architect. An engineer by training, he built the fund on a technical conviction: assessing the scientific soundness of an innovation matters as much as understanding the market.
Xavier Lazarus: the continuity
Co-founder and Partner since the beginning, Xavier Lazarus embodies Elaia's continuity. Twenty-three years at the same fund is rare in VC, where partners often switch firms. That tenure gives him first-hand knowledge of cycles, mistakes and the patterns behind success.
Marc Rougier: the operator
Partner Marc Rougier brings entrepreneurial experience to the fund, complementing the founders' more technical backgrounds.
The wider team
Elaia employs around 45 people according to its website, with offices in Paris, Barcelona and Tel Aviv. A presence in Israel is unusual for a French seed fund and reflects Elaia's strategy: go find deep tech innovation where it emerges, including outside France.
Elaia's investment thesis
Elaia describes itself as a "full stack" tech and deep tech investor. In practice, it invests from pre-seed to Series B and can back startups through longer cycles than most funds.
A B2B and deep tech thesis
Elaia targets tech-intensive B2B or B2B2C companies with global ambitions from the start. Its focus is on companies whose competitive edge rests on defensible technology: AI/ML, data-intensive SaaS, computational biotech, industrial deep tech, cybersecurity and fintech infrastructure. Consumer apps and mass-market marketplaces fall outside its scope.
Tickets from €1M to €15M
The DV5 fund writes checks from €1M to €15M, with reserves for follow-on rounds. Unlike Kima (which never does follow-ons), Elaia backs its best investments again at Series A and B.
Deep tech patience
One of Elaia's key differentiators is its tolerance for longer cycles. A SaaS startup can reach product-market fit in 18 months. A deep tech startup (quantum computing, AI drug discovery, micro-robotics) can take 5 to 7 years before generating meaningful revenue. Elaia is built for that patience. Through its ties to French academic research (INRIA, CNRS, grandes écoles), the fund spots projects while they are still in the lab.
Geography: Europe, with a focus on France, Spain and Israel
Elaia invests mainly in Europe, with a particular focus on France, Spain and Israel. The Barcelona and Tel Aviv offices cover two leading deep tech hubs: Tel Aviv for cybersecurity and AI, Barcelona for SaaS and IoT.
How to pitch Elaia Partners
Elaia has no application form. Its contacts page invites founders to write directly to the investment team, whose contact details are listed on the team page (checked September 23, 2026).
Ways to reach Elaia Partners
- A partner from the team page. Pick the partner who covers your sector and email them directly, with your deck attached as a PDF.
- An intro from a portfolio founder. A founder from Elaia's portfolio can forward your deck with two lines of context.
- The research network. Elaia spots projects at the lab stage through INRIA, CNRS and the grandes écoles. A lab director can introduce you to the team.
- Lazard Elaia Capital for late stage. Beyond Series B, reach out to the joint venture via lazardelaiacapital.com.
The deck to send
In your deck, show the defensible technology behind your competitive advantage, since Elaia's thesis requires one. Ask for an amount that fits the fund's ticket, €1M to €15M, and state who is funding the rest of your round. If you need less than that, compare other VC funds in France and VCs in Paris.
Raise €100K to €500K with swanbase
swanbase invests €100K to €500K at seed and Series A, in France and across Europe. Our six investment theses and the application form are on the raise funding with swanbase page.
Notable portfolio
Elaia reports 183 portfolio companies, 3 unicorns, 4 IPOs and 57 acquisitions (elaia.com, March 2026). The main names:
Elaia Partners' main investments and notable exits
Criteo: the founding success. Machine learning-powered adtech, IPO on NASDAQ in 2013. Criteo became a global player in digital advertising.
Mirakl: SaaS marketplace platform. French unicorn. Used by major retailers (Carrefour, Leroy Merlin) to launch and run their online marketplaces.
Shift Technology: artificial intelligence applied to insurance fraud detection. Unicorn, operating globally.
Teads: video adtech platform. Acquired by Altice, then sold again. One of the successes of the European adtech wave.
Alice & Bob: quantum computing startup. One of the most ambitious deep tech bets in Elaia's portfolio, aiming to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer.
AQEMIA: AI-driven drug discovery. Uses physics-based models and machine learning to speed up the discovery of new therapeutic molecules.
Key figures
Figures published on elaia.com, accessed March 2026.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Paris, with offices in Barcelona and Tel Aviv |
| Assets under management | around €850M |
| Portfolio companies | 183 |
| Unicorns | 3 (Criteo via IPO, Mirakl, Shift Technology) |
| IPOs | 4 |
| Acquisitions | 57 |
| DV5 fund | first close €120M, target €300M (2026) |
| Deep tech fund | €200M (2023) |
| Tickets | €1M to €15M |
| Stages | pre-seed to Series B |
| Team size | around 45 people |
| Sectors | AI/ML, SaaS, deep tech, cybersecurity, biotech, fintech |
| Geography | Europe (France, Spain, Israel) |
| Joint venture | Lazard Elaia Capital (late stage) |
FAQ
How do I contact Elaia Partners to pitch?
Elaia has no application form. Its contacts page points founders to the investment team, whose contact details are on the team page of elaia.com. Email the partner covering your sector with your deck, or ask for an intro from a portfolio founder or your research network (INRIA, CNRS, grandes écoles).
What is Elaia Partners' ticket size?
Elaia invests €1M to €15M per ticket through its DV5 fund, from pre-seed to Series B. The fund does follow-ons in its best companies at Series A and B. For late stage, Elaia works through its joint venture Lazard Elaia Capital.
Does Elaia Partners invest in B2C startups?
No. Elaia targets tech-intensive B2B or B2B2C companies: AI and machine learning, data-heavy SaaS, computational biotech, industrial deep tech, cybersecurity and fintech infrastructure. Consumer apps and B2C marketplaces fall outside its thesis.
Does Elaia Partners invest outside France?
Yes. The fund invests across Europe with a focus on France, Spain and Israel, and has offices in Barcelona and Tel Aviv in addition to Paris. Tel Aviv covers cybersecurity and AI, Barcelona covers SaaS and IoT.
Does Elaia Partners do follow-on investments?
Yes. Elaia comes in from pre-seed to Series B with €1M to €15M tickets through its DV5 fund, and backs its best investments again at Series A and B. Kima Ventures, by contrast, never does follow-ons.
