France has around 1,100 early-stage investors, including nearly 150 active venture capital funds, and 20 VC funds account for most of the rounds12. This guide sorts them by stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A), by sector (B2B SaaS, deeptech, climate, AI, fintech, healthtech) and by check size, and gives the route in that works for each fund in 2026. Paris is still the center of gravity, but six regions have active funds of their own (Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nantes, Lille). Pick a fund based on your stage and check size first, and its reputation second.
Five of these funds have a detailed profile on swanbase: Kima Ventures, Partech, Daphni, Breega and Elaia. For how a fund works under the hood (LPs, GPs, carried interest), read our guide VC: what a venture capital fund is and how it works.
How to choose a VC: the stage × sector × check size matrix
The classic mistake is sending the same deck to 80 funds. In practice, 60 of them don't invest at your stage, 15 don't invest in your sector, and the remaining 5 get back to you three months later because you didn't target anyone. Precise targeting shortens your fundraising cycle.
Stage: pre-seed, seed, Series A, Series B+
Your stage sets the check size and the kind of conviction a fund needs. Pre-seed (prototype or €0-500K ARR): checks of €50-500K, from funds that back the team and the vision. Seed (€500K-2M ARR): checks of €500K-3M, from funds that want qualified traction. Series A (€2-10M ARR, >100% YoY growth): checks of €3-15M, for 15-25% ownership3. Series B and beyond: checks of €10-100M+, where the fund becomes a partner for international scale-up.
Sector: B2B SaaS, marketplace, deeptech, climate, AI, fintech, healthtech
French VCs that call themselves "tech generalists" each have their comfort zones: XAnge leans toward data and digital trust, Sofinnova invests exclusively in healthcare, Asterion only in climate. A fund's latest deal tells you more than its "thesis" page.
Check size: lead or follow-on
A fund that leads the round writes the biggest check, sets the valuation and structures the term sheet. A follow-on investor fills out the round. Kima never leads: it joins rounds led by other investors. Side Capital only leads (€300-600K). Knowing where a fund stands saves you six weeks pitching someone who will never sign first.
Geography: Paris-only, all of France, Europe, global
Kima invests everywhere. Daphni covers Europe (London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Helsinki). Newfund is Franco-American (Paris + Silicon Valley)4. Partech has offices on four continents. Regional funds reserve their checks for local startups. An international fund gives you access to its network abroad; a regional fund gives you access to local institutional investors.
The 5 most active pre-seed VCs in France in 2026
Pre-seed is the stage that depends most on human signals (team, market, momentum). Five funds lead on volume.
Kima Ventures
Xavier Niel's family office, run by Jean de La Rochebrochard. The fund writes a single €150K check into 100 new deals a year, at any stage and in any sector, and lists 984 portfolio companies on its website as of September 2026. Portfolio: Wise, PayFit, Zenly, Alan, Pennylane. With 45 deals in France in 2025, it was the most active private investor of the year5. Its website has no form and no contact address: our Kima Ventures profile explains how to reach them, and our guide to Xavier Niel's investment funds covers his other vehicles.
Founders Future
Founded in 2018 by Marc Menasé (Kelkoo, Teads, co-founder of France Digitale). €400M AUM, 140+ investments, 13 deals in 202556. The fund targets AI, fintech, SaaS and healthcare. It is expanding into the United States in 2025-2026, with MACSF, the Dassault family and CMA CGM among its backers. Portfolio: Databricks (co-invest), Perplexity, Veesion, Conduktor, Riot. It invests from pre-seed to seed, with checks of up to €2M.
Side Capital
Founded in 2016 by entrepreneurs, the fund writes checks of €300-600K as the sole investor in the seed round. Entry criteria: B2B SaaS at €10K MRR minimum, or a marketplace doing €100K in monthly revenue7. It does 5 to 6 deals a year, funded deal by deal. Portfolio: Weglot, Dropcontact, Paylead.
199 Ventures
Launched in 2025 by Andréa Bensaid (founder of Eskimoz) and Gaultier Brun (ex-Global Founders Capital, ex-Antler Paris)8. The fund had made its first 10 investments as of May 2026, with a tech focus and marketing as its edge. It invests from pre-seed to seed and brings hands-on growth support on top of capital.
Ovni Capital
This Paris-based first-check fund closed Ovni Ventures I at €50M in May 20259. It writes checks of €500K to €2M, driven by one conviction: being the very first institutional check. It remains a tech generalist and supports companies early on traction.
The 5 most active seed VCs in France in 2026
At seed, you need a thesis, clean metrics and a VC willing to lead the round.
Daphni
Founded in 2015 by Marie Ekeland (who spotted Criteo while at Elaia) and four co-founders. ~€1B AUM, 80+ companies, and the €260M Blue fund closed in January 2026 above target. Its "VC as a Platform" model gives portfolio founders access to a community of more than 300 members (the "daphnipolitains"). The fund has recently shifted toward deeptech, with 9 lab spin-outs (INRIA, Curie, INSERM) in the Blue fund. Portfolio: Back Market, Swile, Pasqal, Shine, Memo Bank. With 17 deals in 2025, it was the 3rd most active investor in France5. More in our Daphni profile.
Partech (Partech Entrepreneur)
Founded in 1982 in San Francisco, it is one of the oldest tech VCs in the world. €2.7B AUM, with a team of 51-200 people across 4 continents (Paris, Berlin, Dakar, Dubai, Nairobi, San Francisco). The fund is multi-stage: Seed (€500K-€3M), Venture (Series A/B), Growth (€10-100M+), Africa ($1-15M), Impact (€300M closed in 2026)10. Portfolio: Doctolib, AB Tasty, Akeneo, Qevlar AI, Fyld. It is the only French VC with offices in sub-Saharan Africa (Dakar, Nairobi). More in our Partech profile.
Newfund Capital
Founded in 2008, with $400M AUM, the first early-stage VC with offices in both Paris AND Silicon Valley. It had 124 startups at the end of 2024, 75 in France and 49 in the US4. The fund promises a term sheet within 3 weeks. Portfolio: Aircall, Fairmarkit, Fairmoney, Datagalaxy. With 14 deals in 2025, it was the 4th most active investor5.
XAnge
Backed by Siparex, with €800M AUM, the XAnge 4 fund (€220M) and a Mutuelles impact fund (€100M). It writes seed checks under €1M and Series A checks of €3-10M, built around three pillars (data, trust, care) and three countries (France, Germany, Belgium). XAnge 5 targets €250M with a focus on AI, deeptech and a sustainable future11.
Eurazeo Ventures
The VC arm of listed investment giant Eurazeo. It invests from the first check through Series C, in digital, the ecological transition and healthcare12. 13 deals in 2025, making it the 5th most active investor5. Its advantage: it can follow on all the way to growth stage and open doors to Eurazeo's institutional capital (private equity, debt).
The 5 most active Series A VCs in France in 2026
At Series A, valuations run into the tens of millions and selectivity goes up a notch. Typical checks range from €3M to €15M for 15-25% of the company.
Serena Capital
Founded in 2008 by Xavier Lorphelin, Marc Fournier and Philippe Hayat. €1B AUM, checks of €500K-15M, from pre-seed to Series A13. The fund targets AI, SaaS, climate tech, internet infrastructure and impact, with a 43-person team in Paris and a presence in 7 countries. It regularly leads French SaaS Series A rounds.
Breega
Founded in 2013 by Ben Marrel, François Paulus and Maximilien Bacot, three entrepreneurs who had sold their company. The fund manages €700M, says it ranks in the top 10% for performance, and is BCorp certified, the only major French VC to hold that label. It is deploying Europe Seed III at €150M and Africa Seed I at $75M. What sets it apart is the "Scaling Squad", an in-house team of experts dedicated to operational support (hiring, sales, marketing). Portfolio: Exotec (robotics unicorn), iBanFirst, Alice & Bob, Curve, Didomi. It has offices in Paris, London, Lagos and Cape Town. More in our Breega profile.
Elaia
Founded in 2002 by Philippe Gire and Xavier Lazarus. ~€850M AUM, plus the Lazard Elaia Capital joint venture for late stage. DV5 held a first close at €120M in February 2026 and is targeting €300M; a dedicated €200M deep tech fund has existed since 2023. Over 23 years, the fund has come through the dot-com bubble, 2008 and COVID. Portfolio: Criteo (NASDAQ IPO in 2013, the fund's big win), Mirakl, Shift Technology, Alice & Bob, AQEMIA. It operates from Paris, Barcelona and Tel Aviv and invests from pre-seed to Series B, with checks of €1-15M. More in our Elaia profile.
Bpifrance (Capital Innovation + Large Venture)
The public-sector arm of French venture capital. It was the most active investor in 2025 with 95 deals, ahead of every private player5. In 2025, Capital Innovation invested €559M in 155 companies, the Large Venture fund €138M across 22 deals, and the Deeptech Venture team €86M across 32 deals14. Its priorities: deeptech (€413M), industry (€410M), greentech (€185M), French Care (€143M). Bpifrance most often co-invests alongside French private VCs.
Frst Capital
Spun out of Otium Capital in 2019 as an independent early-stage fund. Checks of €1-6M, with 18-24 months of support up to Series A and reserves set aside for follow-on15. It targets French startups with international ambitions, writes first checks and keeps a low profile.
Sector VCs: climate, AI, deeptech, healthtech, fintech
Some funds invest in a single vertical. If your company fits one of their themes, skipping them costs you time.
Climate and impact
Asterion Ventures: 30 investments, a community of 850+ investors in 14 countries, and 94% founder satisfaction according to the fund16. Seed to Series B, focused on climate, sustainable fintech (Weefin) and green mobility. Its selection is tough: 1 startup chosen out of 200. 2050 is the impact fund Marie Ekeland founded after leaving Daphni in 2020, with a long-term systemic thesis. Breega has a dedicated Climate fund within Europe Seed III.
Deeptech
Bpifrance Deeptech Venture: €86M invested across 32 deals in 2025, plus €793M in non-dilutive funding to 1,000+ deeptech startups14. Elaia: Alice & Bob (quantum), AQEMIA (AI drug discovery), and a deep tech track record going back to 2002. Daphni Blue: 9 lab spin-outs out of 80 deals. XAnge: a deeptech pillar since XAnge 5. French deeptech raised €4.1B in 2025, and 410 new deeptech startups were founded the same year14.
AI
Kima Ventures: 7 AI rounds in 2025, the most active in the sector5. Bpifrance: 5 AI deals, including backing Mistral AI in its large-cap round. Eurazeo: 4 AI deals. Founders Future: an "AI-first" positioning since 20256. Daphni: H Company in its portfolio. AI took the largest share of French VC money in 2025, driven by Mistral AI becoming a decacorn (€11.7B valuation)17.
Fintech and regtech
Eurazeo: a long-standing fintech presence. Breega: iBanFirst (exited), Curve UK, Moneybox UK, Didomi (GDPR regtech). Partech: Doctolib in its portfolio, a company shaping the healthcare payments market.
Healthtech and biotech
Sofinnova Partners is France's go-to healthcare fund, with Sofinnova Capital X at €472M (2021)18. It invests in early-stage biopharma and medtech across Europe (StartCorWave, Mainstay Medical, May Health, Moon Surgical), and only in healthcare. If you're building in biotech, they're the fund to go through.
VCs in Paris and the rest of France
French venture capital is highly centralized. Outside Paris, the market works differently.
Paris: almost every significant deal
Kima, Daphni, Side, Founders Future, Partech, Serena, Elaia, Breega, Sofinnova, XAnge, Eurazeo: all based in Paris. This long-standing concentration comes from Station F, the HEC/Polytechnique ecosystem and the family offices of the Paris region. Fund-by-fund details are in our dedicated guide to VCs in Paris.
Regional funds: Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Nantes
Cap Innov'Est (Alsace), Sofimac Innovation (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), Cita Création (Pays de la Loire), Aquiti Gestion (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), Nord France Amorçage (Hauts-de-France). Checks of €100K to €1M, conditional on being based in the region or having local institutional backing. Pair them with a Paris VC leading the round rather than using them as a replacement.
When to target a regional fund over a Paris one
Three cases: (1) your startup is already based outside Paris and wants a nearby investor, (2) your project has strong local roots (industry, agriculture, location-specific biotech), (3) you need less than €1M from a single investor. Otherwise, a Paris VC remains the right default for a seed round above €1M.
How to approach each VC
A cold deck rarely turns into a first meeting; the same deck sent through a warm intro converts far better. Three routes work in France in 2026.
Warm intro paths
The best intros come from founders the fund has already backed. Find the portfolio on Crunchbase or the fund's website, pick 2-3 founders close to your sector, and write a 4-line message: who you are, what you do, your traction in numbers, and a clear ask (an intro to X at fund Y, rather than a generic coffee). The second source is partner accelerators and incubators (Station F, Bpifrance Accélérateur) with direct ties to funds. For a pitch that gets past the filter, follow our dedicated guide.
Cold emails that work in France
Use a hyper-specific subject line ("Seed €1.5M, B2B SaaS, 30K MRR, 25% MoM growth"), 5 lines max, a clickable deck link and a clear request for 20 minutes. Skip the attachment: a DocSend link lets you track opens. Avoid opening with the most solicited funds, like Kima. Go for analysts and associates: they read more decks than partners and need to bring in dealflow.
Flagship events and programs to target
France Digitale Day (September, Paris), Vivatech (June, Paris), Web Summit Lisbon (November). On the program side: Bpifrance Accélérateur (rigorous selection, direct access to funds) and Founders Founders (the Founders Future program).
Which VCs are deploying in 2026 and which are holding back
The 2024-2026 market has split funds into those deploying capital and those holding back.
Reading the post-2024 landscape
The French market slowed in 2025: 494 rounds recorded, €7.4B raised (-5%) across 618 deals (-15%)519. Funds closing new vehicles in 2025-2026 are actively deploying. Those whose last close dates back to 2021-2022 have little dry powder left.
Recently raised funds (= active deployment)
Daphni Blue €260M (closed January 2026), Partech Impact €300M (closing in 2026), Elaia DV5 (first close at €120M in February 2026, targeting €300M), Ovni Ventures I €50M (closed May 2025), Breega Europe Seed III €150M (2023, in full deployment). These vehicles are actively investing: put them at the top of your list when you start raising in 2026.
VCs or alternatives: business angels, family offices, equity crowdfunding
When a VC isn't the right vehicle
(1) You're raising less than €500K: that's too small for an institutional VC, so go to business angels or equity crowdfunding. (2) You're aiming for a cash-flow business at €5-10M ARR rather than a €500M exit: a VC will push you toward growth that wrecks profitability. (3) Your market is a defensible niche: a patient family office is a better fit than a VC expecting 10x in 5 years. For the full comparison, read VCs or business angels in France and how a VC fund works.
Raising €100,000 to €500,000 with swanbase
swanbase invests €100,000 to €500,000 at seed and Series A, in France and across Europe. Our six investment theses and the application form are on the raise funds with swanbase page.
FAQ
Which VC funds are the most active in France?
By number of rounds in 2025, Bpifrance comes first (95), ahead of Kima Ventures (45), Daphni (17), Newfund (14), Eurazeo (13) and Founders Future (13), according to JDN5. The best fit depends on your stage: Kima, Founders Future and Side Capital at pre-seed; Daphni, Newfund and XAnge at seed; Serena, Breega and Elaia at Series A.
How many VC funds are there in France?
Nearly 150 active venture capital funds, out of around 1,100 early-stage investors, according to CB Insights and Mag Startup12. About twenty of them account for most of the rounds.
How many VCs should you contact to raise a seed round in France?
A useful range is 25 to 50 well-targeted funds (stage × sector × check size), rather than 200 mass emails. Thirty funds that reply beat 200 that bin your deck unread.
Do you need a lawyer before pitching?
You don't need one to pitch, since a deck commits you to nothing. From the term sheet onward, you do. A lawyer specialized in fundraising (Aramis, Bird & Bird, Gide, or boutique firms such as SLVF) charges from €3,500 excl. VAT for a seed round and €15,000 to €40,000 excl. VAT for a Series A on the company side20. Cut corners on legal in your first round and you inherit clauses that haunt every round after (badly drafted drag-along provisions, aggressive anti-dilution, too many board seats).
How long does it take to raise a VC seed round in France in 2026?
Expect several months between first contact and closing: initial meetings, due diligence, term sheet and negotiation, then the legal close. The documented stretch runs from term sheet to closing: 8 to 12 weeks for a standard Series A, and up to 16 if due diligence drags on21.
Can a French VC invest in a non-French startup?
Yes. Newfund has invested in the US since 2008. Partech operates on 4 continents. Daphni covers London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Helsinki. Kima Ventures invests globally, with a focus on French founders wherever they are. The constraints are mostly legal (holding structure, tax) and have little to do with the fund's thesis.
swanbase supports early-stage founders over the long term, in Paris and remotely. The program costs €0, admission is by application, and swanbase takes equity. If you're preparing your first raise, apply here.
Footnotes
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https://www.cbinsights.com/research/top-investors-france/ ↩ ↩2
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https://www.magstartup.com/capital-risque-france-20-fonds-majeurs-10-a-surveiller/ ↩ ↩2
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https://www.journaldunet.com/start-up/1547057-kima-ventures-daphni-newfund-qui-sont-les-investisseurs-les-plus-actifs-de-la-french-tech-en-2025/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9
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https://www.jaimelesstartups.fr/fonds-investissement/side-capital/ ↩
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https://www.maddyness.com/2025/04/28/andrea-bensaid-fondateur-deskimoz-lance-son-fonds/ ↩
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https://www.cfnews.net/L-actualite/Capital-innovation/Levee-de-fonds/Ovni-Capital-fait-atterrir-son-premier-fonds-530625 ↩
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https://partechpartners.com/news/partech-impact-secures-300m-to-scale-european-b2b-impact-tech-leaders ↩
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https://www.eurazeo.com/fr/metiers/private-equity/venture-capital ↩
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https://www.bpifrance.fr/download/media-file/1462973 ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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https://www.maddyness.com/2026/01/06/french-tech-voici-les-10-levees-de-fonds-les-plus-importantes-de-2025/ ↩
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https://www.ey.com/fr_fr/newsroom/2026/01/barometre-ey-du-capital-risque-sur-l-anee-2025 ↩
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https://hayot-expertise.fr/blog/term-sheet-startup-12-clauses-negociation-2026 ↩
