Kima Ventures is the personal investment vehicle of French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, created in 2010 and run out of Paris. Its stated model is ‘2 startups per week’, ‘€150k one off tickets’, ‘any stage, any sector’, which makes it one of the most active early-stage investors in the world at roughly 100 deals a year. It positions itself around ‘money and care’, pairing a fast, standardised cheque with founder support and network access. Portfolio companies include Mistral AI, Alan, Pennylane, Photoroom, Pigment, Agicap, Airbyte, Deel and Sorare.
Investment thesis
Kima Ventures backs two startups a week from Paris, around 100 new deals a year, with one-off tickets of EUR 150,000. It is stage, sector and deal-size agnostic, decides quickly and takes small positions rather than leading rounds. Alongside the cheque it offers founders ongoing support, and it describes itself as the most active business angel in the world by deal count.
Past investments
| Company | Round | Date | Round size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shiplog Paris, France | Pre-seed | Aug 2026 | €808K |
| Sillage Paris, France | Pre-seed | Apr 2026 | €1.7M |
| Vertical Compute Belgium | Seed | Mar 2026 | €37M |
| Paage Paris, France | Seed | Nov 2025 | €2.2M |
| Hoora Paris, France | - | Nov 2025 | €1.1M |
| Motley Wetzikon, Switzerland | Pre-seed | Nov 2025 | €1.3M |
| Harmattan AI Paris, France | Seed | Apr 2024 | €11.1M |
| Pennylane Paris, France | Seed | May 2020 | €4M |
| Agicap Lyon, France | Series A | May 2020 | €15M |
| Alma Paris, France | Seed | Jul 2019 | €3.3M |
| Sorare Paris, France | Pre-seed | May 2019 | €550K |
| Swile Montpellier, France | Series B | Feb 2019 | €30M |
| Cowboy Brussels, Belgium | Seed | Apr 2018 | €2.5M |
| Alan Paris, France | Series A | Apr 2018 | €23M |
| Strapi Paris, France | Pre-seed | Jan 2018 | €800K |
Sesamers coverage
March 25, 2026