Kima Ventures: Xavier Niel's Two-Cheques-a-Week Seed Machine

Kima Ventures, founded by Xavier Niel and Jérémie Berrebi, is the world's most active business angel — a standardised €150k Kima Deal, ~100 startups a year, and early bets on Wise, Docker and Sorare.

Kima Ventures bills itself as 'the most active business angel in the world' — and the numbers support the boast. Founded in Paris in 2010 by telecom billionaire Xavier Niel (Iliad/Free co-founder) and serial entrepreneur Jérémie Berrebi, the seed fund backs roughly two startups a week — around 100 new investments a year — and has funded nearly 950 startups since inception. It is run day-to-day from Station F in Paris by partner Jean de La Rochebrochard.

Kima's model is radical standardisation. The current Kima Deal offers a single, one-off €150k ticket on identical terms with very fast decisions and no follow-on investment. The fund typically participates in pre-seed and seed rounds between €500k and €2.5m. It is sector-agnostic but insists on a strong tech DNA, backing teams with what it calls 'an extraordinary learning and execution curve' — and it invests in startups founded by French founders, in France and abroad.

The portfolio is a roll call of breakout names: money-transfer giant Wise (then TransferWise), Docker, fantasy-sports platform Sorare, cap-table platform Carta, crypto-security firm Ledger, comms platform Front, insurer Alan, payroll platform PayFit, spend-management firm Spendesk, creative platform Meero and legal-AI startup Doctrine. Earlier exits include Sparrow (acquired by Google) and Rapportive (acquired by LinkedIn).

Structurally, Kima is not a traditional fund: it operates on a single-LP, evergreen structure funded by Xavier Niel himself, so its total fund size is not publicly disclosed. A defining earlier programme was Kima15 (2014), which offered $150k for a 15% stake with money wired within 15 days — the philosophy behind today's streamlined Kima Deal.

Founders get more than the cheque: access to one of the largest networks of French tech entrepreneurs, in-house-built portfolio tools, selected partner services, direct availability of the Kima team, and a business-angel network plus follow-on funds to support the Series A.

Why it matters for founders

If you want a fast, standardised, no-drama seed cheque, there is no busier investor on the planet than Kima Ventures: two decisions a week, identical €150k terms, and a portfolio that includes Wise, Docker and Sorare. The trade-off to understand is the absence of follow-on capital — Kima does not reinvest, so you must plan your next round around other investors. Apply via kimaventures.com if you are a French-founded team with strong tech DNA at pre-seed or seed.