What Isai does

ISAI is a Paris-based multi-strategy venture capital and private equity firm founded in 2010 by a community of more than 200 French digital entrepreneurs. It operates through its AMF-licensed portfolio management subsidiary ISAI Gestion SAS (licence GP-10000010, granted 15 March 2010), headquartered at 8 Avenue Kléber in Paris with a US office in New York led by Paul Strachman. The firm targets French and European technology entrepreneurs across the full company lifecycle, and its 'fund of entrepreneurs' model combines capital from successful operator-LPs with deal-sourcing and operating-support contributions from the same community.

The platform is organised into five complementary fund vehicles: ISAI Venture (early-stage VC, €100k–€3M tickets, including a 'Super Angel' pre-seed mode and a US international track); ISAI SeedClub (angel co-investment vehicle at pre-seed); ISAI CAP Venture (€80M corporate-venture fund launched in 2019 with Capgemini for Series A–D B2B software, engineering, and Green IT startups); ISAI Build Venture (€80M corporate-venture fund launched in 2023 with Bouygues for Seed–Series C construction, real estate, mobility infrastructure, and energy decarbonisation startups); ISAI Expansion (growth equity and LBO/OBO fund for mature tech SMEs); and ISAI Growth Lending (debt financing for growth-stage tech companies). Reported AUM was above €300M as of 2018, with significant additional capital raised across Venture III (€90M, 2020), Tech Growth/LBO (€150M, 2018), CAP (€80M, 2019), Build (€80M, 2023), and Venture IV (first close December 2025).

Revenue is generated through recurring management fees on fund assets, performance-based carried interest on portfolio exits, and interest/return economics from Growth Lending. Ancillary infrastructure includes an ESG/SFDR-compliant toolkit (Sweep for carbon accounting, Campus de l'Inclusion for inclusion plans), PRI and France Invest charter signatory status, and content platforms (ISAI Thoughts blog, Finview podcast by partner William Vermont) used for thought leadership and deal-flow generation. The active portfolio spans 100+ named companies across venture, CAP, Build, Expansion, Growth Lending, and exited positions.

Name

Isai

Legal name

ISAI Gestion SAS

Website

https://isai.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ISAI is a Paris-based multi-strategy venture capital and private equity firm, founded in 2010, investing across early-stage, corporate-venture, growth, buyout, and debt strategies in French and European technology companies through dedicated fund vehicles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Tech Private Equity

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAAAJ)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Growth equity
• Tech private equity
• Seed investing
• Growth lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund management fees (ISAI Gestion): Recurring management fees on assets under management across multiple fund vintages and strategies (ISAI Venture, ISAI CAP Venture, ISAI Build Venture, ISAI Expansion, Growth Lending). ISAI Gestion is AMF-licensed (GP-10000010, granted 15/03/2010).
2. Carried interest on exits: Performance-based carried interest earned upon successful exits from portfolio companies; aligned via broad employee carried-interest participation in funds.
3. Corporate co-investment / CVC fund management: Management of corporate-venture fund-of-fund vehicles with strategic corporate partners (Capgemini for ISAI CAP Venture €80M; Bouygues for ISAI Build Venture €80M), generating fee revenue plus co-investment economics.
4. Growth lending / debt instrument returns: Growth Lending strategy generates interest/return-based revenue through debt-like instruments extended to growth-stage tech companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Isai Gestion SAS is an AMF-regulated French venture capital and tech private equity manager that invests institutional and entrepreneur capital into French and European internet and technology companies across the full lifecycle — from seed (SeedClub) through early-stage venture (ISAI Venture, ISAI CAP, ISAI Build) and growth equity/debt (ISAI Expansion, ISAI Growth Lending) to tech buyouts (LBO). The firm is backed by a community of more than 200 French tech entrepreneurs who act as limited partners, alongside corporate LPs such as Capgemini, Bouygues, and Free.

Product overview

ISAI is a multi-strategy venture capital and growth investment platform — not a single unified technology product — composed of several complementary fund vehicles targeting French and European tech entrepreneurs at different stages. The core early-stage offering is ISAI Venture (Early-Stage VC), which leads or co-leads first institutional rounds with tickets of €100k–€3M and includes an international US track; ISAI SeedClub co-invests at pre-seed alongside business angels. For more mature companies, ISAI Expansion (Growth & Buyout) provides growth equity and LBO tickets of €5M–€30M, while ISAI Growth Lending offers debt-financing solutions to growth-stage tech firms. Two corporate venture partnerships extend the platform: ISAI CAP Venture is an €80M fund in partnership with Capgemini backing software, engineering and Green IT scale-ups (Series A–D, €1M–€5M), and ISAI Build Venture is an €80M fund in partnership with Bouygues backing startups that accelerate the transformation and decarbonation of construction, real estate, mobility infrastructure and energy (Seed to Series C, €0.5M–€5M).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ISAI Venture: ISAI's early-stage venture-capital fund for French digital entrepreneurs (pre-seed/seed/Series A tickets).
• ISAI CAP Venture
• ISAI Build Venture
• ISAI Expansion
• ISAI Growth Lending
• SeedClub ISAI

Products and services

• ISAI SeedClub Seed investment vehicle that deploys small ticket sizes into French and European tech founders at the earliest stage, sitting at the bottom of Isai's lifecycle coverage.
• ISAI Venture Flagship early-stage venture fund series backing internet and tech startups in France and Europe; the third vintage (ISAI Venture III) reached a first closing of approximately €90 million.
• ISAI CAP Venture Early-stage venture capital fund sized at approximately €80 million, targeting internet and tech companies in France and Europe.
• ISAI Build Venture Early-stage venture capital fund sized at approximately €80 million, continuing Isai's coverage of French and European internet/tech startups.
• ISAI Expansion Growth-stage equity and tech buyout (LBO) vehicle sized at approximately €150 million, investing in more mature French and European tech companies.
• ISAI Growth Lending Growth-stage debt / venture lending strategy providing structured financing to scaling French and European tech companies, complementing ISAI Expansion equity tickets.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• CapgeminiflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCapgemini and ISAI jointly launched ISAI CAP Venture, a global €80M corporate-venture fund (2019) investing €1–5M tickets in Series A–D rounds in B2B software, engineering and Green IT startups that can serve Capgemini's enterprise customers. Co-invests as a minority partner in future software/engineering leaders.
• BouyguesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBouygues and ISAI jointly launched ISAI Build Venture, a global €80M CVC fund (2023) targeting Seed–Series C startups in construction, real estate, transport infrastructure, and energy/services — i.e. accelerating the digital transformation and decarbonisation of Bouygues' business lines. Tickets €500k–€5M; targets 15–20 startups.
• SweepcoreTechnology or IntegrationCarbon-accounting technology partner: through this partnership, ISAI delivers an annual carbon footprint assessment to every portfolio company and integrates it into the company's roadmap ('Green for Tech' initiative).
• Campus de l'InclusioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting partner supporting ISAI portfolio companies in building tailored inclusion plans, complementing ISAI's 'Equal Opportunity' ESG clause included in shareholder pacts.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Alven: Paris-based early-stage VC that co-invests alongside ISAI in French tech (e.g., Tinyclues, Kestra). Directly comparable as a French early-stage venture firm targeting the same founder base, with similar ticket sizes and stage focus.
• Serena Capital: Paris-based early-stage VC that has co-led and co-invested with ISAI in companies such as Privateaser and Malt. Operates in the same French tech market with comparable pre-seed-to-Series A ticket sizes.
• Partech Partners: European VC firm with a Paris office and a multi-strategy platform spanning early-stage venture, growth, and Africa-focused funds. Comparable to ISAI's multi-strategy, multi-fund platform serving European tech.
• Elaia Partners: Paris-based early-stage VC focused on deep tech and digital, frequent co-investor alongside ISAI (e.g., Tinyclues). Operates in the same French early-stage ecosystem with similar deep-tech/digital focus.
• AXA Venture Partners: European VC backed by AXA investing across early- and growth-stage digital and enterprise software. Comparable to ISAI's growth/LBO strategy and enterprise software focus via the Capgemini CVC partnership.

Broad incumbents

• Eurazeo: Large listed European investment firm with venture, growth, and buyout strategies (formerly Idinvest). Overlaps with ISAI on French growth/LBO deals and venture, but at significantly larger scale and broader mandate.
• Bpifrance: French sovereign/public investment bank that co-invests extensively with ISAI (Pricemoov, Invivox, Javelo, etc.). Comparable as a French tech investor, but with a state-backed mandate and much larger balance sheet.
• Index Ventures: Pan-European VC with Paris office investing in French/European tech at venture and growth stages. Comparable investment stage coverage but operates at a much larger fund scale and broader geographic footprint than ISAI.
• Atomico: Pan-European VC founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström. Operates in the same European tech market and stage, with significantly larger flagship fund sizes than ISAI's vintages.

Regional players

• Capagro: Paris-based French VC specialised in agritech and food tech. Thematically adjacent to ISAI Build Venture's focus on construction, energy and decarbonation, but operating in a different vertical sub-segment of European impact-tech investing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/isai_fr

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments161 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Isai