Drysdale Ventures

What Drysdale Ventures does

Drysdale Ventures is a Paris-based angel fund and early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2023 by Nicolas Essayan, focused on backing software and AI-native startups from inception. The firm deploys capital across pre-seed and seed rounds, with a stated portfolio of 43 companies spread across a 2025 vintage of 28 and a 2026 vintage of 15. Named 2026 investments include co-leads of Symbiotic Security's $10M seed (with Alven) and Sillage's €1.7M pre-seed (with Kima Ventures and Angel Invest), and participations in Omniscient's $4.1M pre-seed (led by Seedcamp), TOPOGRAPH's €2M seed, and Concord's $3M seed (with A16Z Scout).

The firm operates with a lean six-person team comprising Founder Nicolas Essayan, Principal Vittorio Noury, Associate Dalia Mahfouf, Operating Partner Xavier Fischer, and two Sparring Partners (Olivier Bonnet and Claire Calméjane). Its value proposition emphasizes operator support alongside capital, with sparring partners providing hands-on engagement to portfolio companies. Co-investor relationships are concentrated among established European and US early-stage funds (Alven, Seedcamp, Kima Ventures, A16Z Scout, Motier Ventures, Bpifrance, Plug and Play, Lerer Hippeau), with all five named 2026 portfolio companies headquartered in Paris.

As a private, founder-owned entity, Drysdale Ventures does not disclose AUM, fund vehicle structure, LP composition, or financial performance. Its revenue mechanics are not stated; if it operates as a balance-sheet angel vehicle rather than a third-party fund manager, firm-level revenue would be negligible. Geographic reach is claimed as global, though deal-flow is Paris-anchored. The firm maintains a professional website and LinkedIn presence for investor relations and portfolio visibility, with no disclosed product, API, or proprietary technology offering beyond capital and operational support.

Name

Drysdale Ventures

Legal name

Drysdale Ventures

Website

https://www.drysdale.vc/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Drysdale Ventures is a Paris-based angel fund founded in 2023 by Nicolas Essayan that invests at pre-seed and seed in early-stage AI-native and enterprise software startups, with a 43-company portfolio across two vintages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Angel investing
• AI startup funding
• Seed stage investments
• Technology venture capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Drysdale Ventures is a Paris-based angel and early-stage venture capital fund that deploys equity capital into software and AI startups from day 0, including seed and pre-seed rounds. The firm supplements its capital with hands-on operational and strategic support through an operator-heavy team that includes dedicated Sparring Partners. As of the source data, the fund holds 43 portfolio companies across two vintages (28 from 2025 and 15 from 2026).

Product overview

Drysdale Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm (2025 vintage: 28 companies; 2026 vintage: 15 companies) that invests in AI, technology, and enterprise software startups. The firm does not offer a product or service offering in the traditional sense; rather, it provides investment capital, mentorship, and operational support to early-stage startups. The portfolio companies span various sectors including AI agents, decision intelligence, compliance technology, secure code generation, sales intelligence, and building automation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early-stage venture capital investment Equity capital deployment at pre-seed and seed stages into AI, enterprise software, and deeptech startups, paired with hands-on operator support from the fund's team and Sparring Partners.
• 2025 vintage fund First investment vintage of the Drysdale Ventures fund, deploying capital into 28 portfolio companies focused on AI, enterprise software, and related early-stage technology startups.
• 2026 vintage fund Second investment vintage of the Drysdale Ventures fund, deploying capital into 15 portfolio companies focused on AI, enterprise software, and related early-stage technology startups.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kima Ventures: One of the most active French early-stage investors, co-investing with Drysdale in Sillage and TOPOGRAPH. Operates a similar high-volume, pre-seed/seed model focused on French and European tech startups.
• Seedcamp: Premier European early-stage VC that led Omniscient's pre-seed round alongside Drysdale and co-invested in TOPOGRAPH. Targets similar pre-seed/seed AI and enterprise software companies across Europe.
• Alven: Established French early-stage VC that co-led Symbiotic Security's $10M seed with Drysdale. Comparable stage focus on AI/enterprise software with stronger institutional infrastructure.
• Motier Ventures: Paris-based early-stage VC that co-invested in TOPOGRAPH and Concord with Drysdale. Operates a similar high-velocity, AI-native thesis in the French ecosystem.
• Angel Invest: European early-stage investor co-investing with Drysdale in Sillage. Operates a comparable angel/seed model with similar check sizes and thematic AI focus.
• Better Angle: Early-stage investor that co-invested in Concord and TOPOGRAPH alongside Drysdale. Operates a similar stage and geography, supporting French AI/enterprise founders.
• Axeleo: French enterprise tech-focused VC that participated in Symbiotic Security's seed round alongside Drysdale. Comparable B2B/enterprise software focus at similar stages.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) - Scout Fund: Major US VC whose scout program co-invested with Drysdale in Concord. While much larger and US-focused, the scout fund mechanism directly competes for early AI deals globally.
• Lerer Hippeau: Established NYC-based seed investor that participated in Symbiotic Security's $10M seed alongside Drysdale. Comparable stage and AI-thesis focus, though with US geographic concentration.

Regional players

• Bpifrance: French state-owned investment bank participating in Omniscient's pre-seed alongside Drysdale. While much larger and not a pure VC, Bpifrance is a frequent co-investor in the French early-stage ecosystem where Drysdale operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drysdaleventures/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments27 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Drysdale Ventures