Hexa Research
Investment Thesis
Hexa is a Paris-based venture studio, founded in 2011 and formerly known as eFounders, that builds software companies alongside founders instead of investing from the sidelines. It describes itself as the leading venture studio and says its model is founder-first and deeply involved. Hexa has launched more than 50 companies with a combined valuation it puts at roughly $5B to $6B. Three have passed a billion dollars (Aircall, Spendesk and Front), and it counts 12 exits and more than 2,600 employees across its companies.
The studio runs three programs by stage. Start (0 to 1) matches entrepreneurs with an idea and a co-founder and runs for 12 months. Sprint (1 to 10) is a 6-month, pre-seed investment program organised in sector verticals. Scale (10 to 100) works with established businesses that want a majority partner to unlock their next phase of growth.
Stage Focus
Hexa Sprint targets pre-seed founding teams and wants to be one of their first checks, if not the first. Start is pre-idea, where Hexa supplies the idea, team and co-founder. Scale targets companies with solid revenue, with Hexa taking a majority position. Applications to Sprint are rolling, with cohorts through the year, each focused on a theme.
Check Size
Sprint invests EUR 500k through two instruments. The first is a EUR 20k convertible note (BSA Air or SAFE) for 4% of the company. The second is a EUR 480k convertible note with MFN provisions and an EUR 8M cap. If the next round is priced above EUR 8M, Hexa ends up with EUR 500k for about 10% equity.
Lead Tendency
Hexa is usually the first investor and sets the terms of the first check, so it leads at the earliest stage. For companies it builds in Start and Scale, it is the founding or majority partner.
Recent Activity
In March 2025 Hexa announced a EUR 29M financing agreement with four major European banks to fund its growth. It noted ten of its portfolio companies had raised a combined EUR 70M from VCs including Point9, LocalGlobe, Eight Roads and BPI. Recent company news includes Pelagon emerging from stealth to protect Europe's critical maritime infrastructure. Sprint is currently running cohorts in three verticals.
Portfolio Highlights
The companies page lists about 65 companies. The best known are Aircall (cloud phone), Front (shared inbox), Spendesk (spend management), Swan (embedded banking), Slite (AI knowledge base), Roundtable (private-investment social platform), Upflow (financial relationship management) and Youtrust (European digital trust platform). Newer names include Valkyrie Dynamics, Netra, Kyneon, Stronghold, Basalt and Rubicon. Mailjet and TextMaster are earlier companies from the eFounders era.
Team
- Quentin Nickmans, Thibaud Elziere and Amaury Sepulchre: Senior Partners and Founders
- Matthieu Gombeaud: CEO
- Tanguy Goretti: CTO
- Partners: Florent Quinti, Matthieu Vaxelaire, Augustin Celier, Guillaume Lerouge, Maxime Brousse, Raphael Vullierme, Guerric de Crombrugghe, Thibault Chassagne, Antoine Durieux
- Alexis Vilette: CFO
- Investing and investor relations: Samuel Boggio (Investment Associate), Arnaud de Follin
Sprint Verticals
Each Sprint vertical has a dedicated partner. AI for work is led by Thibaud Elziere and covers autonomous agents that change how organisations get work done. Energy Resilience is led by Maxime Brousse and covers clean energy solutions that beat legacy systems on cost. European defense is led by Guillaume Lerouge and covers sovereignty in technology and defense.
Decision Process
A partnership of senior partners and vertical partners. Sprint applications are reviewed on receipt and investments are processed as soon as an application is validated. Each founder is paired with the vertical's partner and a cohort of peers.
Founder Preferences
Ambitious, purpose-driven founding teams aiming to be category leaders and solving a real problem in one of the active verticals. Sprint is not for founders without an idea (Start) or with a mature business seeking a majority investor (Scale).
Geographic Focus
Based in France and open worldwide, though some verticals have geographic requirements. Being in France or Europe gives the most value, because events are held in person. The energy and defense verticals are framed around European leadership and sovereignty.
Gaps
Fund size and AUM are not published. The three Sprint verticals shown on the page may change as new cohorts launch. Company-level investment dates and round stages are not given on the portfolio page, so none are recorded. A few logos on the portfolio page had no readable caption and were left out, including Youtrust and Upflow, which appear on the homepage.