Venture Capital specialist for more than 30 years
KREAXI is an independent French investment management firm specialized in seed and venture capital. KREAXI was born in 2016 from the merger of Rhône-Alpes Création and Banexi Ventures Partners, two staple firms in the French venture capital landscape since 1983.
Proximity
We place great value in building trust with the entrepreneurs we support; trust that we foster thanks to our proximity and availability. Our teams are located in Paris and Lyon, with a strong mobility throughout France.
Expertise
Our team’s strong expertise and experience in innovative start-up financing and monitoring are a true asset for supporting the seed and acceleration stages of our portfolio companies. We bring constructive reflections upon our entrepreneurs on essential topics, that are key to structuring their start-up, such as strategy, innovation management, finance, HR,…
Engagement
We shape value creation in the long run, being a patient shareholder throughout the life of our portfolio companies. Our purpose is to act as an involved minority shareholder, without being intrusive in the management. We therefore give high priority to the trust and ethics we share with the management teams of our portfolio.
Network
Over the years, we have developed credibility and a network in the innovation ecosystem, namely based on an address book of partners and entrepreneurs. Beyond our support, this network is a strong lever that we bring to our portfolio companies.
Kreaxi is an independent investment management firm accredited by AMF (french financial market authority) under the number GP0316. Kreaxi is engaged in the application and respect of ESG criterias (Environment, Social, Governance) that are integrated throughout ou investment process. Kreaxi is signatory of UN-PRI (Principles for responsible investment) since March 2014. Kreaxi has also formulated an internal charter signed by all our team.
History
Rhône-Alpes Creation
Launched in 1990 with the mission of being the financial partner of young innovative companies of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, Rhône-Alpes Création holds more than ever a strong position in the regional ecosystem. Since its inception, over 275 startups from the region have been supported through four investment vehicles: Amorçage Rhône-Alpes, Rhône-Alpes Création II (RAC II), the successor of Rhône-Alpes Création I (RAC I), and R2V launched beginning 2014.
Banexi Ventures Partners
Banexi Ventures Partners (BVP) is a French independent investment management company specialized in the financing of tech companies with high growth potential (internet, electronic, medical technology). BVP took on the venture capital activity born in 1983 within the Banexi, BNP Paribas’ merchant bank. With 430 m€ invested in 267 companies (including 20% in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Region), BVP, one of the pioneers and leaders of French venture capital, manages three investment vehicles (BV3, BV4 and BV5)
Our funds
More than 250 M€ under managementBV5
A 50 M€ venture capital fund dedicated to financing young tech companies with high growth potential in fields such as internet, electronics and med tech. Investment size from 1 M€ to 10 M€.
ARAC III
A 37 M€ seed and venture fund dedicated to financing seed and early-stage innovative startups in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Investment size from 150 k€ to 2 M€.
R2V
A 25 M€ seed fund dedicated to financing seed, pre-revenue and multi-technology startups in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regions. Investment size from 500 k€ to 2.5 M€.
Our Key Criteria
Seed & Early-Stage
We invest in seed and early-stage companies which have proven the technical and commercial feasibility of their project and face the challenges of speeding up their development.
Team
We attach fundamental importance to the quality and adequacy with the project of the founding team. We seek remarkable entrepreneurs with whom we can build trust and the will to work together for many years.
Innovation
The innovative nature of projects is key as we look to finance companies with high added value, relying on sustainable competitive advantages. The innovation can arise from a proprietary technology or a unique value proposition.
Potential
The perspective of growth and results must induce strong value creation, giving the opportunity, with time, to carry out profitable exits, in a time frame no longer than 7 years.
Our Investment Process
1. Meetings and diligences
Based on an executive summary or business plan we carry out a first screening of projects where we qualify the adequacy of the project with our main criteria. We then take time to meet and chat with the entrepreneurs to further our analysis.
When projects draw our interest, we conduct in depth due diligences, which, if positive, lead to an investment proposition on our behalf. According to the maturity of projects and reactivity of the parties, this first phase takes about 1 to 3 months.
2. Negociation & Investment
Following the investment proposition, we work with the entrepreneurs on organizing the financing round, very often co-investing with other financial partners, which includes a phase of financial and legal negotiation and structuration. You should count roughly 1 to 2 months for this phase prior to the finalization of the investment.
3. Follow-up
Once the investment completed, we become a non-executive partner of the company with, nonetheless, an active role in supporting the entrepreneurs regarding strategic and tactical examinations while leveraging our network to aid the development of our portfolio companies. This phase can last up to 7 years, depending on the exit opportunities that present themselves.
4. Exit
We aim for an exit 5 to 7 years following our investment. Our exit can be tied to anticipated or structured opportunities in cohesion with the other partners and can take several forms: trade sale, IPO, Institutional, Leveraged or Management Buyout (IBO, LBO or MBO),…