Elaia

Elaia is a Paris-based European venture capital firm founded in 2002 by Xavier Lazarus. It operates as a full-stack investor across two fund series: the Digital Venture (DV) series, targeting early-stage to growth-stage B2B technology companies, and the Deep Tech Seed (DTS) series, backing research-born startups at the earliest stages of formation. The firm manages approximately €850 million in AUM across more than 100 portfolio companies, with 3 companies scaled from seed to unicorn and around 80 exits. In February 2026, Elaia announced the first close of its fifth Digital Venture Fund (DV5) at €120 million, targeting a final close of €300 million; DV5 deploys tickets of €1M–€15M into European B2B tech startups from pre-seed to Series B, focusing on AI, cybersecurity, techbio, industrial innovation, and digital infrastructure. Its third deep-tech seed fund (DTS3) closed at €134 million and writes tickets from €300K, with a focus on computing, future of industry, and life sciences. Elaia has offices in Paris, Barcelona, and Tel Aviv, and maintains academic partnerships with institutions including Université PSL and Inria. Notable portfolio companies include Criteo, Mirakl, Shift Technology, Aqemia, and Alice & Bob.