Xavier Niel

French billionaire businessman, founder of Iliad (Free) and active investor in technology and telecommunications.

Angel Investor Active Paris, France Est. 1987
Last updated 2026-07-20
Portfolio
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in our dataset
Rounds participated
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Rounds led
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Rounds' value
total disclosed, rounds participated
Stages

About

Xavier Niel is a French billionaire businessman and self-taught entrepreneur. He is the founder and majority shareholder of the French internet service provider and mobile operator Iliad, which operates under the Free brand. Niel is known for his disruptive approach to the telecommunications industry, introducing low-cost, high-quality services in France. Beyond Iliad, he is a prolific angel investor through Kima Ventures, co-owner of the newspaper Le Monde, and the founder of Station F, the world's largest startup incubator in Paris, and École 42, a tuition-free coding school. He has also made significant investments in various sectors including media, real estate, and international tech ventures, including a stake in ByteDance.

Portfolio

No portfolio companies in this dataset yet.

Investment activity

2 portfolio exits on record.

Portfolio by sector

Retail Platforms1
Business Software1

Q&A

What is Xavier Niel's most recent exit?
Xavier Niel exited Costockage in January 2024, when it was acquired by Ardian.
Which sectors has Xavier Niel focused on for exits?
Xavier Niel has seen exits in the Retail Platforms and Business Software sectors. For example, Costockage (Retail Platforms) and Appsfire (Business Software).
What is Xavier Niel's investment focus by sector?
Xavier Niel's portfolio includes companies in Business Software. Notable examples are Appsfire and Costockage.
What was a significant past exit for Xavier Niel?
Xavier Niel had a significant exit in February 2015 when Appsfire, a mobile app discovery and distribution platform, was acquired by Mobile Network Group for $30M.
What is Xavier Niel's typical investment range?
Xavier Niel's investment range is between $1M and $4.1M.
Which companies are part of Xavier Niel's portfolio?
Xavier Niel's portfolio includes Appsfire, a discovery and distribution platform for mobile apps, and Costockage, a local storage marketplace.
Full data — links, identifiers, deals & radar signals (jobs, patents, research, more)

Identifiers & details

Founded1987

Radar intelligence

Patents

EPO2