New Wave: European Seed Fund Led by Pia d’Iribarne

Pia d’Iribarne, previously associated with Accel and Stride, is now leading a newly established European venture capital firm focused on early-stage companies. This firm was co-founded alongside French entrepreneur and investor Xavier Niel, as reported by TechCrunch.

The firm, named New Wave, quickly secured $56 million for its initial fund within a three-month timeframe and has already commenced investment activities. Its investment strategy centers on seed and pre-seed stage startups throughout Europe, and also includes European-based founders operating internationally.

Investment amounts will range from €500,000 to €2 million. New Wave intends to take a cooperative approach, both spearheading and participating in investment rounds, working in conjunction with European angel investors and other seed-stage funds.

Contacted for comment, d’Iribarne verified the fund’s size and confirmed New Wave is actively seeking investment opportunities, but refrained from providing additional details.

d’Iribarne assumes the position of managing partner and is also a co-founder of New Wave. She will be collaborating with Jean de La Rochebrochard, a partner and co-founder, who will simultaneously continue to manage Kima Ventures, Xavier Niel’s angel investment platform.

d’Iribarne, with both French and Dutch heritage and based between London and Paris, recently served as a partner at Stride, where she reportedly oversaw investments in Strapi, Impala, and Jow. Prior to that, she was with Accel, contributing to investments in companies like Doctolib, Framer, Payfit, Selency, and Shift Technology. Her professional journey began at McKinsey & Company.

de La Rochebrochard, originally from France, has managed Niel’s venture investments for five years, participating in nearly 500 seed-stage companies. He has also been involved in larger investment rounds for Zenly, Payfit, Dice, Ibanfirst, Nabla, Alan, Impala, and OpenClassrooms. He previously held a partner role at The Family.

Alongside Niel, d’Iribarne, and de La Rochebrochard, New Wave’s additional co-founders include Antoine Martin (co-founder and CEO of Zenly, and a frequent angel investor), and Alex Yazdi (founder of Voodoo, and an experienced angel investor).

In addition to Niel, the billionaire founder of French telecommunications company Iliad (Free) and the creator of Station F, sources indicate that New Wave has secured commitments from several other prominent limited partners, including Yuri Milner of DST, Peter Fenton from Benchmark, Philippe Laffont from Coatue, and Tony Fadell, known for his work with Nest and Apple.