Balderton Capital announced this month that they will be bringing on board Nicolas Debock, of Xange, as a Principal. Debock will be based primarily in Paris, and will lead up Balderton’s investments in France. Balderton Capital already has a fellow Francophone Partner, Bernard Liautaud, who announced Debock’s arrival during a private get together last week in Paris.
Liautaud and other partners have previously invested in French startups, such as Sunrise & Sketchfab – Liautaud said that Debock, who was previously with Xange Private Equity since 2011, will focus on the French market, but also on his passions, which include the Sharing Economy (Debock participated in Xange’s investment in La Ruche Qui Dit Oui, led by colleague Rodolphe Menegaux).
What’s most interesting about Debock’s arrival is that the Tier 1 VCs in London – Balderon, Accel & Index Ventures – now all have French team members, with at least one on the ground in France. Martin Mignot of Index Ventures, and Philippe Botteri & Fred Destin of Accel Partners, and now, in addition to Liautaud, Debock with Balderton Capital.
This is undeniably great news for the French tech ecosystem. Balderton has sworn increased invesment across Europe, and they are staffing themselves up with the talent to do so.