Thibaud Elziere
About Thibaud Elziere
Thibaud Elziere is a French entrepreneur based in Brussels. He studied engineering at École centrale de Lyon and has also been listed as studying management at TU Berlin. In 2004 he co-founded the stock photography marketplace Fotolia, which Adobe acquired in 2014 and renamed Adobe Stock.
In 2011 he co-founded the startup studio eFounders with Quentin Nickmans. It was renamed Hexa in 2022. On the Hexa team page he says ideas from his Fotolia years led to Aircall (international calling), Front (customer support) and Spendesk (expense management), and that Hexa has launched over 40 companies. He is listed as Senior Partner and Founder at Hexa and has been CEO of folk, a CRM company created inside the studio, since 2019.
Outside the studio he is listed as a founder of Gama Space (solar sail), Iconic House (holiday rentals) and Kate (microcars). In July 2025 he announced WAT, a planned 10,000 m² incubator in Brussels for European startups in AI, health, energy transition and other fields. Maddyness reported an opening target of 2027 and a funding need of 25 million euros.
Wikipedia says he has invested personally in around a hundred startups since 2009, including Algolia, Notion and Hugging Face. Crunchbase lists Algolia's seed round in October 2013 among his investments. Other Crunchbase entries include PayFit (seed), Contentsquare (Series D, 2020), Memo Bank (Series B, 2020), Exotrail (Series A, 2020) and Cowboy (Series A, 2018).
Investment counts differ by database. The figures Lounge holds show 27 investments, 0 lead investments and 0 exits on Crunchbase. Crunchbase's own person page lists 104 investments and 93 portfolio companies, and other trackers report between about 50 and 125. Treat any single number as approximate.
Dealroom ranks him #18 in its 2026 Power Law Investor Ranking for France. His latest listed round is HrFlow.ai, announced in April 2026.
Crunchbase data shows 14 AI investments since 2023. The AI portfolio includes HrFlow.ai, Presti, Candix, ScorePlay, Twin, Berry, AniML, Phacet, Blobr, Hyperline, The Mobile-First Company and Veeton.
Crunchbase's activity timeline lists these round dates: Hyperline (June 2023), ScorePlay (July 2023), AniML (May 2024), Candix (October 2024) and HrFlow.ai (April 2026). PitchBook lists The Mobile First Company in January 2024 and Twin in February 2024. Dates for the other AI companies are not confirmed in the sources found.
He is also involved in AI on the studio side. In 2025 he announced VulnX, a Hexa project building AI-assisted penetration testing with Ugo Vollmer.
Recent rounds on Crunchbase are mostly pre-seed and seed, such as DotBlocks (pre-seed, October 2025), OnParty, Lightpanda and Delos (seed, April 2025). Founders often meet him alongside other angels and funds, for example Kima Ventures, 20VC Fund and ISAI. His Hexa profile lists B2B, fintech, future of work and AI as areas of interest.
Tracxn lists France and the United States among his top investment locations, and his portfolio also includes Belgian and wider European companies. He is based in Brussels and is vocal about the Brussels ecosystem.
He has not published a check size or a formal investment thesis. On Hexa's site he says he is looking for people who come up with ideas and pitch them to future founders, which describes Hexa's studio work and not a stated angel criterion. The best way to reach him is LinkedIn or X, with a short, specific pitch.
- HrFlow.ai: AI company; most recent round on Crunchbase, April 2026.
- ScorePlay: AI company in his Crunchbase AI list; round dated July 2023.
- Hyperline: AI company in his AI list; round dated June 2023.
- Twin: AI company; PitchBook lists his investment in February 2024.
- The Mobile-First Company: AI company; PitchBook lists his investment in January 2024.
- AniML: AI company; round dated May 2024.
- Candix: AI company; angel round dated October 2024.
- Presti, Berry, Phacet, Blobr and Veeton: AI companies in his Crunchbase AI list, with dates not confirmed.
- DotBlocks: pre-seed round in October 2025.
- Algolia: early investor; seed round in 2013.
- Hugging Face and Notion: early investments reported by Wikipedia, with no dates given.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thibaud_Elzi%C3%A8re
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexa_(company))
- hexa.com/team/thibaud-elziere
- crunchbase.com/person/thibaud-elziere
- crunchbase.com/person/thibaud-elziere/person_overview_investor/timelin
- cbinsights.com/investor/thibaud-elziere-1
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/105883-39
- tracxn.com/d/people/thibaud-elziere/__1KkXVTocThm9mkMDNf896zxYtOuih7k0
AI portfolio
Investing activity
Thibaud Elziere has made 27 investments according to Crunchbase. 14 of those investments since 2023 were in AI companies, including HrFlow.ai, Presti, Candix, ScorePlay and Twin.
Thibaud Elziere appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $7M. The most recent is HrFlow.ai (Seed, $7M, Apr 2026).
Thibaud Elziere most often invests alongside EmergingTech Ventures, 115K, Sophie Serratrice and Jean-Baptiste Rudelle, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Thibaud Elziere
Does Thibaud Elziere invest in AI startups?
Yes. Crunchbase data shows 14 AI investments since 2023, including HrFlow.ai, Presti, Candix, ScorePlay, Twin, Berry, AniML, Phacet, Blobr, Hyperline, The Mobile-First Company and Veeton.
What stage does Thibaud Elziere invest in?
His recent rounds on Crunchbase are mostly pre-seed and seed. He has also joined later rounds in earlier years, such as Contentsquare's Series D in 2020.
What is Thibaud Elziere's check size?
It is not public. No source found states his typical check size, so founders should not assume one.
Does Thibaud Elziere lead rounds?
The Crunchbase data Lounge holds shows 0 lead investments. Public records show him joining rounds alongside other angels and funds.
Who is Thibaud Elziere?
He is a Brussels-based French entrepreneur and angel investor. He co-founded Fotolia (sold to Adobe in 2014) and the startup studio Hexa, formerly eFounders, and is CEO of folk.
How can founders contact Thibaud Elziere?
He is active on LinkedIn (about 48K followers) and on X as @tiboel. Hexa also lists him as a Senior Partner and Founder on its team page.
Is Thibaud Elziere an angel investor?
Yes. Thibaud Elziere invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 27 investments.
What AI companies has Thibaud Elziere invested in?
Thibaud Elziere's AI investments include HrFlow.ai, Presti, Candix, ScorePlay, Twin, Berry, AniML and Phacet. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Thibaud Elziere based?
Thibaud Elziere is based in Brussels, Belgium.
What stage does Thibaud Elziere invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Thibaud Elziere has invested at Seed, with a median round of $7M.