51 - 150 in alphabetical order of CVC unit: François Robinet, managing partner, Axa Venture Partners
François Robinet is the managing partner of Axa Venture Partners (AVP), France-based insurance provider Axa’s corporate venturing arm. Following a pilot process that began in 2012, the unit was officially launched in 2016 as Axa Strategic Ventures and rebranded two years later to its current name.
AVP manages $425m of assets for direct investments and $375m capital for fund-of-funds strategy. Its priority areas include enterprise software and digital health, as well as insurance, financial and consumer technologies. To date, the unit has made more than 90 investments in early-stage companies and funds.
Speaking as the unit announced the creation of a new strategic advisory council in October 2021, Robinet said: “In five years, AVP has delivered on its initial vision and has become a global investment platform in technology, capable of helping create world-class technology leaders in Europe and in the US.
“To continue our upward trajectory, the creation of our strategic advisory council is an important milestone. With the council, we will benefit from and provide our portfolio companies with, advice and experience from well recognised leaders in different fields.”
Among AVP’s recent deals are a role in the $25m series B round for D-ID, a developer of artificial intelligence-based imaging software, and participation in the $125m series E raise for insurtech company Policygenius.
Robinet has had multiple senior managerial appointments at different Axa divisions, including chief executive of investment management firm Axa Rosenberg, chief risk officer for Axa Group and more recently, managing director of Axa Life Invest.
He holds a master of science degree from Stanford University’s School of Engineering and another master’s degree from Enase Paris Tech. Robinet also has a PhD from Centre des Hautes Etudes d’Assurances (CHEA).
