Brad Feld published an article in yesterday’s Huffington Post about the Seed Investing Phenomenon of 2010.  In it, he cites anecdotal evidence that suggests that a disproportional majority of seed deals funded in 2010 by angel groups and seed VCs will not succeed in raising subsequent rounds.  Brad also references some other professionals, such as Fred Wilson and Mark Suster, who are similarly predicting an impending storm in seed investing.  I recommend you read the full post here.

Of course, Brad is focusing on the seed phenomenon in the U.S., and I would presume that France is not even an afterthought for him.  But I couldn’t resist pondering this topic in the context of the French venture capital market.

There is no doubt in my mind that 2010 represented the closest time France has ever come to having a bubble in seed investing.  Three fully non-governmental seed VC funds launched this year in France, all backed by top-notch entrepreneurs or experienced investors:  Jaina Capital, Meetic entrepreneur Marc Simoncini’s personal investment vehicle; ISAI, a fund amassing personal fortunes of 70 French entrepreneurs; and Kima Ventures, a vehicle largely financed by Iliad founder Xavier Niel.

Although these three funds have been extremely active this year – Kima Ventures’ stated goal is to invest in 100 startups during its first 2 years – I would still submit that they are not contributing to a seed bubble like we’re witnessing in the States.  There has been such a dearth of professional seed capital for technology companies in France – largely due to cultural reasons, as I’ve written in earlier posts – that these vehicles are addressing a valid need.  It will be interesting to see what percentage of their first-round deals live on to see a B round…