Index Ventures

About

Index Ventures is a global venture capital firm founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1996 by Neil Rimer, David Rimer, and Giuseppe Zocco ¹². The firm raised its first pilot fund of $17 million, followed by a $180 million fund in 1998 ². Neil Rimer was born in Montreal, educated at the International School of Geneva and Stanford University, and had worked at Montgomery Securities before joining Index Securities (the firm’s predecessor) in 1990 ³.

Danny Rimer, Neil’s brother, opened the firm’s London office in 2002 and the San Francisco office in 2012, before returning to London in 2018 ⁴. Mike Volpi joined Index in 2009 to help establish the firm’s North American operations alongside Danny Rimer ⁵. The firm also maintains offices in New York (opened 2022), Geneva, and Jersey, with partners based in Berlin and Tel Aviv ⁶⁷.

Index Ventures has raised approximately $15 billion in total capital across its history ⁶. In July 2024, the firm announced $2.3 billion in new funds — an $800 million venture fund (its 12th) and a $1.5 billion growth fund (its 7th) ⁶. In 2021, Index raised $3.1 billion across venture ($900M), growth ($2B), and seed ($200M) vehicles ¹.

The firm’s portfolio includes 108 companies that reached $1 billion+ valuations, 23 companies that exceeded $10 billion, and 57 companies that went public ⁶. Index claims its portfolio companies have created over 200,000 jobs ⁶.

Stated Thesis

Index Ventures publicly states that it invests based on “who you are, not just what you do,” targeting “groundbreakers and game-changers” across industries ⁸. The firm emphasizes: “Ideas don’t build businesses. People do” ⁸.

Danny Rimer has articulated the firm’s approach: “Our job is spotting someone trying to spark lightning in a bottle working out of their garage and figuring out if they’re the right people to do this” ⁴.

Neil Rimer (now retired) described his investment philosophy: “People with a strong sense of purpose resonate with me, and if I’m excited about their mission, I’m eager to help them any way I can” ³.

The firm describes its approach as “scaled artisanism,” believing that becoming a great founder partner requires years of dedication ⁶. Index identifies three converging forces driving its current strategy: AI acceleration transforming innovation across sectors, an experienced talent pool of startup veterans, and globalized entrepreneurship enabling founders worldwide ⁶.

Inferred Thesis

Based on Index Ventures’ verified portfolio and recent exit data, the following patterns emerge:

Sector distribution: Index has delivered its largest recent returns from enterprise/infrastructure (Wiz — $32B acquisition by Google, Datadog — public), design tools (Figma — IPO at $19.3B valuation reaching ~$68B), fintech (Revolut — $45B valuation, Adyen — public, Robinhood — public), consumer/social (Discord, Roblox — public), and AI (Scale AI, Anthropic) ⁹¹⁰¹¹.

Stage distribution: Index operates separate venture and growth funds, investing from seed through late-stage growth ⁶. The firm led Figma’s 2013 seed round with $1.8 million and invested a total of $86.5 million over 12 years ⁹. Similarly, Index invested $3.5 million in Wiz’s seed round and participated in every subsequent funding round, investing $245 million total ¹⁰.

Geographic distribution: Index has a distinctly transatlantic investment model. The firm covers 24 of the top 30 global tech ecosystems, with particular strength in Europe (Revolut in London, Adyen in Amsterdam, Deliveroo in London) and the US (Figma, Datadog, Discord) ⁶. The firm also invests actively in Israel (Wiz, founded in Tel Aviv) ¹⁰.

Return patterns: Index’s recent exits demonstrate a pattern of concentrated, outsized returns from seed-stage investments held for long periods. Figma’s seed investment returned approximately 90x on IPO day ⁹. Wiz’s seed investment returned approximately 17.5x ($245M total invested becoming $4.3B) ¹⁰. Index is the largest or second-largest shareholder in Roblox, Adyen, and Datadog ¹¹.

Co-investor patterns: Index frequently co-invests with Sequoia, Greylock, Accel, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Portfolio

This table represents a subset of Index Ventures’ portfolio.

In Their Own Words

“Our job is spotting someone trying to spark lightning in a bottle working out of their garage and figuring out if they’re the right people to do this.” — Danny Rimer, Partner, Index Ventures website ⁴

“People with a strong sense of purpose resonate with me, and if I’m excited about their mission, I’m eager to help them any way I can.” — Neil Rimer, Retired Partner & Co-Founder, Index Ventures website ³

Martin Mignot has described the firm culture: Index is “a very collaborative team” with “no sharp elbows and everyone is pushing for everyone else’s success” and “a lot of respect” ⁷.

The firm states its team members are committed to “never saying no and always pushing to get better — better at finding companies, convincing entrepreneurs we are the best choice, working with entrepreneurs in good and bad times, and improving how we help entrepreneurs achieve their visions” ¹³.

What Founders Say

A founder described Danny Rimer as “a businessman with an artist’s sensitivity and empathy” who has “been tremendously helpful” ¹³.

A founder noted: “It’s clear that Index is all in. They’re in the business for more than just the business” ¹³.

Sources