# Fabrice Grinda

> Fabrice Grinda is a French-born serial entrepreneur, prolific angel investor, and co-founder of FJ Labs - the venture fund Forbes named home to the #1 Angel Investor in the world. With 1,100+ startup investments, 300+ exits, and a ~39% realized IRR built over 25 years, Grinda has backed household names including Alibaba, Airbnb, Uber, Coupang, and Vinted - often before anyone else saw the potential. He built and sold Zingy for $80M after sleeping in his office on $2/day, scaled OLX into the world's largest free classifieds platform across 90+ countries, and in 2024 co-founded Midas, a tokenization platform that hit $1.4B TVL within a year. Off the clock, he walks to the South Pole, kite-surfs, heli-skis, and throws week-long birthday parties with themed nights for 100+ friends.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Founding Partner at FJ Labs; Co-Founder and Chairman at Midas
- **Organizations:** FJ Labs, Midas, OLX, Zingy, Aucland
- **From:** Boulogne-Billancourt, France
- **Nationality:** French
- **Education:** BA Economics, summa cum laude, Princeton University, Baccalaureat, Lycee Massena, Nice, France
- **Known for:** Named #1 Angel Investor in the World by Forbes, Graduated summa cum laude from Princeton (1996) - won Halbert White '72 Prize and Wolf Balleisen Memorial Prize, Built Zingy from near-zero to $200M revenue; sold for $80M in 2004

## Career timeline

- **1984** — Received first PC at age 10, igniting a lifelong passion for technology
- **1992-1996** — Princeton University - ran 'Princeton International Computers' to help fund tuition; graduated summa cum laude with two economics prizes
- **1996-1998** — Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company
- **1998-2000** — Co-founded Aucland, one of Europe's three largest auction websites; raised $18M from Bernard Arnault's fund
- **2000-2005** — Founded Zingy, a U.S. mobile media startup; lived on $2/day and slept in office; grew revenue to ~$200M/year; sold for $80M in 2004
- **2006-2013** — Co-founded OLX with Alec Oxenford; scaled to 90+ countries, 50 languages, 150M+ monthly visitors, 11,000 employees; acquired by Naspers 2010
- **2012** — Radical minimalist experiment: sold estate, apartment, and car; lived from a carry-on suitcase for 3 years
- **2013-present** — Co-founded FJ Labs with Jose Marin; grew to 1,100+ investments, 300+ exits, ~39% realized IRR; named #1 Angel Investor by Forbes
- **2022-2023** — Completed 'Last Degree' South Pole scientific expedition; FJ Labs raised Fund III at ~$390M
- **2024** — Co-founded Midas (tokenization platform) - scaled to $300M TVL in 9 months; celebrated 50th birthday with 100+ friends in Turks & Caicos
- **2025** — Midas reached $1.4B TVL, raised $50M Series A; deployed $49M across 174 startup investments; planning move to Antigua
- **2026** — Midas raises EUR43M for European expansion; FJ Labs Fund IV underway

## Achievements

- Named #1 Angel Investor in the World by Forbes
- Graduated summa cum laude from Princeton (1996) - won Halbert White '72 Prize and Wolf Balleisen Memorial Prize
- Built Zingy from near-zero to $200M revenue; sold for $80M in 2004
- Co-founded OLX - world's largest free classifieds platform with 150M+ monthly visitors across 90+ countries
- Co-founded FJ Labs with 1,100+ investments, 300+ exits, and ~39% realized IRR over 25 years
- Early investor in Alibaba, Airbnb, Uber, Palantir, FanDuel, Coupang, Flexport, Delivery Hero, BlaBlaCar, Vinted
- FJ Labs portfolio includes 30+ unicorns
- Golden Pillar award (2014) from French Institute Alliance Francaise for Franco-American contributions
- Completed 'Last Degree' South Pole Antarctic expedition (December 2022 - January 2023)
- Co-founded Midas which reached $1.4B TVL and raised $50M Series A within 12 months
- Funds education for ~600 children in the Dominican Republic through Dream Project

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Midas raises EUR43 million for European expansion; now over $1.7B in assets issued and $37M in yield paid out
- **2025-12** — FJ Labs Q4 2025: Numerai raises $30M Series C at $500M valuation; Vinted exceeded EUR10B GMV; Klarna IPO among notable exits
- **2025-09** — Midas reaches $1.4B TVL; raises $50M Series A
- **2025-06** — Palmstreet raises $25M from a16z; Clutch surpasses C$1B total vehicles purchased; Fabrice appears on 20VC with Harry Stebbings
- **2025-01** — 2025 Transitions: deployed $49M across 174 startup investments; planning family relocation to Antigua; son Francois starting Alpha School Sept 2026; launched 'Pitch Fabrice' AI tool for founder feedback

## Links

- Website: https://fabricegrinda.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabricegrinda/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/fabricegrinda
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabricegrinda/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/fabrice-grinda
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-05