# Alain Nicod

> Alain Nicod is a Series A investor at Ashoka (Saint-prex) backing Software and Manufacturing. See 4 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Ashoka](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ashoka)
- Location: Saint-prex, Switzerland
- Total investments: 4
- Last investment: Jul 2022
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/alainnicod
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/anicod
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alain.nicod

Alain Nicod is a Series A investor at Ashoka in Saint-prex focused on Software and Manufacturing. Alain Nicod is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of VI Partners. He previously worked at CeQur as a Board Member. Alain attended INSEAD.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 2 | 50% |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 50% |
| Consumer | 1 | 25% |
| Analytics | 1 | 25% |
| Industrial | 1 | 25% |

9 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 2 | 50% |
| Funding Round | 2 | 50% |
| Seed | 1 | 25% |
| Pre-Seed | 1 | 25% |
| Corporate Round | 1 | 25% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Switzerland | 4 | 100% |
| United States | 1 | 25% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NOAT | We create tools that kill smoking. | $1.1M | Pre-Seed | Jul 01, 2022 |  |
| MESA Imaging | MESA Imaging is focusing on the development and production of 3D time-of-flight cameras. | $4.3M | Series A | Jan 01, 2019 |  |
| SilentSoft | SilentSoft is a pioneer, since year 2000, of the M2M (Machine To Machine) business. The company has developed since then a large range of technologies and processes for the operation of M2M networks. Silentsoft is the partner of industrial customers for the deployment and the daily operation of their M2M networks. | $2.1M |  | Feb 01, 2010 |  |
| Avalon Photonics | Avalon Photonics produces world-class VCSELs (vertical cavity surface emitting lasers) for datacom, sensing, and measurement markets. These devices are enabling volume applications due to their exceptional performance, lower power consumption, and volume cost reduction.Avalon also produces unique, patent-protected, single-spatial-mode VCSELs withunsurpassed specifications required for many sensing and measurement applications.Avalon’s ISO 9001 production line achieves high quality, exceptional uniformity, and telecom-grade reliability devices. VCSELs can be provided from bare die up to fully packaged units with temperature control and fiber pigtailing. | $5.5M |  | May 14, 2003 |  |

4 of 4 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Hookipa](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hookipa) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Viventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/viventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Ashoka

VC Fund · Arlington, United States

Ashoka is a civil and social organization that specializes in the fields of social entrepreneurship, social change, and venture philanthropy. The organization is driven by its mission is to build everyone a changemaker world. Ashoka was founded in 1980 and headquartered in Virginia, United States.

5 contacts available at Ashoka.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bruce Cahan | Social Investment Enterprise (SIE) Fellow | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bruce-cahan |
| Alain Nicod | chairman swiss foundation | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alain-nicod |
| Ana Dubois | Head of Partnerships | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ana-dubois |
| Ana Sáenz de Miera | Global Leadership Group Member | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ana-saenz-de-miera |
| Arnaud Mourot | VP - Global Corporate Alliances and Changemaker Companies | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/arnaud-mourot |

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## FAQ

### What does Alain Nicod invest in?

Alain Nicod invests primarily in Software, Manufacturing and Consumer startups, most often at Series A and Funding Round stage. Most of the 4 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Switzerland. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Alain Nicod last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Alain Nicod closed in Jul 2022. Shizune tracks 4 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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