# Thomas Leysen

> Thomas Leysen is a Series A investor at KBC backing EBooks, EdTech and Education. See 4 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [KBC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/kbc)
- Total investments: 4
- Last investment: Jan 2026
- Lead investor: 25%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-leysen-b3062140

Thomas Leysen is a Series A investor at KBC focused on EBooks and EdTech. Mr. Thomas Leysen served as the Managing Director of Umicore NV. Mr. Leysen joined Umicore in 1993. Mr. Leysen served as an Executive Vice President of Umicore SA from 1998 to 2000. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Umicore SA from May 10, 2000 to November 2008. He transformed the former Union Minière, a non-ferrous company in aninternational materials-technology group called Umicore. He started his career in the maritime business in Hamburg, London and Tokyo. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Transcor Group from 1983 to 1988. In 1989, he managed the restructuration of the General Trading Cy, a subsidiary of the Société Générale de Belgique. He has been the Chairman of Umicore SA since November 19, 2008. He has been the Chairman of the Board at KBC Group NV, KBC Bank NV and KBC Insurance since October 1, 2011. He serves as Chairman of Corelio NV, Eurometaux, Corelio Media , and European Association of Metals, Eurométaux. He serves as President and Chairman of the BJA.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EBooks | 1 | 25% |
| EdTech | 1 | 25% |
| Education | 1 | 25% |
| Publishing | 1 | 25% |
| Subscription Service | 1 | 25% |

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 1 | 25% |
| Series B | 1 | 25% |
| Funding Round | 1 | 25% |
| Venture - Series Unknown | 1 | 25% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Semafor | Semafor is the global news media. | $30M |  | Jan 07, 2026 |  |
| Perlego | Perlego is an online library subscription service for textbooks and non-fiction titles. Having partnered with over 3,000 publishers, it gives its users unlimited access to over 650,000 eBooks and publications via an affordable monthly subscription. It aims to make learning accessible to all. It was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in London,England. | $19.9M | Venture - Series Unknown | Oct 08, 2024 |  |
| Perlego | Perlego is an online library subscription service for textbooks and non-fiction titles. Having partnered with over 3,000 publishers, it gives its users unlimited access to over 650,000 eBooks and publications via an affordable monthly subscription. It aims to make learning accessible to all. It was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in London,England. | $44.3M | Series B | Mar 03, 2022 |  |
| Perlego | Perlego is an online library subscription service for textbooks and non-fiction titles. Having partnered with over 3,000 publishers, it gives its users unlimited access to over 650,000 eBooks and publications via an affordable monthly subscription. It aims to make learning accessible to all. It was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in London,England. | $9M | Series A | Nov 19, 2019 |  |

4 of 4 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Raine Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/raine-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [ADV](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/accelerated-digital-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [ACE & Company](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ace-and-company) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Antenna Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antenna-group-71a6) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Evli Growth Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/evli-growth-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Great Oaks Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/great-oaks-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About KBC

VC Fund · Brussels, Belgium

KBC Private Equity - the investment company of KBC Group - provides development capital and finances buy-outs to medium-sized companies in Belgium and in Central and Eastern Europe, KBC's home markets.Boasting an experienced team of 28 people, it has more than 60 active investments in portfolio with a market value in excess of EUR 400million.KBC Private Equity aims to become one of the leading private equity providers on KBC Group's home markets. As an active shareholder with a long-term perspective, KBC Private Equity is involved in taking strategic decisions and providing support to management teams.

5 contacts available at KBC.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Thomas Leysen | Chairman of the Board | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/thomas-leysen |
| Ahlin Sodji | System Administrator IBM Tivoli Access Manager Webseal | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ahlin-sodji |
| Danny De Raymaeker | CEO, International Markets Business Unit | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/danny-de-raymaeker |
| Eddie Dillon | Director of Innovation, Commercial Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/eddie-dillon |
| Lourda Sexton | Senior Communications Manager (Financial Results & Earnings Reporting) | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lourda-sexton |

## Similar investors

### Similar industry
- [RRE Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/rre-ventures) — VC Fund
- [Accel](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/accel) — VC Fund
- [1745 Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bertelsmann-digital-media-investments) — VC Fund

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [General Catalyst](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/general-catalyst-partners) — VC Fund

### Similar country
- [SFC Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/startup-funding-club) — VC Fund
- [Fuel Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fuel-ventures-fund) — VC Fund
- [Business Growth Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/business-growth-fund) — VC Fund

## Featured in investor lists
- [Publishing Investors in United Kingdom](https://shizune.co/investors/publishing-investors-united-kingdom)

## FAQ

### What does Thomas Leysen invest in?

Thomas Leysen invests primarily in EBooks, EdTech and Education startups, most often at Series A and Series B stage. Most of the 4 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Thomas Leysen last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Thomas Leysen closed in Jan 2026. 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.

# About Shizune
Shizune.co is an investor database. Core features:
- 48,091 startup investors (angels, VCs, accelerators, and others)
- Email, phone, LinkedIn (for intros), socials, and other contact data
- Updated daily from public funding news
- CSV and Excel export

The User can access the full database FOR FREE after signing up: shizune.co