Jean Schmitt

President & Managing Partner

Jean Schmitt serves as President and Managing Partner at Jolt Capital, a position held since the firm’s inception in 2011. Under Schmitt’s leadership, Jolt Capital has become a leading force in deeptech investment, growing its assets under management to around €1 billion and establishing itself as one of the most respected and prominent investors in the sector.

Before founding Jolt Capital, Schmitt was Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners. His career spans more than 25 years as an investor, preceded by entrepreneurial CEO and founder of three companies specializing in statistics and artificial intelligence, including SLP InfoWare successfully exited to Gemplus, where Schmitt subsequently served as Vice President of Telecom Solutions & Applications.

Schmitt is an alumnus of Telecom ParisTech, holding both a master degree in telecom and a postgraduate qualification in Artificial Intelligence. He is a regular lecturer at Telecom ParisTech and Mines ParisTech, and is frequently invited to speak at international conferences on private equity, artificial intelligence, and technology. Schmitt is also a recurring commentator on “Tech & Co,” the technology program broadcast by French TV channel BFM Business.

In addition to his professional commitments, Schmitt is Chairman of the Baroque Orchestra La Chapelle Harmonique, led by internationally acclaimed conductor Valentin Tournet. He serves as an independent board member of Tech Premium, a French-led Caisse des Dépôts SICAV promoting technology IPOs, and is a former Chairman of both the International Venture Club and the e-learning trade association CHANED.

Currently, Schmitt sits on the boards of multiple European companies as a representative of Jolt Capital, and is an independent board member of Verimatrix (EURONEXT:VMX). He has played a pivotal role in numerous exits and IPOs, including Myriad (SIX:MYRN), Authentec (NASDAQ:AUTH) acquired by Apple, NILT acquired by Radiant, Fogale Sensation acquired by Apple, and Heptagon acquired by AMS.