Fundraising (levée de fonds)
The process by which a company raises capital in exchange for an equity stake or convertible debt. Financing rounds are labelled by stage: seed, Series A, Series B. Each round dilutes existing shareholders.
In practice
Raising funds is not an end in itself: it is an accelerant whose value depends on the ratio between dilution accepted and acceleration achieved. Raising 2 million euros by giving up 20% makes sense only if those funds enable a valuation high enough that the remaining 80% is worth more than the original 100%. In France, public seed funds — BpiFrance, regional funds — often offer less dilutive terms than private VCs for early rounds.