Neil Rimer

Rimer was born in Montreal, Quebec, and reared and educated (International School of Geneva) in Geneva, Switzerland. He received a bachelor's degree in History and Economics from Stanford University, and was a General Course student at the London School of Economics.

He then took his first job out of school with Montgomery Securities, an investment bank in San Francisco. He then completed a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, and upon graduating, chose to return to Europe.{{cite news |title= In Conversation With Neil Rimer |url=http://perspectives.pictet.com/2012/05/16/neil-rimer-we-look-for-someone-with-a-passion-for-solving-a-big-problem/ |work= PICTET Perspectives |date= May 16, 2012}}

He was later quoted by Fortune as reflecting on this move, "I was excited about the idea of participating in the birth of the VC industry in Europe".{{cite news |title= 25 Rising Stars |url= https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2001/05/14/302982/ |work= Fortune |date= May 14, 2001 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140203013807/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2001/05/14/302982/ |archivedate= February 3, 2014 }}

Soon after his return to Geneva, in 1991, Rimer helped his father Gerald exit the bond trading business he had founded, and spent a few years connecting institutional investors with European technology startups, an effort that over time evolved into the official launch of Index Ventures. In 1996 Rimer co-founded Index Ventures in Geneva with his brother, David, and Giuseppe Zocco,{{cite news |title= Levie, Damelin, Rimer, Onur, Klein, Khan To Speak At TechCrunch Disrupt Europe |url= https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/levie-damelin-rimer-onur-klein-khan-to-speak-at-techcrunch-disrupteurope/ |work= TechCrunch |date= July 24, 2013}} helping raise Index' first pilot fund of $17 million, followed by a $180 million fund in 1998. Companies funded during this time include SCM Microsystems (now Identiv) and Virata, a chipmaker, which later entered into a $1.3 Billion merger with GlobeSpan.{{cite news |title= GlobeSpan, Virata merge in $1.3 billion deal |url= http://news.cnet.com/GlobeSpan,-Virata-merge-in-1.3-billion-deal/2110-1033_3-273764.html |work= CNET |date= October 1, 2001}} Index started investing in Israeli companies in 2003.{{cite news | url=https://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/1.4806651 | title=Index Ventures, Open for Business | newspaper=Haaretz }} As of 2007, Rimer claimed to The Wall Street Journal that "the bulk of our portfolio is in Europe and Israel."{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-VCDB-693|title = Index Ventures Plows Ahead in Europe|newspaper = Wall Street Journal|date = 3 March 2009|last1 = Austin|first1 = Scott}}

Notable investments by Rimer's company include Betfair ({{LSE|BET}}) and Skype (acquired by eBay for $2.6 billion,{{cite news |title= MediaGuardian 100 2012|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/sep/16/danny-neil-rimer-mediaguardian-100-2012 |work= The Guardian |date= September 16, 2012}}{{cite news |title= EBay Buys Skype for $2.6 Billion |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/122516/article.html |work= PC World |date= September 12, 2005}} later acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion).{{cite news |title= Why Microsoft Is Buying Skype for $8.5 Billion |url=http://gigaom.com/2011/05/09/why-microsoft-is-buying-skype-for-8-billion/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130921020453/http://gigaom.com/2011/05/09/why-microsoft-is-buying-skype-for-8-billion/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |work= GigaOM |date= May 9, 2011}} Index Ventures has invested in 21 Israeli companies, including MyHeritage, Outbrain, Lacoon, Adallom, Wiz, Capitolis, and Gong.io.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/investor-cashing-in-on-israeli-startups-while-calling-israel-apartheid-666972|title=HRW chairman invests in Israel as he calls it 'apartheid'|date=2 May 2021 }}

Rimer has also invested in and served on the boards of directors of Last.fm (acquired by CBS for $280 million),{{cite news |title= CBS Acquires Europe's Last.fm for $280 million |url=https://techcrunch.com/2007/05/30/cbs-acquires-lastfm-for-280m/ |work= TechCrunch |date= May 30, 2007}} Ofoto (acquired by Kodak),{{cite news |title= Kodak buys Ofoto.com |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eastman-kodak-buys-ofotocom |work= MarketWatch |date= April 30, 2001}} Trolltech (acquired by Nokia for $153 million),{{cite news |title= Nokia Acquires Trolltech For $153 Million|url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/01/28/nokia-acquires-trolltech-for-153-million/ |work= TechCrunch |date= January 28, 2008}} Numerical Technologies (acquired by Synopsis for $250 million);{{cite news |title= Synopsys to buy Numerical Tech for $250 million |url=http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1216694 |work= EE Times |date= January 13, 2003}} Genmab ({{OMX|CSE11143|GEN}}); and StepStone. Rimer currently sits on the board of directors of a number of companies including Call9, Funding Circle, HouseTrip, MOO Print, PhotoBox, StackExchange, Supercell,{{cite news |title= Is This The Fastest-Growing Game Company Ever? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/04/17/is-this-the-fastest-growing-game-company-ever/ |work= Forbes |date= May 6, 2013}} Kaggle,{{cite news |title= Index And Khosla Lead $11M Round In Kaggle, A Platform For Data Modeling Competitions |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/11/02/index-and-khosla-lead-11m-round-in-kaggle-a-platform-for-data-modeling-competitions/ |work= TechCrunch |date= November 2, 2011}} Metromile,{{cite web |title= WhoGotFunded: MetroMile |url= http://www.whogotfunded.com/deals/172502-metromile-inc}} and The Climate Corporation (acquired by Monsanto for approximately $1.1 billion).{{cite news |title= Monsanto Buys Weather Big Data Company Climate Corporation For Around $1.1B |url= https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/02/monsanto-acquires-weather-big-data-company-climate-corporation-for-930m/ |work= TechCrunch |date= October 2, 2013}}

Rimer headed the team at Index Ventures that led a $130 million funding round in Supercell, the subject of a May 6, 2013 Forbes article, "Is This the Fastest-Growing Game Company Ever?" In October 2013 Softbank and GungHo Online Entertainment acquired 51% of Supercell for $1.53 billion.{{cite news |title= Supercell Dominates The Realm: Game Maker Sells A 51%, $1.53B Stake To SoftBank and GungHo Online|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/15/softbank-teams-up-with-gungho-online-to-buy-51-of-gaming-giant-supercell-for-1-5b/ |work= TechCrunch |date= October 15, 2013}}

In November 2017 Rimer was concerned that, although Europe was on a path to significance, it could miss the opportunities to build huge companies such as Amazon, Facebook or Google, if it could not attract the required talent.{{cite web |url=https://growthbusiness.co.uk/european-tech-start-ups-lower-reward-for-risk-17532/ |title=Are European tech start-ups being held back by lower 'reward for risk'? |author=Praseeda Nair |date=27 November 2017 |publisher=growthbusiness.co.uk |access-date=5 July 2023}} In April 2020, Neil Rimer became a member of the Taxfix board.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/15/taxfix-raises-65-million-for-its-mobile-tax-filing-app/ |title=Taxfix raises $65M for its mobile tax filing app |author=Romain Dillet |date=2 April 2020 |publisher=techcrunch.com |access-date=5 July 2023}}

In 2017, Rimer was named the number one venture capitalist in Europe in Forbes' inaugural Midas List Europe.{{cite news |title= Forbes Announces First-Ever 2017 Midas List Europe|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2017/11/06/forbes-announces-first-ever-2017-midas-list-europe/#ad209cb4270a |work= Forbes |date= November 6, 2017}} He was also featured on the Forbes Global Midas list in 2018{{cite news |title= The Midas List|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2017/11/06/forbes-announces-first-ever-2017-midas-list-europe/#ad209cb4270a |work= Forbes |date= April 3, 2018}} and the 2018 New York Times list of the top venture capitalists worldwide.{{cite web |title= The Top 100 Venture Capitalists |date= 31 March 2019|url= https://www.cbinsights.com/research/top-venture-capital-partners/}}

Rimer is a member of the board of directors of Human Rights Watch (HRW),{{cite web |title= Human Rights Watch: Board of Directors |date= 5 May 2020|url= https://www.hrw.org/node/76172}} of which he became Co-Chair in 2019,{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/neil-rimer/ |title=Neil Rimer |work=forbes.com |access-date=5 July 2023}} and is a founder of the Geneva Committee of HRW which named Israel an "Apartheid State". He has also served on the European Leadership Council of Harvard Business School and on the board of U.C. Sampdoria, a football club competing in the Italian Serie A professional football league competition.

In January 2022, Neil Rimer, together with his father and brothers, donated $13 million to McGill University, for the modernization of the Leacock building and the setting up of the Institute for Indigenous Research and Knowledges. Rimer took the opportunity to highlight the lifelong impact the education at McGill had had on his parents.{{cite web |url=https://thecjn.ca/news/gerald-rimer-and-sons-donation-to-mcgill-will-create-a-new-indigenous-research-institute-leacock-name-to-disappear-from-the-montreal-campus/ |title=Gerald Rimer and sons' donation to McGill will create a new Indigenous research institute; Leacock name to disappear from the Montreal campus |author=Janice Arnold |date=6 January 2022 |publisher=thecjn.ca |access-date=10 July 2023}}

{{commons category|Neil Rimer}}

• [http://www.indexventures.com Index Ventures website]
• [http://www.indexventures.com/blog#author/5/NeilRimer Neil Rimer on Index Ventures blog]
• {{Twitter}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130131061129/http://gigaom.com/2012/04/13/meet-the-man-behind-europes-hottest-vc-firm/ Meet the man behind Europe's hottest VC firm], in GigaOM (April 13, 2012)
• [https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/04/26/neil-rimer-explains-index-ventures-new-seed-program/ Neil Rimer Explains Index Ventures' New Seed Program], in Wall Street Journal: Venture Capital Dispatch (April 26, 2010)
• [https://www.ft.com/content/c3a2e164-b0a6-11e6-9c37-5787335499a0 Europe's start-up backer — Neil Rimer, founder, Index Ventures], in FT (November 28, 2016)
• [https://sifted.eu/articles/neil-rimer-index-startup-stubborn-advice Neil Rimer on startup founders] in Sifted (June 5, 2019)

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Category:1963 births

Category:Living people

Category:Anglophone Quebec people

Category:Canadian venture capitalists

Category:Businesspeople from Montreal

Category:Swiss businesspeople

Category:Stanford University alumni

Category:Harvard Business School alumni