Polytechnique Ventures, the alumni fund of prestigious French engineering school École Polytechnique, has closed €21m of a new fund, with a final close target of €30m-€40m.
The fund is backed by alumni of École Polytechnique, one of the most high-profile academic institutions in the country, which has produced a host of deeptech founders including AI darling Mistral’s Arthur Mensch and Guillaume Lample.
Launched in 2020, Polytechnique Ventures backs early-stage startups with a link to the school, either because one of the founders is an alumni, the technology was spun-off from Polytechnique’s labs, or the company went through the school’s incubator X-Novation Center.
The firm has already raised and deployed a first €36m fund, backing companies like AI agents startup H Company, nuclear micro-reactor developer Jimmy Energy and AI-powered robotics startup Gobano Robotics.
The new fund will back 15-20 startups at pre-seed and seed stages with tickets ranging from €250k-€1m, and up to €2m per company for follow-ons at Series A. It will focus on deeptech projects in fields including healthcare, energy, AI, fintech and industry.
An alumni fund
Cécile Tharaud, the CEO of Polytechnique Ventures, says the fund was founded as a result of growing demand from the school’s alumni.
“They wanted to contribute [...] At the same time the school was increasing its focus on entrepreneurship,” says Tharaud. “It happened quite organically.”
The first fund was backed by 160 alumni, with most coming from the financial services, industry and entrepreneurship. Polytechnique’s non-profit foundation, which funds the school, is also an LP, and has carry on top of fund returns.
A key differentiator, says Tharaud, is the fund’s access to a wide pool of expert researchers within the school. “As deeptech investors it gives us an advantage when it comes to assessing companies and providing support,” says Tharaud.
As former polytechnicians, the fund’s network of LPs is also an asset. “Every one of them is a potential mentor,” says Tharaud. “They are able to offer support, share their experiences and tech expertise.”
Growing in Europe
Polytechnique Ventures is part of a small cohort of VC firms built by higher education alumni in Europe.
“This type of fund is far more mature in the US,” says Tharaud, pointing to Alumni Ventures, a network of nearly 30 university-focused funds, which is now one of the most active VC firms in the US.
There are three other alumni funds in France — HEC Ventures, CentraleSupélec Ventures and business school EDHEC’s VC fund — and Tharaud says more are developing.
“After five years we’ve shown the concept works,” says Tharaud. “Before, we had to seek out more than 80% of our dealflow, now more than half the deals come to us.”
She adds: “We’ve been able to raise again so the model is here to stay [...] After five years we’ve shown it works.”
