What Wind does

Wind (legal name: Wind Capital) is a Paris-based conviction-led venture capital firm founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneurs Thierry Vandewalle and Xavier Gury, both formerly co-founders of WCube (acquired by Publicis). The firm invests in European deeptech startups from Pre-Seed through Series B, deploying tickets of €100K to €5M into founders building technologies across climate resilience, sustainable food, clean energy, mobility, advanced materials, and European sovereignty (AI, cybersecurity, space, defense). As of mid-2024 Wind had backed 90+ startups with 32 successful exits and a track record above 3.5x on its first fund.

Wind operates two flagship investment vehicles: Wind II, an Article 9 climate adaptation fund under the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation targeting €130M (€90M first close achieved June 2024, anchored by EIF, Bpifrance, BNP Paribas, and Sopra Steria) with tickets of €500K–€5M into pre-seed to Series A companies; and Technologies Souveraines, launched September 2025 as Europe's first sovereign technologies fund covering AI, cybersecurity, space, and defense, accessible to individual investors from €7,500 under a 27% income tax reduction provided by France's 2025 Finance Law. Wind generates revenue through management fees on committed/deployed capital and carried interest on successful portfolio exits, supported by a team of 11–50 including two founding partners, two general partners, a CFO, a head of ecosystem and communications, and two associates.

Name

Wind

Legal name

Wind Capital

Website

https://wind.capital/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Paris-based venture capital firm investing in European deeptech startups from Pre-Seed to Series B (€100K–€5M tickets). Operates Wind II, a €130M climate adaptation fund, and Technologies Souveraines, a sovereign-tech fund, with 90+ portfolio companies and 32 exits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Wind generates returns through management fees on managed funds and carried interest from successful portfolio exits. The firm has achieved performance above 3.5x with 32 successful exits from 90+ startups backed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wind is a conviction-led European venture capital firm that deploys early-stage capital (€100K–€5M tickets from Pre-Seed to Series B) into deeptech startups operating in climate resilience, clean energy, sustainable mobility, advanced materials, and European strategic sovereignty technologies (AI, cybersecurity, space, defense). The firm operates the Wind II Article 9 climate adaptation fund (€130M target with €90M first close) and the Technologies Souveraines fund, providing portfolio companies with capital, strategic advisory, and access to a network of 120+ tech entrepreneurs.

Product overview

Wind is a Paris-based conviction-led venture capital firm investing in European deeptech startups across climate technology and sovereignty sectors. The firm operates multiple investment vehicles: Wind II (a €130M climate adaptation fund with €90M first close, targeting pre-seed to Series A with €100K–€5M tickets), and Technologies Souveraines (Europe's first sovereign technologies fund dedicated to defense and strategic autonomy). Wind backs founders reimagining food systems, mobility, energy, and industrial processes, with portfolio companies spanning advanced materials, clean energy, mobility, and space technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wind II (Climate Adaptation Fund) Article 9 climate-focused fund under EU SFDR investing €100K to €5M tickets into pre-seed to Series A European deeptech startups addressing climate resilience, circular manufacturing, sustainable food, clean water, energy efficiency, sustainable construction, and new materials.
• Technologies Souveraines Europe's first sovereign technologies fund dedicated to defense and strategic autonomy, covering AI, cybersecurity, space, and defense sectors, accessible to individual investors from €7,500 with a 27% income tax reduction under the 2025 Finance Law.
• LP Portal Secure InvestHub-based portal for limited partners of Wind's managed funds to access fund information, documents, and reporting.
• Startup Application Platform Online platform where founders submit company information and pitch decks for Wind's investment consideration, covering pre-seed to Series B stages across agritech, clean energy, mobility, space, and other deeptech sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Performance above 3.5x from first fund
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability14 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Serena Capital: Paris-based early-stage VC investing in deeptech and digital across Europe with similar ticket sizes, often overlapping with Wind in French seed and Series A rounds.
• Partech: European VC with a Paris base investing from seed to growth across deeptech, climate, and software — overlapping with Wind on stage, geography, and several portfolio themes such as climate and sovereign tech.
• Karista: Paris-based early-stage deeptech VC with comparable ticket sizes and a similar thesis around European deeptech pioneers. Karista has co-invested with Wind (e.g., TiHive), highlighting direct overlap in deal flow.
• Lowercarbon Capital: US-based climate-tech VC that has co-invested with Wind (e.g., Genomines), sharing a deeptech-climate mandate and overlapping on European deal flow despite a primarily US fund base.
• Elaia Partners: Paris-based early-stage deeptech and digital VC investing across Europe with comparable ticket sizes and a similar focus on science-backed founders, making it one of the closest direct competitors in the French deeptech ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Atomico: Pan-European VC with larger funds and a broader mandate including deeptech, climate, and software — competing for the same European founder pool and LP capital, though at later stages than Wind's typical sweet spot.
• EQT Ventures: Large European VC platform with a deeptech and climate mandate, offering overlapping exposure to European founders at pre-seed through growth stages but with materially larger fund sizes and broader sector coverage.
• Balderton Capital: London-based European early-stage VC investing across software and deeptech with comparable stages and ticket sizes, competing for European founder attention and overlapping with Wind on several climate and sovereignty themes.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Bill Gates-backed climate-tech investor that has co-invested with Wind (e.g., Mantle8), with a much larger fund size and global reach but comparable focus on early-stage deeptech climate solutions.

Emerging players

• NATO Innovation Fund (NIF): €1B venture fund backed by NATO allies investing in deeptech for defense and security — directly comparable to Wind's Technologies Souveraines thesis around AI, space, cybersecurity, and strategic autonomy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wind-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments68 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wind