AQUITI Gestion

What AQUITI Gestion does

AQUITI Gestion is a French regional private equity and venture capital firm founded in 1998 and headquartered in Bordeaux, operating across Nouvelle-Aquitaine through three offices (Bordeaux, Limoges, Poitiers). The firm manages approximately €230M in assets under management or delegation across five fund vehicles spanning the full SME capital lifecycle, from non-dilutive honor loans through early-stage venture capital to growth and buyout financings. Its three core strategies are Prêt d'Honneur Innovation (zero-interest loans up to €30k per founder / €100k per project), Capital Innovation (early-stage VC with tickets up to €2M first round and €6M follow-on, focused on health and environment), and Capital Développement & Transmission (growth and buyout up to €10M in equity or convertible notes for profitable SMEs and mid-sized companies).

The platform is structured around five regulated fund vehicles: FPCI RNA (SFDR Article 8, Label Relance 2023), FPCI Aquiti Venture Amorçage I (€60M seed fund, launched 2024), FPCI NACI 1, SCR Aquitaine Création Investissement, and SCR Poitou Charentes Expansion. AQUITI is regulated by the AMF under registration GP-19000017 and is a co-founder of the 1Pacte association and signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and multiple France Invest charters. The firm employs 19 investment professionals led by Chairman Bérenger Delmas and Deputy CEO Régis Lucas.

Revenue is generated principally through management fees on the managed fund vehicles, with optional carried interest on exits (e.g., Valbiotis IPO 2017). The firm's go-to-market is relationship-driven, leveraging regional office presence, partnerships with banking institutions (BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Banque Populaire Aquitaine Centre Atlantique) and regional government (Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region), and a referral network across incubators and accelerators. To date AQUITI has backed over 1,000 entrepreneurs and founders, with portfolio spans including biotech (TreeFrog Therapeutics, FineHeart, Dionymer), industrial (Technima, EMAC), consumer (Cocorico, Eklo), and digital (Céréalog, CardNexus, Dronisos) sectors.

Name

AQUITI Gestion

Legal name

SAS Aquiti Gestion

Website

https://aquiti.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AQUITI Gestion is a Bordeaux-based, AMF-regulated private equity and venture capital firm managing ~€230M across five fund vehicles, providing non-dilutive honor loans, seed VC, and growth/buyout financing to innovative startups and SMEs across Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital & Private Equity

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Private equity
• Growth capital
• Innovation financing
• Regional investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Bordeaux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: Aquiti Gestion earns management fees from the funds it manages, including FPCI RNA, FPCI AVA I (Aquiti Venture Amorçage 1), FPCI NACI 1, SCR ACI, and SCR PCE.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AQUITI Gestion is a regional venture capital and private equity manager providing three financing solutions to entrepreneurs and SMEs in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region: Prêt d'Honneur Innovation (non-dilutive honor loans for early-stage founders), Capital Innovation (equity investment in innovative startups), and Capital Développement & Transmission (growth and buyout capital for established SMEs). The firm manages approximately €230 million in assets across these strategies and has backed more than 1,000 entrepreneurs since 1999.

Product overview

AQUITI Gestion operates as a multi-product investment platform offering three core investment strategies: (1) Prêt d'Honneur Innovation - non-dilutive honor loans for early-stage entrepreneurs; (2) Capital Innovation - venture capital for early-stage tech startups; and (3) Capital Développement & Transmission - growth and buyout investments for established SMEs. The platform is structured around multiple fund vehicles including FPCI RNA (Article 8, 'Relance' labeled), FPCI AVA I (€60m seed fund), FPCI NACI 1, SCR ACI, and SCR PCE, collectively managing €230m in assets under management and supporting over 1,000 entrepreneurs across Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prêt d'Honneur Innovation Non-dilutive honor loan product providing seed-stage financing to innovative entrepreneurs without requiring equity dilution, intended to validate technology and support early business development in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
• Capital Innovation Venture capital equity investment in innovative early- and growth-stage technology and innovation startups based in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, intended to finance product development and business scaling.
• Capital Développement & Transmission Growth equity, acquisition financing and business transmission/buyout capital for established SMEs and family-owned businesses in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, supporting external growth operations and ownership transitions.

Quantifiable outcome

• x10 leverage effect on other funding sources through Prêt d'Honneur Innovation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 1Pacte AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of 1Pacte (Cercle des Entrepreneurs Responsables de Nouvelle-Aquitaine), promoting sustainable and responsible business models. Cindy Charlot serves as President of the association.
• Initiative FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Initiative France network, supporting entrepreneurial development across France.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bpifrance: French public investment bank providing equity, loans, and guarantees across all stages. Operates as a much larger incumbent that overlaps with Aquiti's full-lifecycle approach but at national scale with significantly larger fund vehicles.
• Ardian: Major global PE firm headquartered in Paris with extensive French and European deal activity. Functions as a broader incumbent whose growth/buyout activity overlaps with Aquiti's transmission strategy at much larger ticket sizes.

Direct peers

• Rhône-Alpes Création: Regional French VC firm supporting Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes startups and SMEs. Closely comparable regional VC with similar early-stage orientation and local LP/government ties.
• Elaia Partners: Paris-based VC firm investing in early-stage digital and deep-tech startups. Comparable as a French VC fund manager, though broader geographic sourcing and larger average ticket sizes.
• Capital Grand Est: Regional French VC/PE firm investing in Grand Est region startups and SMEs. Closely parallel to Aquiti in providing early-stage through growth capital with regional public-private backing.
• Midi Capital: Regional VC/PE firm serving Occitanie with multi-stage strategies similar to Aquiti's three lines of business. Comparable AUM scale, regional orientation, and portfolio approach.
• IRDI Soridec Gestion: Regional French VC/PE firm based in Toulouse (Occitanie) investing across early and growth stages. Most directly comparable in model, ticket size, and regional focus, just anchored in a different French region.
• Seventure Partners: Paris-based VC firm investing in health, digital, and sustainability. Comparable VC strategy with a thematic health focus similar to Aquiti's AVA1 fund, but at larger scale.
• iXO Private Equity: Regional French PE firm investing in SMEs across Southern France. Similar growth/buyout and transmission strategy aligned with Aquiti's Capital Développement & Transmission line.
• Demeter Partners: French VC/PE firm focused on environment, energy transition, and sustainable sectors. Highly aligned with Aquiti AVA1 fund's environment/health focus, with larger fund vintages.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquiti-gestion
• Xx.com/aquitigestion

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments58 records

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

Frequently asked questions about AQUITI Gestion