Fund profile / France

Polytechnique Ventures II

Geography: France
Stage: Pre-Seed
Fund size: €21M
Focus: AI/ML, Deep Tech, Digital Health and Energy Tech
Signals: Published

N°01 / About

About Polytechnique Ventures II

Alumni-run fund of École Polytechnique with €21M first close (target €30-40M). Backs 15-20 startups tied to the university with €250K-€1M initial tickets.

N°02 / Thesis

Investment Focus

Location / RegionFrance

Funding StagePre-Seed

Industry Focus

AI/ML

Deep Tech

Digital Health

Energy Tech

FinTech

Manufacturing

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Poly-affiliated deeptech pre-seed, breakthrough tech, social impact

deep tech

pre-seed/pre-amorçage

alumni-backed

industrial breakthrough

quantum-tech

Bullish Signals

Denis Lucquin Catalyst Initiative launched, 5% allocation confirmedlinkedin

Pre-seed tickets ~150k€, 2x annual call windows activelinkedin

First investment: Qolumbus, quantum processors (next-gen)linkedin

Active alumni deal flow via X-UP incubator partnershiplinkedin

Monthly founder events, strong Drahi-X community engagementlinkedin

Backed by École Polytechnique ecosystem + formal alumni networklinkedin

Investment team: Tharaud (X84), Cardinal (X10), Dissler (X22) confirmedlinkedin

Fund honors Denis Lucquin legacy, early-stage mentor philosophylinkedin

Team publicly visible, high-profile alumni investors backinglinkedin

Quantum tech early-stage focus emerging (Qolumbus signals)linkedin

Denis Lucquin Catalyst Initiative honors co-founder legacy, renewed commitmentexternal

Cécile Tharaud leading catalyst initiative, published strategyexternal

Contrarian Signals

Network-gated: alumni-only deal access strictexternal

Small 150k€ check size limits scaling potentialexternal

High societal impact bar may exclude pure commercial foundersexternal

Founder Do's

Be École Polytechnique alumnus/researcher/incubated

Show industrial breakthrough technology (quantum, hardware focus)

Demonstrate strong societal utility intent

Apply for Denis Lucquin Catalyst twice yearly

Build exceptional founding team

Founder Don'ts

No non-deeptech founders without Poly affiliation

Avoid weak societal impact narrative

Don't miss 2x annual application windows

30 signals on Polytechnique Ventures II

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Facts

Fund Overview

Fund Size€21M

Saves0

Website

People

Key People

Cécile Tharaud, Denis Lucquin

Bruno MartinaudAcademic Lead Entrepreneurship

Philippe HazetIncubator Lead

Cécile TharaudInvestment Lead

Maxime CardinalInvestment Team

Gaspard DevissaguetInvestment Team

Marius DisslerInvestment Team

Denis LucquinFounder (Emeritus)

N°04 / See also

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