About
My name is Willy Braun. I'm the co-founder of Galion.exe, a seed-stage venture fund backing AI and scientific startups building new capabilities from day one, up to €2m.
I invest where AI meets complex adaptive systems: from the infrastructure governing how intelligence is produced and distributed, to the sciences reshaping molecules, crops, and cells, to the tools expanding access to the best knowledge, care, and decision-making.
What drives me as an investor is using technology to expand human and scientific capabilities, to better understand and improve living systems, while ensuring its benefits are broadly shared.
Prior to Galion.exe, I co-founded daphni, a pan-European venture capital fund (€170m raised, 28 companies, including Back Market (Series A, now unicorn), Lifen (Seed), Swile (Seed, now unicorn), Memo Bank (Seed), Shine (Seed), Zoe (Seed)).
I also worked as an Operating Partner at Revaia, a growth fund investing in sustainable scale-ups (portfolio including Algolia (now unicorn), Deepki, Mews, Hublo).
Before investing, I was a co-founder and General Manager of France Digitale, the biggest French lobby gathering startups & investors.
Portfolio
Science of the Living
- 🇫🇷 Epics Biotechnology: molecular agronomy for sustainable crops galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Generare: scaling natural molecule discovery galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Living Models: foundation model for plant biology galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Lucis: science-based blood test analysis angel
- 🇫🇷 OneBioSciences: foundation model for single-cell biology galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Oria: cellular organelles for drug discovery galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Quantiq: camera-based blood biomarker sensing angel
- 🇫🇷 Raidium: foundation model for radiology galion.exe
- 🇺🇸 Dune: data into personalised care galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Stealth: AI designing ASO for RNA therapeutics galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Squaremind: AI robot for dermatology check-ins angel
- 🇳🇱 Stealth: AI designing radioligand therapeutics galion.exe
Expanded Capabilities
- 🇫🇷 Apiday: extra-financial accounting galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Egide: counter-drone defense systems galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Harmattan: autonomous warfare (unicorn) galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Husprey: SQL notebooks for analytics (acquired by Collibra) galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Jimini.ai: AI copilot for legal research & drafting galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Omie: organic food direct from producers angel
- 🇩🇪 PriorLabs: tabular foundation model galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Purpleshare: AI for SME business transitions angel
- 🇫🇷 Qantum: AI-powered finance suite galion.exe
- 🇫🇷 Stealth: AI-native private bank angel
- 🇬🇧 Vaire: near-zero energy compute galion.exe
Writing & Research
I write Libido Sciendi, a newsletter with long-form explorations of AI, deep tech, startup strategy, investment, and go-to-market.
I'm also the author of The French AI Report (first edition with Chausson Finance & Revaia, next edition releasing April 2026 with Chausson & Serena). It features 400+ French AI startups mapped across 5 key sectors, an overview of key investment trends in AI across France and Europe, and exclusive insights from top minds shaping the future of AI.
I also published two books:
- Human Resources for Startups: a practical guide for founders and managers of fast-growing companies
- Internet Marketing 2013: on digital marketing (FNAC & Amazon best-seller)
Interests
I love books, design, social sciences (especially psychology, sociology & economics), photography, and storytelling of all forms.