Willy Braun
About Willy Braun
Willy Braun is based in Paris. He is Managing Partner at 2050, a European investment platform. In his LinkedIn post about joining, he describes 2050's work as combining scientific research and systems thinking. He leads its Fertile AI work. He is also a Founding Partner of Galion.exe. The Galion.exe Origin fund joined 2050's platform, which 2050 says brings its assets under management to EUR 250M across more than 70 companies.
His earlier career was in media, community and venture. He founded and edited the blog Brocooli (2010 to 2015, per a third-party profile) and wrote the book Internet Marketing 2013. He organized Startup Weekend events. He was the first general manager of France Digitale, the French startup association, and co-founded the venture firm daphni, where he was a co-founder from 2015 to about 2019 or 2020. He then was an operating partner at Revaia (formerly Gaia Capital Partners), a role third-party profiles date to 2020 to 2021. Galion.exe followed in 2022, described as a seed fund tied to The Galion Project founder community. His profiles also list him as a co-founder of SOTA.
He writes Libido Sciendi, a Substack and personal site. Its weekly digest describes him as a book-obsessed seed investor writing on AI, living systems, ethics of technology and the diffusion of innovation. He also co-authored The French AI Report, an annual map of French AI startups. The 2026 edition covers more than 400 startups.
Public information on Willy's personal angel investments is thin. Wellfound lists him as an angel investor in BlaBlaCar. NFX Signal shows him as a co-investor, under the name Willy Braun (exe), in a round alongside other angels and funds. Neither source gives a check size or date that we can verify.
Most of his documented deals went through funds he co-founded. At daphni he led the $8.5M Series A in Double, which the company announced. Since 2022 his documented deals have gone through Galion.exe, including seed rounds in Dialog, Lettria and Generare. Crunchbase also lists a Galion.exe Series A in Generare. Crunchbase shows Galion.exe as lead investor on the Dialog and Lettria seeds.
Willy describes his focus on LinkedIn as investing where AI meets complex adaptive systems, from the infrastructure that governs how those systems operate. Fertile AI, the theme he leads at 2050, is described in his own words as work on accelerating scientific discovery, enriching work and knowledge, and strengthening critical industries. He says he is open to hearing from people building or researching in AI, health, food, industry, cognition or climate.
He follows the French AI market closely. He co-authored The French AI Report 2026 with colleagues at Galion.exe, and the report is published with 2050 and Galion.exe as authors. He writes publicly about AI as a normal technology, market sizing for early-stage founders, and the reliability of probabilistic language models at scale. Founders can read these pieces to see how he thinks.
Stage: his own descriptions point to seed. Galion.exe is described as a seed fund, and he calls himself a seed investor in Libido Sciendi. At daphni he also led a Series A. Check size is not public, and neither are ownership targets or fund size for his current vehicles.
Sectors: 2050 describes its focus as food, health, education, nature and societal robustness, using frontier AI and leading-edge science. The French AI Report he co-authors groups startups into infrastructure, enterprise AI, health, climate and vertical AI. Geography: he is based in Paris and works closely with the French AI ecosystem. 2050 describes itself as a European platform.
- Double: executive assistance service. daphni led its $8.5M Series A, led by Willy Braun, with Index, Eurazeo, Teamworthy, FJ Labs, Le Fonds and Forefront participating. The year is not confirmed here.
- Dialog: seed round led by Galion.exe, per Crunchbase. Year not confirmed.
- Lettria: seed round led by Galion.exe, per Crunchbase. Year not confirmed.
- Generare: seed and Series A rounds with Galion.exe participating, per Crunchbase. Years not confirmed.
- BlaBlaCar: listed on Wellfound with Willy Braun as an angel investor. Year and round not confirmed.
Investing activity
Willy Braun has made 3 investments according to Crunchbase across 3 portfolio companies, and has founded 3 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Willy Braun
Does Willy Braun invest as an angel investor in AI startups?
His public record shows mostly fund-based investing through Galion.exe and, earlier, daphni. Wellfound lists him as an angel in BlaBlaCar, and NFX Signal shows him co-investing in at least one other angel round. He currently works on AI through 2050 and Galion.exe.
What stage does Willy Braun invest in?
He mainly describes seed investing. Galion.exe is a seed fund. At daphni he led a Series A in Double.
What is Willy Braun's check size?
It is not public. We found no stated check size, so founders should ask him directly.
What does Willy Braun look for in AI founders?
He says he invests where AI meets complex adaptive systems, including infrastructure and critical industries. He has invited people building in AI, health, food, industry, cognition or climate to get in touch. His Libido Sciendi essays on AI, market sizing and founders show how he evaluates companies.
What is 2050 and what is Fertile AI?
2050 is a European investment platform that combines systemic research, science and frontier AI to work on food, health, education, nature and societal robustness. Willy is Managing Partner there and designs Fertile AI. He describes it as accelerating scientific discovery, enriching work and knowledge, and strengthening critical industries.
How can founders contact Willy Braun?
He is active on LinkedIn and X and publishes at willy-braun.com and on the Libido Sciendi Substack. He says on LinkedIn that he welcomes conversations with people building or researching in his focus areas.
Is Willy Braun an angel investor?
Yes. Willy Braun invests personally as an angel and is Managing Partner at 2050. Crunchbase counts 3 investments.
Where is Willy Braun based?
Willy Braun is based in Paris, Ile-de-France, France.
How can founders reach Willy Braun?
Founders on Lounge can see Willy Braun's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Willy Braun to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.