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BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund
Yann Lagalaye and Bertrand Piccard's BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund targets €150M for labeled clean-tech investments across Europe and North...
BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund
BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund launched in 2022 as a joint initiative between Europe's largest bank and Bertrand Piccard's Solar Impulse Foundation, established after the namesake solar-powered aircraft completed its round-the-world flight. The fund targets €150 million in commitments and operates from Paris with investment teams in Menlo Park, Stuttgart, Berlin, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The fund places early-stage and growth-equity bets on companies whose solutions carry the Foundation's "Solar Impulse Efficient Solution" label, a third-party certification for both environmental benefit and economic viability. Investment exposure spans renewable energy generation, long-duration energy storage, sustainable agriculture, circular-economy manufacturing, and low-carbon mobility. Geographic deployment concentrates on Europe and North America, with the dual-office structure in Paris and California purpose-built to bridge the continent's deep-tech ecosystems. Named portfolio companies have not been systematically disclosed, but the firm's mandate targets Series A through growth-stage rounds, alongside co-investment from BNP Paribas' broader private-equity platform. The management partnership pairs Piccard — explorer, psychiatrist, and Foundation chairman — with Yann Lagalaye, a former BNP Paribas Principal Investments executive. BNP Paribas anchors the fund alongside external institutional limited partners, giving it a capital base that combines financial return expectations with the Foundation's mission-driven screening. The firm does not publicly report total deployment or team size. The Solar Impulse Foundation itself maintains a portfolio of over 1,500 labeled solutions globally, functioning as an ongoing deal-sourcing pipeline that most venture firms cannot replicate. In May 2024, the fund participated in an industry event alongside the Foundation at Viva Technology in Paris, underscoring the integrated sourcing model. The fund's structural differentiation rests on the certification firewall: portfolio eligibility requires the Solar Impulse label, which mandates an independent expert panel review. This makes the fund simultaneously more constrained — it can only invest in labeled companies — and more standardized than a discretionary climate fund, giving limited partners a rare, auditable framework for what "climate impact" means in a venture portfolio. The architecture also insulates the Foundation's non-profit status from the bank's return-seeking capital, while keeping the reputational incentive aligned.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2022
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
France
City
Paris
Corporate office
Paris, France
Additional offices
Menlo Park, CA · Stuttgart · Berlin · Berkeley, CA · San Francisco, CA · Denver, CO · Lausanne
Principals
Bertrand Piccard
Partner and Solar Impulse Foundation Chairman
Yann Lagalaye
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund?
Yann Lagalaye serves as Managing Partner, leading deal evaluation and execution. He previously worked in BNP Paribas' Principal Investments unit. Bertrand Piccard is the strategic partner and Foundation chairman, actively involved in origination through the Solar Impulse Foundation network, but the day-to-day investment committee authority rests with Lagalaye's team, per the firm's 2022 launch communications.
How does the fund source proprietary deal flow?
The fund draws from the Solar Impulse Foundation's portfolio of over 1,500 certified efficient solutions. Companies apply to the Foundation for the label, undergo third-party technical and economic review, and — if approved — become visible to the fund's investment team. This creates a pipeline pre-screened for both climate impact and commercial readiness, distinct from typical bank-originated deal networks.
Is this a single-family office or a traditional venture fund?
Neither. BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund is an external manager, structured as a joint venture between the bank's asset management arm and the Solar Impulse Foundation. It raises commitments from BNP Paribas and other institutional limited partners, deploying into companies that have passed the Foundation's labeling process.
Does the fund participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The vehicle makes direct venture and growth-equity investments into operating companies. As of the fund's public profile, there is no mandate to invest as a limited partner in other venture or private-equity funds.
What investment stages does BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund target?
The fund targets early-stage and growth-equity rounds, with an emphasis on companies that have reached at least Series A. The Foundation's labeling process favors solutions with proven prototypes or initial commercial traction, so pre-seed and concept-stage bets are outside the fund's typical scope, per its 2022 mandate description.
How is the Solar Impulse Foundation structurally separated from the fund?
The Foundation is a non-profit, independent entity based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It certifies solutions without taking equity or fees. The venture fund operates under BNP Paribas' asset management umbrella with a separate partnership structure, and portfolio eligibility requires the label — but Foundation staff are insulated from fund economics and carry.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
This fund does not manage a single family's wealth. It raises institutional capital, anchored by BNP Paribas' own balance sheet commitment, alongside external limited partners. Bertrand Piccard's personal wealth and the Foundation's endowment are not the source of investable capital.
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