Thomas d’Halluin became managing partner of Airbus Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of aerospace manufacturer Airbus, in 2016 following the departure of Tim Dombrowski. D’Halluin had been chief operating officer of the Silicon Valley-based unit since the previous year, having worked within Airbus in a variety of roles since 2004.
Airbus Ventures invests in areas ranging from autonomous mobility, electrification, low-carbon economy and advanced materials to manufacturing systems, next-generation computing, sensing and security. The unit currently has almost 40 portfolio businesses, with around $200m of assets under management.
Among Airbus Ventures’ recent deals are roles as lead investor on series B rounds for both satellite communication specialist CaesiumAstro and Aerospacelab, an aerospace industry consultant. The unit has also participated in the series B round for Apex.AI, a developer of operating systems for autonomous vehicles, and in the series B round for quantum control engineering solutions developer Q-Ctrl.
At the end of 2021, Airbus Ventures portfolio company AirMap, an airspace services platform for unmanned aircraft, was acquired by aviation technology provider DroneUp for an undisclosed fee.
Prior to joining Airbus Ventures, d’Halluin was chief of staff to the Airbus Group chief financial officer. He had previously worked in procurement for the company’s Aerolia subsidiary, becoming its procurement and supply chain director with responsibility for the Asia-Pacific region in 2010. Before moving to Aerolia, d’Halluin had worked as supply chain director for Airbus in France.
D’Halluin has a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
