Paris, Monday, October 12, 2015

Orange Digital Ventures took part in a 7 million-euro funding round, led by the investment fund, Alven Capital, in the start-up Wynd. This French start-up develops Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions under the Wynd brand for connected commerce, which enables merchants to create cross-channel sales paths and digitize their points of sale. This round of financing followed a first round in October 2014 in which the Parisian start-up raised 1.8 million euros.

Orange Digital Ventures took part in a 7 million-euro funding round, led by the investment fund, Alven Capital, in the start-up Wynd. This French start-up develops Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions under the Wynd brand for connected commerce, which enables merchants to create cross-channel sales paths and digitize their points of sale. This round of financing followed a first round in October 2014 in which the Parisian start-up raised 1.8 million euros.

In just two and a half years, Wynd has positioned itself as a key player among major retail groups in France as well as several other European and Middle Eastern countries. The financing will be used to support the expansion of the Wynd team and increase its ability to roll out its services in points of sale in response to growing demand in France and internationally, and to step up product transformation toward multi-sector usage.

The Wynd solution deeply transforms sales channels by covering a global perimeter to support in-store convergence (cash register, order screens, production screen, smart TPE, etc.) and out-of-store convergence (e-commerce platform, m-commerce, marketplace, car and bike drive-ins, etc.) while offering tools to streamline productivity, increase sales and improve customer knowledge. Wynd is already working with major national retailers in two key areas: the restaurant sector (Flunch, Elior, Nabab Kebab, Exki, etc.) and florists (Monceau Fleurs, Happy and RapidFlore).

With its cross-channel sales offer, Wynd is a core player in growth and operational efficiency for its customers. By associating itself with Wynd, Orange is once again furthering its goal of supporting startups working on innovative solutions with a high added value.

Pierre Louette, Deputy CEO of Orange and President of Orange Digital Ventures, said “We are proud to associate ourselves with Wynd, which has anticipated many of the changes to the distribution sector that have resulted from the development of digital services. Through this investment we are participating in the development of solutions that facilitate the customer’s overall experience. This investment could open up important prospects for improving customer experience in our own offers, reflecting one of the main promises of our Essentiels2020 strategic plan.”

Ismael Ould, CEO and co-founder of Wynd, said: “We are very happy to reach this new stage in the development of the company. Our vision for the transformation of the retail sector is in line with current trends and we have managed to win over the confidence of several important customers and we will continue to offer disruptive services to support them in their digital transformation. The whole team has worked hard to bring these results and Alven Ventures and Orange now represent the perfect partners to help bring Wynd up to a new level in its development”.