The Big Deals 💣 : Unseenlabs, Planity, Photoroom, Bioptimus, Filigran & more!

What: Unseenlabs, a satellite network to enhance maritime security.

Why: Ships have ways to disable official tracking systems when doing clandestine or illegal activities. Unseenlabs' constellation of satellites is designed to detect ships.

Funding: €85 million (including 25%-30% debt)

Who: Co-Founders & Brothers CEO Clement Galic and CTO Jonathan Galic.

Investors: Supernova Invest, ISALT, and UNEXO led the funding round, which also included money from previous investors 360 Capital, OMNES, Breizh Up, S2G Ventures, and Bpifrance. 

What's Next: The company has 11 satellites in orbit and will use this new financing to launch 10 more, which will allow for improved precision and boost the company as it expands into new markets.

What: Planity, a SaaS online beauty appointment booking platform.

Why: Enables beauty professionals (hair salons, beauty institutes, barbers etc.) to efficiently manage their activities and optimize their work agendas and time.

Funding: $50 million

Who: Co-Founders Jérémy Queroy, Antoine Puymirat, Paul Vonderscher

Investors: InfraVia Capital Partners, Revaia, Crédit Mutuel Innovation, & Digital Ventures (Bpifrance).

What's Next: The platform will use the cash to continue developing its product, expand its presence in the German and Belgian markets, make potential acquisitions, and invest in new verticals.

What: Photoroom, a GenAI-powered photo editor for small businesses.

Why: Revolutionize product image creation and management for businesses selling items online.

Funding: €43 million

Who: Co-Founders Matthieu Rouif & Eliot Andres

Investors: Balderton Capital, Aglaé, and YCombinator

What's Next: The new money will be used to accelerate the development of its Generative AI capabilities, including investing in more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs); secure imagery from leading image providers and photographers, and double the size of the team by the end of 2024.

How PhotoRoom became France’s hot young GenAI thing
Taylor Swift, Barbie and millions of small businesses use the automated photo-editing tool. The result is growth that has investors swooning.

What: Pennylane, an accounting software (SaaS) for in-house accountants and accounting firms.

Why: Enables accountants to gain productivity while ensuring the reliability of data collected in real time.

Funding: €40 million (for a valuation +€1bn). 🦄
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Who: Co-Founders Arthur Waller & Alexandre Roquoplo

Investors: Sequoia Capital & DST Global

What's Next: The new unicorn is planning to use the cash to broaden the capabilities of its platform, adopting and rolling out a 5-year external growth strategy.

What: Bioptimus, a Generative AI platform for biotech.

Why: Digitize and accelerate biotech development with advanced fundamental AI models capable of delving further into the analysis of patient data at multiple levels, thereby uncovering previously unsuspected biological connections and hopefully paving the way to unprecedented personalized medicine

Funding: €35 million

Who: Co-Founders Jean-Philippe Vert, David Cahané, Rodolphe Jenatton

Investors: Sofinnova Partners, Large Ventures Fund (Bpifrance), Frst Capital, Cathay Innovation, Headlkine, Hummingbird, NJF Capital, Owkin, Top Harvest Capital & Business Angel/entrepreneur Xaviel Niel.

What's Next: This first investment will be used to fund the biotech's launch.

What: Boondmanager, a HR tech (SaaS) platform.

Why: Developing an all-in-one management tool enabling Digital Services Enterprises and consulting firms to save time and improve the performance of their recruiters, sales teams, and administrative staff.

Funding: €32 million
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Who: Co-Founders & brothers Tanguy, Anthony & Loïc Lambert

Investors: Expedition Growth Capital

What's Next: The funding will be used to fuel growth and solidify their position.

What: Vibe, a platform to simplify advertising purchases on Connected TV and Over The Top media services.

Why: Democratize advertising to allow smaller businesses to reach audiences on larger platforms.

Who: Co-founders are Arthur Querou and Franck Tetzlaff.

Seed Round: $22.5 million

Investors: Singular led the round, which also included money from previous investor Elaia Partners, as well as Sequoia’s Scout Fund, Motier, and prominent Ad Tech Business Angles such as Benjamin Antier, Cyril Vermeulen, Laurent Asscher, Very Group, and Alain Roubach.

What's next: Vibe will use the money to expand its tech & machine learning department, increase its sales team, pursue strategic publisher deals, and grow from 40 employees to 110.

Seed Of The Week: Vibe
Vibe has developed a platform to simplify advertising purchases on Connected TV and Over The Top media services.

What: Filigran, a cybersecurity platform that coordinates and simplifies threat management.

Why: Building a platform using innovative open-source solutions, designed specifically to address the complex challenges organizations face in anticipating cyber risks and threats.

Funding: €15 million
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Who: Co-Founders Samuel Hassine & Julien Richard

Investors: Accel, Moonfire Ventures & Motier Ventures

What's Next: The funding will be used to fuel the cybertech's expansion to the US and Australia, further develop its open-source “eXtended Threat Management” suite, and grow its team.

Seed Of The Week: Filigran
The cybersecurity startup raised €5m for its open-source platform that coordinates and simplifies threat management.

What: Groover, an all-in-one music promotion platform for independent artists

Why: Connects independent media and music professionals and experts ready to listen to their tracks and provide feedback.

Funding: $8 million
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Who: Co-Founders Romain Palmieri & Dorian Perron

Investors: OneRagtime, Trind, Techmind, MozzaAngels, Partech,
Tech & Touch fund (Bpifrance), Verve Ventures & Frenchfounders.

What's Next: Already present in the US, Canada, Italy, Brazil, the UK, France, and Germany, Groover aims to develop an international expansion strategy to deepen its presence in Europe, North America, and Latin America.