👋 Welcome to our weekly recap of the big news + funding in the French tech ecosystem this week.

Inside this week's edition:

🚀 Deep Dive: The State of the French Tech Ecosystem 2024 report from Alexandre Dewez of 20VC finds an ecosystem that appears stable on the surface but is undergoing some important transformations underneath. Read our breakdown.

🚀 Seed Of The Week: Hyperline raised $10M to transform revenue management for the AI era. CEO Lucas Bédout explains the vision.

Subscribe to The French Tech Journal to access all the articles and archives.

Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

🚀 Tech Talk 🚀

🤑🦹‍♂️ HR-tech darling Deel finds itself caught in the middle of an investigation into a Ponzi scheme by fraudsters who bilked U.S. retirees out of their savings. The San Francisco-based company – co-founded by Frenchman Alex Bouaziz – was hit with a federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) lawsuit in Florida alleging violations of anti-money laundering (AML) laws and facilitation of U.S. sanctions evasion against Russia. The lawsuit accuses Deel of unauthorized money transmissions and ties to a sanctioned Russian bank, alongside concerns over unlicensed operations and compliance lapses. It highlights Deel's relationship with Arival Bank, a crypto bank flagged by Puerto Rican regulators, and claims its compliance chief previously worked in Russia. The suit also questions Deel's acquisition of Atlantic Money, whose leadership allegedly includes executives from a sanctioned entity. Deel denies wrongdoing, stating it operates through licensed partners and adheres to U.S. laws, emphasizing its lack of involvement in SEC investigations. The company stopped accepting new Russian clients in 2022 and ended its relationship with the implicated Surge Capitol in 2023. The lawsuit was filed by Melanie Damian, a court-appointed receiver tasked with recovering damages following a 2023 Securities & Exchange Commission investigation into a $35m Ponzi scheme orchestrated by a Florida man via overseas banks. Damian is demanding that Deel pay $2.2m to the victims. | Floridian, Les Echos

🍆🔎 As of January 11, pornographic sites available in France had to block access for minors under the age of 18. The law went into effect more than 30 years after it was first adopted. Squabbles over implementation and legality delayed the implementation. The framework was adopted on 11 October 2024 by the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom) and sets minimum technical requirements for age verification.| Le Figaro

👾 The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) officially takes effect, setting stringent cybersecurity requirements for financial tech firms. Designed to protect against growing cyber threats, DORA emphasizes operational resilience, incident reporting, and third-party risk management. French startups are now tasked with aligning their operations with these new standards, potentially unlocking opportunities for innovation in compliance solutions. Industry leaders see this directive as both a challenge and a catalyst for collaboration between tech and financial ecosystems. With implementation deadlines looming, the race is on to strengthen Europe's digital security framework. | Maddyness

🔬 French deeptech startups face barriers like funding gaps and complex public-private partnerships, but experts are proposing solutions to help them thrive globally. The France Deeptech association, which launched in 2023 and now has 300 members, unveiled a report that included 15 recommendations for boosting the sector across areas such as public procurement, financing, technology transfer, and the regulation of life. “The goal is not to always ask for more money,” reassures Michel de Lempdes, president of France Deeptech and Omnes Capital. Meanwhile, Venture Studio M2Care has secured €20 million to accelerate health-focused deeptech innovations, targeting breakthroughs in diagnostics and treatments. This funding will help nurture startups tackling critical healthcare challenges, aligning with broader efforts to position France as a global deeptech leader. Together, these developments highlight the promise and hurdles of deeptech in the French ecosystem. | Les Echos, Les Echos

💰 Pascal Cagni’s investment fund has taken a stake in Crime Science Technology (CST), a French GovTech startup. CST specializes in forensic science and crime prevention tools, blending advanced technology with public safety applications. With this backing, CST hopes to scale its impact and expand its cutting-edge solutions. | Maddyness

🐅🪓 French HR-tech platform Welcome to the Jungle is downsizing its workforce in response to challenging market conditions. Known for its innovative approach to job matching and employer branding, the company is scaling back to focus on core priorities. The restructuring reflects broader pressures on startups navigating post-pandemic economic uncertainty and funding slowdowns. The specialist in recruitment and the employer brand widely used in French Tech is putting in place a voluntary separation plan that covers 35 posts in France, in editorial, marketing, strategy, operations, and income teams. This is just over 10% of its workforce in France, out of a total of 350 employees worldwide. Income from activity in France (which was not disclosed) stagnated in 2024. In early 2024, the start-up claimed €40 million ARR. The company closed its office in the Czech Republic and is focusing on its U.S. expansion. | Les Echos

👎 French SMEs and mid-sized businesses saw record insolvencies in 2024, reflecting economic turbulence and tightening financial conditions. The trend sparks concerns but also opportunities for turnaround strategies. | Widoobiz

Let's Make A Deal!

🤝 TrainSweatEat Eyes Oly Be Acquisition. | Fitness startup TrainSweatEat is in talks to acquire Oly Be, a yoga-focused platform. This potential merger highlights growing consolidation in the health and wellness tech sector. | Les Echos

🤝 Hello Travel, a tourism pure player, has been scooped up by Altai Group. | This acquisition signals a push for digital innovation in the travel industry as demand surges for personalized, tech-enabled experiences. |Maddyness

French Tech 2024: AI Drives
Growth While Traditional
Sectors Adjust

The French tech ecosystem showed resilience in 2024, with startups raising €7.1 billion (+3% YoY) across 518 funding rounds, according to The State of the French Tech Ecosystem 2024 report from 20VC.

But 2024 was also a story of the Haves and the Have Nots. AI has emerged as the major growth engine of French tech (as is the case just about everywhere), accounting for 27% of all capital raised (+82% YoY). Without AI investments, the ecosystem would have actually declined by 11% year-over-year, highlighting how this technology is reshaping the landscape, according to the report authored by Alexandre Dewez, the former Eurazeo VC who moved to 20VC last year.

Seed Of The Week: Hyperline

When Lucas Bédout was working as VP of Engineering at French fintech Spendesk, he witnessed firsthand the headaches that come with managing complex billing systems for fast-growing companies. That experience led him to co-found Hyperline in 2022, along with former Spendesk colleague Clément Garbay, to tackle what they saw as a growing crisis in revenue management.

This week, the Paris-based startup announced it has raised $10 million in a Seed extension round led by Index Ventures, bringing its total funding to $14 million. The additional capital will fuel Hyperline's mission to help businesses navigate an increasingly complex landscape of subscription models, usage-based pricing, and AI-driven services.

Funding

📇 Company: Bioptimus
🔍 Description: Building a reference multi-level foundation model for biology to transform multiscale data into actionable representations for breakthrough discoveries.
💻 Website: https://www.bioptimus.com/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €37.27M
🏦 Investors: Bpifrance; Cathay Innovation; Emmanuel Cassimatis; Andera Partners; Sofinnova; Thomas Wolf; Boom Capital Ventures; Hitachi Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: David Cahané; Eric Durand; Jean-Philippe Vert; Rodolphe Jenatton; Felipe Llinares López; Zelda Mariet
🗞️ News: Sifted

📇 Company: Robeauté
🔍 Description: Developing a sub-millimetric microrobot for brain navigation, accessing complex areas with precision for data gathering.
💻 Website: http://www.robeaute.com
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €27.00M
🏦 Investors: Brainlab; Cherry Ventures; LocalGlobe; APEX Ventures; Think.Health; Kindred Ventures; Plural
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Bertrand Duplat; Joana Cartocci
🗞️ News: Maddyness

📇 Company: Maki
🔍 Description: AI-powered recruitment platform redefining KPIs for hiring by focusing on candidate skills and cultural fit.
💻 Website: https://www.makipeople.com/
📍 HQ City: New York City and Paris
🧗 Round: Series B
💰 Amount Raised: €26M
🏦 Investors: Blossom Capital, DST Global, Frst, GFC, and Picus Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Maxime Legardez, Paul-Louis Caylar, and Benjamin Chino
🗞️ News: FrenchWeb

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