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

In this week's French Tech Wire,

👀 Deep Dive: Le Fourgon just raised more cash to scale its efforts to replace single-use plastics with glass. Co-founder and CEO Charles Christory breaks down the strategy.

☀️ Spotlight Interview: Health tech exec Laurent Van Lerberghe co-founded new VC firm Keles with David Buller to help European Digital Health startups scale. Van Lerberghe explains why the timing is right to accelerate this sector – and why Europe needs these startups to succeed.

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

Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

Edito

France at long last has a 2025 budget. In the French tech ecosystem, the final details were greeted with a heavy sigh, punctuated with relief and a universal cry of, "Well, that could have been worse." The headline figure being bandied about was €3bn in cuts to innovation programs.

After months of riding the political rollercoaster that kept entrepreneurs on the edge of their seats, some innovation-friendly perks survived the axe while others weren’t so lucky. Let’s break down who’s celebrating, who’s fuming, and what this means for the country’s startup scene.

Still in the Game: The CIR (Phew!)

If you’re running a startup, you probably have a soft spot for the Research Tax Credit (CIR)—and the good news is it’s still here! The CIR lets companies deduct 30% of their R&D expenses from taxes, making France a relatively friendly place for deep-tech and research-heavy startups. Crisis averted—for now.

Programs That Took a Hit

🚨 Innovation Tax Credit (CII): Trimmed Down
The CII, which helps smaller companies cover prototype development costs, got a haircut—its tax break rate is dropping from 30% to 20%. Not ideal, but hey, at least it wasn’t scrapped entirely. Considering that almost half of startups rely on this, it’s still a significant blow.

💰 France 2030: €2 Billion Gone
This ambitious investment plan, which funds innovation in climate tech, health, and industrial transformation, just lost €2 billion in funding. To put that in context, France 2030 is a €54bn innovation plan launched in 2021. That money is doled out in chunks over the years, including €7.3bn in 2024. That figure drops to €5.2bn for 2025. It won’t kill the initiative, but some projects might face delays or downsizing.

🎓 Young PhD Hiring Perks: Adieu
Startups used to get a sweet deal when hiring fresh PhD grads, doubling their salary base for tax deductions under CIR. However, the government decided to cut this perk, potentially making it less attractive for startups to bring in fresh academic talent. So, if you were planning to fill your team with brilliant young researchers, you might need to rethink the budget.

The Big Question Mark: JEI Status

The Young Innovative Company (JEI) status, which offers tax and social contribution breaks for R&D-intensive startups, is hanging in the balance. The government hasn’t made a final call yet, but entrepreneurs are crossing their fingers. This status has been a lifeline for early-stage companies juggling growth, hiring, and R&D, so losing it would sting.

So, What’s the Verdict?

Mixed, at best. On one hand, France didn’t totally turn its back on innovation—the CIR is safe, and the CII wasn’t completely axed. On the other hand, cuts to key funding sources and hiring incentives make life harder for startups, especially those banking on deep-tech and long-term R&D.

French entrepreneurs now face a tighter belt, fewer government cushions, and more uncertainty about future funding. Will this slow down the country’s ambition to be Europe’s startup powerhouse? That depends on how resilient and resourceful the ecosystem proves to be. But one thing’s for sure: 2025 is shaping up to be a year of adaptation, strategy, and perhaps, a few heated debates at Bercy.

Chris O'Brien

🚀 Tech Talk 🚀

📈 The French Tech Finance Partners (FTFP) just dropped a report spotlighting the hurdles and golden opportunities for tech companies eyeing the IPO runway in France and Europe. Despite having about 30 French and 140 European unicorns primed for the stock market, many are tempted to hop across the pond to the U.S. for their big debut. The FTFP's report dishes out 10 strategic recommendations to jazz up the European IPO scene, aiming to keep our homegrown tech stars from eloping to Wall Street. By tackling these challenges head-on, the goal is to make Europe the go-to stage for tech IPOs, ensuring the innovation ecosystem thrives right here. | Maddyness

🤑 Fun with Funds: ISAI announced the final closing of a €300 million fund, aiming to back profitable tech SMEs and mid-sized companies. Emblem is making waves by closing an €80 million fund to fuel pre-seed and seed-stage startups, offering investments between €500,000 and €3 million. And we'll give a nod to Berlin-based Cherry Ventures – which is active in France – has secured a whopping $500 million for its fifth early-stage fund, setting its sights on nurturing Europe's next big innovators.

🏦 Making Bank: Amid talks of bankruptcies, funding winters, and budget cuts, there are still plenty of French startups chugging ahead. Ornikar, the online driving school, has zoomed past the €100 million revenue mark for 2024, signaling a significant shift in the driver's education and insurance market. Deel, the global HR platform based in the US but with a French pedigree, continues its meteoric rise, boasting substantial growth to $800M in annual revenue, and expanding its suite through strategic acquisitions, including its fifth this year. Meanwhile, Dataiku, the French AI powerhouse based in NYC, has surpassed $300 million in revenue, cementing its position as a leader in the data science and machine learning arena. And last but not least, social video leader Yubo revealed that it is now profitable after revenue grew last year by 80% to €60M.

🌍 In 2024, African tech startups secured $3.2 billion across 534 deals, reflecting a modest 7% dip in funding and a 2% decrease in deal count compared to 2023, indicating a stabilization after the previous year's significant downturn, according to Partech's 2024 Africa Tech Venture Capital Report. Fintech remained a powerhouse, attracting 60% of total equity funding, bolstered by four megadeals exceeding $100 million. Notably, Nigeria reclaimed its leading position with $520 million in equity funding, while Egypt experienced a 48% surge in deal activity. Despite challenges like tightened Series A and B funding and extended fundraising timelines, increased investor participation, especially from local backers, signals growing confidence in Africa's tech ecosystem. Looking ahead, a pipeline of startups at Seed and Series A stages appears poised for growth, though navigating rising capital costs and macroeconomic volatility remains crucial. | Partech

⚖️ French authorities have launched a judicial investigation into Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, over allegations of money laundering, tax fraud, and other charges between 2019 and 2024. The probe, led by the economic and financial crime section of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office (JUNALCO), includes suspicions of laundering funds linked to drug trafficking. This development follows user complaints about financial losses due to alleged misinformation and unapproved operations by Binance. In response, Binance has denied the allegations and stated its intent to vigorously contest any charges. This investigation adds to Binance's growing legal challenges, including a recent $4.3 billion penalty in the U.S. for violating anti-money laundering laws. | Reuters

Announcements

📣 AGREEN LAB'O Village by CA launches its call for applications for GreenTech start-ups. | Maddyness | Apply

📣 Microsoft France launches call for applications for the second edition of Microsoft GenAI Studio | Apply

📣 STATION F launches a 6-month program with UM6P, strengthening ties between Europe and Africa | Details | Apply

Deep Dive:
Le Fourgon Is Reinventing The Milkman To Crush Single-Use Plastics

Three and a half years ago, seasoned entrepreneur Charles Christory joined forces with Stéphane Dessein and Maxime Tharin to tackle one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time: waste. After successfully selling his digital marketing startup Adictiz to Webedia, Christory felt a personal responsibility to act for the planet. 

His solution? Bringing back a forgotten yet powerful concept—the deposit system (la consigne) for groceries. Enter Le Fourgon, a delivery service offering groceries in reusable glass containers designed to be cleaned and reused dozens of times. The company is reinventing the traditional milkman model for the 21st century, thereby tackling the massive issue of single-use packaging waste.

Spotlight Interview:
Keles' Laurent Van Lerberghe On Digital Health Investing

When Laurent Van Lerberghe looks at Europe's digital health landscape, he sees both a crisis and an opportunity. After 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry, including roles as Sanofi's Chief Strategy Officer and leadership positions at Abbott across multiple continents, Van Lerberghe believes Europe has reached a critical crossroads in healthcare innovation.

"We're at a unique moment," said Van Lerberghe, speaking from his office in Paris. "We have a growing number of scale-up companies ready for growth-stage investment, but very few sources of funding large enough to boost these companies to the next level."

This observation led Van Lerberghe to co-found Keles, a new venture capital firm focused on European digital health investments, alongside David Buller, founding partner of the UK's Ascension Life Fund. The firm, which launched in October 2024, is targeting €250 million for its debut fund and plans to make investments ranging from €8 million to €30 million in growth-stage companies.

Funding

📇 Company: Riot
🔍 Description: A cybersecurity software platform that helps businesses assess and improve employee cyber posture to protect against AI-driven threats.
💻 Website: https://tryriot.com
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series B
💰 Amount Raised: €28.9M
🏦 Investors: Left Lane Capital; Y Combinator; Base10; FundersClub
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Benjamin Netter; Louis Cibot
🗞️ News: EU Startups

📇 Company: Stockly
🔍 Description: The Global Inventory for Retail, helping retailers access and optimize stock availability.
💻 Website: https://www.stockly.ai/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Early VC
💰 Amount Raised: €26M
🏦 Investors: Eurazeo; 83North; Square Capital; Daphni; Anyma Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Eliott Jabès; Oscąr Wąlter
🗞️ News: Usine Digtale

📇 Company: ThePackengers
🔍 Description: A packing and shipping solution available with just one click.
💻 Website: https://thepackengers.com
📍 HQ City: Roissy-en-France
🧗 Round: Early VC
💰 Amount Raised: €14M
🏦 Investors: Weber Investissement; Reflexion Capital; Transolution
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Thierry Salah
🗞️ News: Maddyness

📇 Company: Wildsense
🔍 Description: A new carbon standard designed to measure and verify impacts on climate, biodiversity, and livelihoods.
💻 Website: https://ers.org/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €5M
🏦 Investors: LocalGlobe; noa; AENU
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Thibault Sorret
🗞️ News: Carbon Herald

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