👋 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: French engineer Yves Benchimol transformed his sedentary lifestyle frustrations into WeWard, a mobile app that rewards 20 million global users for walking through a clever combination of cash incentives, social competition, and gamification. He shares lessons from building a global consumer health tech app and reveals how the profitable company secured tennis legend Venus Williams as both an investor and ambassador.

🌱 Seed Of The Week: Edumapper raised €5M just days after launching its website. Having a core of repeat founders helped make the case. Co-founders Sébastien de Lafond and Valentine Mandon explain what they’re building and how they managed to secure such a strong funding round so quickly.

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Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

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🤔 Edito 🤔

The annual Silicon Valley Index published by Joint Venture Silicon Valley was always essential reading when I was a columnist at The Mercury News.

The 2025 Index is here and once again it is packed with data that illuminates so much about life in the Valley. In the current national and international context, I want to highlight one key section of this year's report: Immigration.

For decades, immigration has been one of the pillars of the Valley's innovation economy. Just ask Vish Mishra or Vivek Wadhwa how essential the Indian community in particular has been to building a culture that can rapidly evolve to take the lead again and again as new platforms and technologies emerge.

The 2025 Index reminds us that this is more true than ever:

👉 41% of Silicon Valley’s total population is foreign-born, the highest share on record.

👉 48% of employed residents are foreign-born.

👉 66% of tech workers are foreign-born​.

👉 70% of Silicon Valley’s tech talent (those with a bachelor's degree or higher in technical occupations) are foreign-born.

👉 The largest shares come from India (23%) and China (18%).

👉 73% of female tech workers in Silicon Valley are foreign-born​.

👉 52% of foreign-born residents in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties are naturalized citizens.

👉 30% are lawful permanent residents.

Any region seeking to capture some of that Silicon Valley "magic" should start with its immigration policies. The U.S., unfortunately, has adopted a radical anti-immigration and anti-innovation agenda that is going to make it far less attractive to foreign talent.

Any country that can welcome these people into its universities and workforce will flourish.

Chris O'Brien

🚀 Tech Talk 🚀

🧑‍🔬 The French Deep Tech ecosystem continued to grow in 2024 with 385 new startups created, bringing the total to 2,589, according to Bpifrance's annual Deep Tech report. However, funding fell 31% to €2.8 billion, reflecting a slowdown in large fundraising rounds, with only six deals surpassing €100M compared to ten in 2023. AI startups dominated the funding landscape, capturing 40% of investments, including major rounds from Mistral AI (€468M) and Poolside (€454M). While Île-de-France absorbed two-thirds of investments, industrial and Greentech startups faced more challenges in securing capital. The number of exits hit a record 24, a positive signal for market maturity, but most acquisitions were by European (75%) and French (58%) companies, limiting global expansion. Despite progress, the sector still must overcome funding concentration, a tough international market, and the challenge of scaling startups into global industry leaders. | Le Figaro

🤑 Eurazeo has successfully closed its Eurazeo Capital V fund at €3 billion, surpassing its target, to support mid-large buyouts in tech-enabled business services, financial services, and healthcare across Europe and North America. Additionally, the firm secured €300 million in the first close of its Eurazeo Planetary Boundaries Fund, aiming for a total of €750 million, to invest in companies addressing environmental challenges. The fund's inaugural investment is a majority stake in Bioline AgroSciences, a provider of biological pest control solutions. | Reuters

⚕️🥼 Medtech company Gleamer has acquired two startups, Pixyl and Caerus Medical, to enhance its AI-driven medical imaging capabilities. Pixyl, based in Grenoble, specializes in brain MRI analysis, aiding in the early detection of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Caerus Medical, from Paris, focuses on lumbar spine MRI interpretation, improving the diagnosis of lower back pain through AI. These acquisitions expand Gleamer's portfolio to encompass all major imaging modalities—X-ray, mammography, CT, and now MRI—positioning it as a comprehensive AI solution provider in radiology. With these additions, Gleamer's workforce grows to over 100 employees across seven countries, aiming to streamline radiology workflows and enhance diagnostic accuracy. | TechCrunch, L'Usine Digitale, Gleamer

⚛️ French quantum computing startup Pasqal has partnered with Microsoft to integrate its quantum computer into the Azure Quantum cloud platform. This collaboration allows Azure Quantum users to access Pasqal's neutral-atom-based quantum processors, enabling them to tackle complex problems across various fields, from logistics to molecular chemistry. This move signifies a significant step in making quantum computing more accessible to a broader range of users. | Les Echos, Maddyness

💸 Hexa Scale, a division of startup studio Hexa, has made its first majority investment by injecting €5 million into Veevart, a U.S.-based SaaS platform that streamlines museum operations, including ticketing, collections management, and CRM. Founded in 2013 and serving over 150 U.S. museums, Veevart aims to expand its reach among the approximately 5,000 American museums with annual budgets exceeding $1 million. Hexa Scale's strategy involves not only financial investment but also hands-on operational support over 12 to 18 months, focusing on enhancing product development, marketing, recruitment, and international expansion into markets like Europe and Canada. This approach targets profitable startups that have outgrown traditional venture capital but are not yet suitable for private equity, aiming to unlock their full growth potential. "This positioning allows us to access deals that are not on the radar of traditional funds, and above all, to have a concrete impact on the vision and trajectory of companies," Hexa co-founder Thibaud Elziere wrote on LinkedIn. "With Veevart, we are opening up a new dimension for Hexa: in addition to the Build, we are structuring a platform that supports entrepreneurs in different forms, with a unique approach combining financial and human capital. | LinkedIn, La Tribune, FrenchWeb

🔒 French cybersecurity startup Mantra has been acquired by Cyber Guru, a leading European player specializing in AI-powered cybersecurity training. This marks OneRagtime’s 9th exit, including its 3rd in just six months. Other investors included Axeleo and Bpifrance. | Maddyness, L'Usine Digitale

⚖️ French publishers and authors have filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging unauthorized use of their copyrighted works to train its AI systems. The National Publishing Union (SNE), the National Union of Authors and Composers (SNAC), and the Society of Men of Letters (SGDL) claim that Meta has engaged in "monumental looting" by using protected content without permission. This legal action, filed in a Paris court, is the first of its kind in France but aligns with similar lawsuits in the United States against tech companies over AI training practices. | Reuters

📈 E-commerce SaaS provider Mirakl reported a 15% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2024, reaching $177 million. The company's flagship product, Mirakl Platform, achieved profitability throughout the year. To further accelerate growth, Mirakl plans to double its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) in 2025, matching the combined AI expenditure of the previous three years. This strategic focus aims to enhance services like Mirakl Ads and Mirakl Connect, positioning the company to surpass $200 million in ARR by the end of 2025. | Les Echos, Maddyness

How WeWard Convinced Venus Williams To Put Her Money Where Your Feet Are

In early 2019, French engineer Yves Benchimol found himself living what had become a typical modern lifestyle: working from a computer, ordering food delivery, taking Ubers, and not moving much.

Looking at his sedentary routine, Benchimol had a realization that would lead to the creation of WeWard, a free mobile app that rewards users for walking.

"It was based on my life," Benchimol said. "Wo I said, 'Okay, why not like trying to use technology to not only simplify our life but maybe try to make people move a bit more?'"

Today, the company has 20 million users worldwide, has paid out €20 million in rewards to users, and contributed €1 million to charities. That momentum and mission led to WeWard's biggest coup: Securing tennis legend Venus Williams as both an investor and ambassador.

Seed Of The Week: Edumapper

French startup funding may have plunged nearly 50% in February, but that didn’t stop Edumapper from closing a €5 million Seed round just a few days after launching its website. Its platform – which helps students find and apply to the right higher education programs - attracted top-tier VC investors without even being an AI-powered startup. (At least, not yet.)

So, how did they pull this off?

It might have something to do with the pedigree of its founders, three of whom previously built, scaled, and sold Meilleursagents, the real estate valuation platform. The trio of repeat entrepreneurs - Sébastien de Lafond, Julien Cheyssiel, and Jordan Sanial have been joined in their latest venture by Valentine Mandon.

In a funding climate where Seed rounds of this caliber are relatively scarce, I caught up with Edumapper co-founders Mandon and de Lafond to find out what they’re building - and how they managed to secure such a strong raise so early on.

💸 Top Funding Deals 💸

📇 Company: OpusMajor
🔍 Description: Game studio dedicated to creating games and entertainment where music unites people.
💻 Website: http://opusmajor.io
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €9.09M
🏦 Investors: Alven; Griffin Gaming Partners
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Jean-Nicolas Vernin; Pierre-Armand Nicq
🗞️ News: VentureBeat

📇 Company: Fizimed
🔍 Description: Developed Emy Trainer, a connected probe that allows women to strengthen their perineum at home, via a fun mobile application.
💻 Website:
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €4M
🏦 Investors: Fonds Patient Autonome (Bpifrance), UNIQA, UI Investissement
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Emeline Hahn, Julien Guay
🗞️ News: FrenchWeb, LinkedIn

📇 Company: DashBook
🔍 Description: SaaS and AI tools help you publish your work and reach your readers in just a few clicks.
💻 Website: https://www.dashbook.fr/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €3M
🏦 Investors: Bpifrance; Seventure Partners
👨💼👩💼 Founders: David Botvinik

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