A recap of the big news + funding in the French tech ecosystem this week. Subscribe to The French Tech Journal to access all the articles and archives.

Tech Talk

It's the tail end of the two-week holiday period in France, and so the news, she is quiet. But, a couple of tasty nuggets and, some nice funding rounds from companies who apparently didn't know they were supposed to be OOO...

🕺 French startups raised $1.6 billion in Q3 2024, across 147 rounds, according to Dealroom, down from $2.5 billion for the same quarter one year ago. Overall, VC funding for 2024 is ahead of 2019 and 2020 but behind 2023. 😓

🌋 Amid this funding slog, it seems that Station F remains the enchanted land of fundraising. The Good French Funding Fairy Roxanne Varza announced that companies in Station F raised "just under €100m" in October. That's down from €300m in September, but still on par with the 2022 monthly average. 🧚‍♀️

🥊 In the ongoing tug-of-war between the government and startup land, the government agreed to maintain the innovation tax credit (CII) but will cut it from 30% to 20%. However, it did embrace an amendment to its annual budget bill that will create a "young innovative impact companies" (JEII) status, according to Contexte. 👶

💸 Singular, a European venture capital firm backing European founders with global ambitions | Maddyness did a Q&A with Jeremy Uzan, cofounder & General Partner at Singular. | Check it here in all its moisty English goodness. 💂

Inside Filigran:
How Open Source + AI Are Reinventing Cyber Threat Intelligence

Just two years into its existence, French cybersecurity startup Filigran has completed a $35 million Series B funding round that it will use to accelerate the deployment of artificial intelligence across its products.

Co-founder and CEO Samuel Hassine says that Filigran's solutions address a pressing need in cybersecurity: the ability to utilize and operationalize vast amounts of threat intelligence data for real-time insights. The addition of AI-powered offerings is making Filigran's cyber threat intelligence (CTI) more proactive, scalable, and accessible, he said.

"The focus is really to embed more AI within our products," Hassine said.

Beyond Aero: French Sustainable Aviation Plans Take Flight

Beyond Aero just raised a new round of funding. So there's no better time to revisit our Deep Dive on this aeronautic startup that had just tested a hydrogen-electric system for low-carbon airplanes. With aerospace a major piece of the French economy, the nation is counting on such aviation innovation to secure the sector's future.

Now Beyond Aero is preparing for the next step: Building an entire electric plane.

"This is a really good moment for us as founders," said Eloa Guillotin, co-founder and CEO of Beyond Aero. "I truly believe in us as a company. It's a big milestone. But for the industry, it's just the beginning."

Funding

📇 Company: Beyond Aero
🔍 Description: World's first electric business aircraft using hydrogen propulsion to reach more than 800 nautical miles.
💻 Website: Beyond Aero
📍 HQ City: Cugnaux
🧗 Round: SERIES A
💰 Amount raised: €18.18 million
🏦 Investors: Bpifrance, Initialized Capital, Nathan Blecharczyk, Arash Ferdowsi, Giant Ventures, Teampact Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Valentin Chomel, Hugo Tarlé, Eloa Guillotin
🗞️ News: https://tech.eu/2024/10/28/beyond-aero-raises-44m-to-electrify-aviation/

📇 Company: NetZero
🔍 Description: A climate venture specializing in long-term carbon removal from the atmosphere.
💻 Website: https://www.maddyness.com/2024/10/29/netzero-leve-7-millions-deuros-pour-accelerer-sur-le-continent-africain/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: EARLY VC
💰 Amount raised: €7.0 million
🏦 Investors: INNOVX
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Aimé Njiakin, Axel Reinaud, Olivier Reinaud
🗞️ News: Read more

📇 Company: Hubcycle
🔍 Description: Offers a hub that converts fruit and vegetable waste into innovative raw materials for personal care and food industries.
💻 Website: Hubcycle
📍 HQ City: Avignon
🧗 Round: EARLY VC
💰 Amount raised: €15.0 million
🏦 Investors: Daphni, RAISE, Citizen Capital, ETF Partners, SWEN Capital Partners, Bleu Capital, Techmind VC
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Julien Lesage
🗞️ News: https://etfpartners.capital/articles/etf-partners-invests-in-hubcycle-a-groundbreaking-company-revolutionising-the-upcycling-of-food-by-products/

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