Edito

The traditional summer vacation period in France lasts about two months, but sometimes it feels like a year. Now that everyone is tan, rested, and ready, it is time to return to reality and get back to work, politics, school, or whatever it is that one does. In other words, it's the rentrée, the holiest of French holidays, which is observed with solemn reverence each year.

Alas, the rentrée of 2025 does not bring joyous tidings. The government is wobbling under the weight of spiraling public debt, bitter partisan fights, and unpopular austerity measures. President Emmanuel Macron’s once-grand vision of “Startup Nation” is colliding head-on with the cold math of deficits and a national assembly too fragmented to agree on fixes.

At the heart of the crisis lies the budget. France’s debt has swollen to more than 110% of GDP. This has made markets jittery. Credit agencies are circling like hawks.

The latest finance bill was stuffed with spending cuts, and thus sparked predictable outrage not only from the opposition but also from Macron’s own allies. Without a clear majority in parliament, every vote is a cliffhanger. Rumors of a government collapse, snap elections, or even a technocratic caretaker cabinet swirl daily. Business leaders are sounding alarms: political gridlock risks pushing the economy into paralysis.

For France’s entrepreneurs, this uncertainty is poison. Startups thrive on predictability, knowing that funding incentives, tax breaks, and public research budgets will still be there six months from now. Now, they’re not so sure. Cuts to innovation programs, research credits, and digital subsidies are already on the table.

The funding climate was already icy. Investment into French tech plunged 35% in the first half of 2025 compared to last year, with even early-stage rounds drying up. The political storm only adds another layer of hesitation. Clients, especially corporates, are stalling deals, waiting to see if new taxes or regulations will land. In sectors like greentech and mobility, government support is often the difference between scaling or stalling.

The French Tech ecosystem, which once basked in Macron’s loving embrace, is recalibrating. Founders whisper about “PME chic,” trading the dream of blitz-scaling for the humbler, steadier goal of becoming a profitable small-to-medium enterprise.

AI remains the shiny exception: French startups still hope to leverage talent, sovereign cloud projects, and partnerships with global giants. But even here, the storm clouds loom. Access to compute and capital is dominated by the U.S. and China, and French founders fret that austerity will weaken Europe’s ability to compete in the AI arms race.

If the government falls, a caretaker administration might freeze major economic initiatives for months, leaving entrepreneurs in limbo. If one is looking for a startup silver lining, perhaps the political storm will force a new phase of leaner, tougher, more resilient startups that no longer count on the state to pave their way.

The real test is whether France’s founders can turn political chaos into entrepreneurial clarity.

Chris

Inside this week's edition:

👀 Deep Dive: bYoRNA is developing a patented fermentation process that could cut RNA production costs by 100x, improve safety, and enable global access to next-generation vaccines and therapies. This breakthrough comes as the U.S. is rejecting mRNA, a move that complicates the startup's business strategy. We talk to CEO Pascal Viguié about how the company is navigating the technology and the politics.

Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

Tech Talk

Welcome to the extended Summer Catch-Up Edition of Tech Talk...

🧬😨 French biotech unicorn Owkin is facing turbulence as it shifts its business model toward AI agents, announcing plans to cut around 40–50 roles out of its 325-strong workforce. The move follows the launch of Owkin K, its agentic AI “copilot” for medical researchers, which replaces the company’s traditional long-term pharma contracts. Insiders describe a culture of repeated reorganisations, abrupt announcements, and what some call “huge managerial issues,” though others defend the startup as simply dynamic in a competitive industry, according to Sifted.

Alongside the layoffs, Owkin is reportedly considering spinning out its diagnostics division as part of a broader cost-cutting and simplification drive. Critics accuse leadership of poor communication and even using performance reviews as a pretext for departures, while CEO Thomas Clozel admits hiring may have been too aggressive after fundraising and concedes the company hasn’t been “perfect” on HR. Despite internal unrest, Owkin’s revenues nearly doubled last year to $86m and losses shrank significantly, leaving the startup with $200m in the bank. The controversy underscores the tension between Owkin’s bold bet on AGI for biology and the human toll of constant restructurings. | Maddyness, Sifted

😠 French streamer Raphaël Graven—known online as Jean Pormanove—tragically died live during a marathon 298‑hour broadcast on Australia-based streaming service Kick, after enduring 12 days of physical and psychological abuse streamed to viewers. The livestream, rife with humiliation and violence, triggered national outrage and a judicial inquiry into whether Kick failed in its duty to protect vulnerable creators.

Digital Affairs Minister Clara Chappaz condemned the spectacle as “absolutely horrific,” referring the case to regulators and launching legal action under France’s digital‑content laws for negligence. Prosecutors are investigating whether Kick knowingly broadcast “deliberate attacks on personal integrity” and violated the EU Digital Services Act.

Kick responded by pledging to review its French‑language content, while accusing French authorities of politicizing the tragedy. The autopsy revealed no signs of trauma or third‑party interference, pointing instead toward medical or toxicological causes. | AP News, SoapCentral, The Guardian, The New York Times, Politico

🎮 ⬇️ The once‑heralded metaverse pioneer The Sandbox is now weathering a dramatic storm: over half of its global workforce—more than 250 people—have been laid off, and its French founders, Sébastien Borget and Arthur Madrid, have been pushed aside from day‑to‑day leadership. The ownership baton has been passed to Animoca Brands, whose CEO Robby Yung now helms the company, signaling a sharp managerial and strategic reset.

The business numbers tell a sobering tale: The Sandbox’s native token, SAND, plummeted by roughly 90–95%, dragging its market cap from a lofty $8 billion to just a few hundred million, while its corporate valuation shrank from $4 billion in 2022 to about $1 billion. Meanwhile, actual user engagement never met the hype: real daily users are now just in the hundreds, and some may well be bots.

Rather than doubling down on virtual land and immersive worlds, The Sandbox is pivoting toward the viral side of Web3: the company plans to launch a memecoin launchpad on the Coinbase Base network, eyeing quick-hit, community-driven crypto models. This marks a stark departure from its original vision—and one that could either reignite interest or risk alienating its legacy community marketplace. | Maddyness, Les Echos

🛸 ↗️ Paris-based defense tech startup Harmattan AI is rapidly emerging as “Europe’s Anduril,” boldly seeking $200 million in early-stage funding following an earlier $30 million raise from FirstMark and Atlantic Labs. Founded in April 2024, the company has already scored a multi-million-dollar contract with a NATO government and a separate deal with France’s defense procurement agency (DGA) to deliver 1,000 AI-enabled micro-drones for training and operational readiness.

Harmattan is developing three drone types: training, surveillance, and weapon-interceptor models. It also plans an ambitious production ramp-up: 10,000 units per month from a new factory in France in early 2026, with expansion into Germany and the U.S. shortly after. Among its innovations is the GOBI, a sleek, under‑2‑kg AI-powered interceptor capable of neutralizing hostile drones in under a minute via kinetic collision, ditching warheads for agility and cost efficiency. This accelerated push reflects Europe’s surging interest in agile, AI-driven defense capabilities amid growing geopolitical tensions. | Sifted, Bloomberg

🕵️‍♂️🌬️ Wind Ventures, traditionally focused on climate deep tech, is now venturing into the high-stakes realm of defense innovation by launching a new vehicle aimed at funding startups with dual-use (civilian and military) technologies. This adds momentum to a broader European push toward tech sovereignty, as the EU and institutions like the European Investment Fund pour tens of millions into defense-focused VC funds, spotlighting AI, cybersecurity, and space systems. France is also breaking new ground by opening defense investment to private equity and venture capital, evidenced by vehicles like the public-private Fonds Innovation Défense—a €200 million evergreen fund aimed at boosting strategic startups alongside the state’s backing. In short, the French venture capital landscape is no longer just planting trees—it’s building a battleground for chips, drones, and secure infrastructures. | Les Echos

💸 Median Technologies successfully completed a €23.9 million capital increase on August 1, 2025, attracting both institutional and retail investors at a subscription price of €1.66 per share-warrant unit (ABSA), thereby extending its cash runway through Q4 2026 and beyond. The fundraising, backed by both historic and new global investors, will fuel the U.S. launch of its AI-powered eyonis® LCS medical software and accelerate development of additional oncology diagnostic tools. | Euronext, Morningstar

🛑 France has slammed the brakes on bitcoin miner MARA’s planned $168 million acquisition of EDF’s Exaion, citing concerns about technological sovereignty, even though EDF maintains that Exaion doesn’t manage critical infrastructure. The finance ministry clarified that it requested EDF “reopen” and reconsider the deal, signaling the process is merely suspended, not dead.

This move underscores a broader trend: while France eagerly courts tech investment, it remains hypervigilant about ceding control of emerging digital assets, especially in sectors tied to energy, AI, or high-performance computing. MARA’s bid now faces uncertainty, trapped in the crosshairs of national security concerns and state-level caution. | Bloomberglaw

💏 French dating app Fruitz has staged an unlikely comeback: just months after Bumble announced plans to shut it down, the startup’s three original founders swooped in to buy it back from the U.S. group. The deal, finalized in July, returns Fruitz—known for its playful fruit-based matchmaking—to French hands, with the founders pledging to preserve its quirky concept while charting fresh innovations for its 5-country user base. | Maddyness

🚧 French construction‑recruitment startup asap.work has acquired UK‑based HRtech JUST CONSTRUCTION, whose U.S. business accounts for 95% of its operations, granting asap.work a rapid beachhead in markets like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. The move paves the way for a new Austin, Texas office (with over 10 hires planned by end‑2025), as asap.work brings its tech‑enabled, people‑centric hiring model to address the booming American construction sector. | TechEU

As U.S. Slashes $500M in mRNA Funding, Bordeaux Biotech bYoRNA Raises €1.5M to Reinvent RNA Production

Messenger RNA (mRNA) has dominated the global biotech conversation since the COVID-19 pandemic, when companies like BioNTech and Moderna used the emerging technology to rapidly develop vaccines.

But the field now faces a moment of adversity because in early August, the U.S. government cut $500 million in funding for mRNA research, effectively terminating 22 mRNA vaccine research projects being funded by the U.S. Center for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The decision to gut mRNA funding was made by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, a leading vaccine skeptic who was appointed to the post earlier this year by President Trump.

In this complex climate, Bordeaux-based bYoRNA is looking to make a breakthrough with a radically different approach to using mRNA, one that it believes could make mRNA therapies cheaper, safer, and more scalable. The company announced a €1.5 million pre-seed round in July. The round was led by Polytechnique Ventures, with participation from IRDI Capital Investissement and sector-specialized business angels.

CEO Pascal Viguié described his motivation in simple terms: “The day one of our RNAs saves a child’s life, I will have reached my goal. This is about making treatments accessible to everyone, not just in Europe or the U.S., but also in emerging countries.”

💸 Top Funding Deals 💸

📇 Company: Koolboks
🔍 Description: Provides solar-powered freezers and refrigeration solutions designed to offer reliable, off-grid cold storage for households and businesses
💻 Website: koolboks.com
📍 HQ City: Rosny-sous-Bois
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €8.00M
🏦 Investors: KawiSafi Ventures, All On, Aruwa Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Ayoola Dominic, Deborah Gael
🗞️ News: Koolboks will use the $11 million Series A financing—comprising equity, debt, and grant funding—to scale its solar‑powered, IoT‑enabled refrigeration systems across Africa and other emerging markets, while strengthening local manufacturing and expanding its team. These off‑grid, ice‑battery-powered units enable remote cooling for up to four days and support a pay‑as‑you‑go business model, empowering small businesses and clinics in underserved communities with affordable, reliable, and clean refrigeration. | Silicon Africa

📇 Company: ArcaScience
🔍 Description: Double AI tool leveraging massive biomedical data, enriching it, and associating it with a simple querying and in-depth targeting & extraction tool
💻 Website: arcascience.ai
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €6.00M
🏦 Investors: Bpifrance, Pleiade Venture, Plug and Play, Akka Technologies, The Moon Venture
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Romain Clement, Jean-François Arbona
🗞️ News: ArcaScience will use the capital to expand its AI-powered benefit-risk evaluation platform into the U.S. and U.K., while also launching its first patient-facing solution, initially focused on pediatric brain cancer and dermatological conditions, and hiring a Chief Medical Officer to drive clinical impact. | SiliconAngle

📇 Company: Weekera
🔍 Description: Automated payroll and HR software for accountants
💻 Website: weekera.fr
📍 HQ City: Nîmes
🧗 Round: Growth Equity VC
💰 Amount Raised: €6M
🏦 Investors: Hg Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: David Thirache, Remy Longueville, Stéphane Lecaillon
🗞️ News: Weekera will leverage the minority investment from Hg Capital to accelerate development of its SaaS payroll and HR platform—enhancing functionality, scaling its infrastructure, and bolstering customer support operations to meet growing demand from accounting firms. Additionally, the funding supports Weekera’s expansion plan, enabling it to open its solution to non‑partner accounting firms by the end of 2025 and thereby extend its commercial reach across the sector. | FrenchWeb

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