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👋 In this week's French Tech Wire:

☀️ In a special Video Interview at VivaTech 2025, Julie Huguet, Director of La French Tech Mission, explains the role and agenda of this pillar of the ecosystem: "What we want to do is help entrepreneurs have the best ecosystem to create, to scale, and to go abroad." Watch the video and read the transcript.

👀 Deep Dive: As many SaaS startups tighten their belts, Skeepers is a case study in how Private Equity can drive cross-border consolidation and pragmatic growth. Its bet on Europe’s slower adoption of user-generated content tools may not yet be proven, but it’s a strategy worth watching. CEO Marc Bonnamour takes us through the strategy.

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Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

🚀 Tech Talk 🚀

🔒🛡️🦄 Paris-based startup Zama, a pioneer in fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), has raised $57 million in a funding round led by Pantera Capital and Blockchange Ventures, pushing its valuation past the $1 billion mark. It claims to be the first company globally to reach unicorn status in the FHE field, a cutting-edge data privacy technology that allows encrypted data to be processed without ever being decrypted, with major implications for blockchain and post-quantum security. Founded in 2020 by Rand Hindi and Pascal Paillier, Zama is launching a new product, the Confidential Blockchain Protocol, enabling developers to build privacy-preserving apps on networks like Ethereum. With over 100 clients and a network of 5,000+ developers, Zama is targeting sensitive use cases like confidential payments and decentralized governance. The company plans to scale both its software and hardware capabilities to make FHE as common in blockchain as HTTPS is on the web. | Les Echos

🙌🏃 Hublo, a French HR tech company specializing in healthcare staffing solutions, has been acquired by Five Arrows, the private equity arm of Rothschild & Co. In addition to being a bit step for Hublo, this acquisition marks a significant milestone for one of its principal investors, Revaia, because it represents the first exit from its inaugural fund. Hublo's platform streamlines the management of temporary staffing needs in hospitals and clinics, enhancing operational efficiency in the healthcare sector. The partnership with Five Arrows is expected to accelerate Hublo's growth and digital transformation initiatives across Europe. As part of that next phase, Revaia may reinvest in Hublo. | LinkedIn, Clipperton

🎮🔍 Synfonium’s flagship ventures dropped some biggish news. You will recall that Synfonium is the entity created by OVH founder Octave Klaba and controls Shadow, a cloud-based PC and gaming service, and Qwant, the sovereignty-focused search engine he acquired. Last week, Shadow unveiled Neo, its next-gen cloud PC that delivers a massive performance boost, up to 150% more power for gaming and 200% for pro apps, while offering users full access to a high-end Windows experience from any device. Meanwhile, Qwant and Ecosia launched Staan, a fully European web search infrastructure that breaks free from Google and Microsoft dependencies, with a privacy-focused API already live for French-language queries. Both moves align with Synfonium’s mission to offer trusted, cloud-native European alternatives in search, computing, and collaboration. | Clubic

🧑‍🔬🗣️ At this year’s Leti Innovation Days World Summit in Grenoble, French research institute CEA-Leti unveiled a trio of major announcements showcasing Europe’s ambitious push to lead in secure, sustainable, and specialized semiconductor innovation. CEA-Leti and Soitec launched a strategic partnership to position FD-SOI technology as the new cybersecurity standard for integrated circuits, with applications spanning automotive, industrial IoT, and secure infrastructure. The collaboration aims to demonstrate FD-SOI’s natural resistance to physical attacks and establish it as a reference platform for tamper-proof, energy-efficient electronics. In parallel, CEA-Leti and Applied Materials expanded their joint lab to focus on creating next-generation specialty chips for AI data centers, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, heterogeneous integration, and full-flow device development. Meanwhile, the newly announced €55 million GENESIS project, coordinated by CEA-Leti, brings together 58 partners across Europe to pioneer greener semiconductor manufacturing practices. From PFAS-free chemistries to real-time emissions tracking and raw material reuse, GENESIS aims to transform chipmaking into a model of circular economy. Collectively, these initiatives underline Europe’s resolve to secure its semiconductor future across performance, sustainability, and trust.

🫦🚫 France’s government reignited the national debate over online adult content after instituting an age verification requirement for such sites. Leading sites such as Pornhub protested by going dark in France. Days later, the sites were restored after a court suspended a decision related to the age verification requirement. French ministers vowed to fight on to protect minors. In response to the controversy, French platform MYM (Meet Your Model – think French OnlyFans) defended its practices, noting it had required age verification for several years. MYM says it blocked 335,000 underage access attempts in 2024 alone. It also outlined a strict creator certification process, AI-powered content moderation, and a broader commitment to working with regulators and crafting industry standards for youth protection. MYM also reported that adult content represents just 15% of its posts but generates 50% of creators' revenue. The platform’s statement comes as the debate intensifies over how to balance online freedom with safeguarding minors in the digital age. | The Guardian, LinkedIn

🏀🤝 French crypto-security unicorn Ledger has signed a major multi-year sponsorship deal to become the official jersey partner of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, which just happens to be the team of French basketball sensation Victor Wembanyama. This marks a strategic play to boost Ledger’s visibility in the U.S., its largest market, by placing its logo front and center on Spurs jerseys throughout the NBA season, including the Summer League and fan merchandise. The Spurs have deep French ties, thanks to Hall of Fame French player Tony Parker. Beyond branding, Ledger will also collaborate on community impact projects in Paris, including the “Spurs Play Paris” court renovation program launched around the 2025 NBA Paris Games. The move comes as the company eyes the US for an IPO. | Maddyness, Sifted

🤑⚫ Fintech unicorn Spendesk announced it reached profitability for the first time, marking a major milestone for one of French Tech’s most prominent B2B startups. The company, which offers spend management tools to CFOs and finance teams, hit profitability in Q1 2025 and expects to generate over €100 million in annual recurring revenue by year-end. After several rounds of layoffs and a strategic pivot toward mid-market clients, Spendesk now serves 4,000 customers and is shifting from growth at all costs to sustainable expansion. CEO Rodolphe Ardant emphasized that profitability gives the company greater independence and resilience in a challenging funding environment. | Les Echos, Sifted

Spotlight Video Interview: Director Julie Huguet on La French Tech Mission

At VivaTech 2025, we spoke with Julie Huguet, director of La French Tech mission for an exclusive video interview. A former entrepreneur and regional French Tech leader, Huguet outlined the mission’s evolving focus, from ecosystem building to scaling and internationalization.

She highlighted programs like “Je Choisis La French Tech,” which bridges startups with large corporations to boost procurement, and emphasized a cultural shift as French corporates increasingly invest in and collaborate with startups. Huguet also discussed the 2025 cohort of the French Tech Next40/120, noting its shift toward recognizing startups based on maturity and revenue rather than just fundraising. Her overarching goal is to turn France’s 25,000 startups into global tech leaders with strong international visibility and resilience.

Skeepers: Building a European SaaS Powerhouse with American Capital

What does it take to build a SaaS leader in Europe today? 

For Skeepers, the self-proclaimed European leader of customer engagement solutions, the answer lies in timing, M&A precision, and a U.S. Private Equity investor betting big on Europe’s slower adoption of customer-centric tech.

Born from a buy-and-build strategy, the company was engineered by Providence Strategic Growth (PSG), a U.S. growth equity firm that acquired the Marseille-based startup Avis Vérifiés in 2019 as its cornerstone. 

Founded in 2012 by Olivier Mouillet, Laurent Abisset, and Tom Brami, Avis Vérifés was France’s leading customer review platform that enabled companies to publish authentic customer reviews to build trust amongst future and potential clients. 

Over the following years, PSG stitched together a portfolio of complementary European startups, appointing Avis Vérifiés’ founder Olivier Mouillet as CEO of the new entity: Skeepers. We caught up with Marc Bonnamour, ex-CEO of Talentsoft (Cegid), who joined Skeepers in 2021 with a clear mission: fuse a string of acquisitions into one unified player - and scale it into a European SaaS contender.

💸 Top Funding Deals 💸

📇 Company: Zama
🔍 Description: Enables web2 and web3 developers to use Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) without having to learn cryptography
💻 Website: zama.ai
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series B
💰 Amount Raised: €51.82M
🏦 Investors: Pantera Capital, Blockchange Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Rand Hindi, Pascal Paillier
🗞️ News: Tech.eu

📇 Company: Orus
🔍 Description: Simple, affordable, and tailored insurance coverage that allows business owners to focus on what matters
💻 Website: orus.eu
📍 HQ City: Saint-Mandé
🧗 Round: Series B
💰 Amount Raised: €25M
🏦 Investors: Notion Capital, Redstone, Singular
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Samuel Rossille, Tom Le Bras, Côme Dartiguenave
🗞️ News: Maddyness

📇 Company: Ever Dye
🔍 Description: Reshaping the fashion industry with efficient dyeing processes and sustainable colors
💻 Website: everdye.fr
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €15M
🏦 Investors: Daphni, European Innovation Council, Ring Capital, Maki.vc, Asterion Ventures, Crédit Mutuel Innovation, 212 NexT
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Ilan Palacci, Amira Erokh
🗞️ News: Les Echos

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