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👋 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: Poppins has just raised €5 million to scale its science-backed app, helping children with dyslexia through music and gaming. Already used by 4,000+ families in France, the startup has set its sights on the U.S. to bring accessible, playful therapy to more kids. Co-Founder François Vonthron explains the science and strategy.

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Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

🚀 Tech Talk 🚀

🗣️🥊 In an unusually blunt and feisty op-ed published on LinkedIn, Bpifrance CEO Nicolas Dufourcq lashed out at the US reaction to fines imposed by the EU on Meta and Google, while at the same time lamenting that Europe had allowed itself to be "entirely colonized by America in the digital field."

On April 23, 2025, the European Commission fined Apple €500 million and Meta €200 million for violating the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), marking the first enforcement actions under this legislation. Apple was penalized for restricting app developers from directing users to alternative purchasing options outside its App Store, while Meta faced sanctions for its "consent or pay" model on Facebook and Instagram, which required users to either accept personalized ads or pay for an ad-free experience. Both companies plan to appeal the decisions, arguing that the EU's actions unfairly target American firms and impose disproportionate burdens.

Even though both companies face antitrust actions in their own country, a Trump official said it was unacceptable that other territories penalize American companies: “This novel form of economic extortion will not be tolerated by the United States,” said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told The New York Times. “Extraterritorial regulations that specifically target and undermine American companies, stifle innovation, and enable censorship will be recognized as barriers to trade and a direct threat to free civil society.”

Dufourcq chafed at the response, noting that Europe is trapped between the US and China: "We are trampled on on both sides. The digital colonist explains to us that we probably hadn't understood that we were not free to decide for ourselves, and that the major DMA and DSA laws passed by our Parliament are illegal because they are contrary to American laws...we have only ourselves to blame."

The remedy will be painful, Dufourcq wrote, but essential in the long run: "What must start right now in Europe is a process of re-establishing our bargaining power, which will take decades, and which will not be free of spasms and even violence. The Americans and the Chinese will not let this happen, because they consider that we belong to them, each in their category. It will take courageous leaders and states. European capitals will have to invest in Europe. European states must stop beating each other up on all these issues, and the resistance must be united. Finally, we will need a supportive population, ready to make sacrifices to restore our public finances, rebuild Europe's sovereignty, and prevent us from being run over. Otherwise, we will be humiliated and ruined." | LinkedIn

In happier news...

🦄 💸 Two of France's more notable unicorns opened their ledgers this week for a rare look into their financial performance: Swile & Doctolib. Though neither is profitable, both made the case that their underlying financial performance has them on track to break even this year.

👨‍⚕️🩺 👩‍⚕️ Let's start by looking at Doctolib, the medical booking platform. The company filed its annual reports publicly for 2021-2023, and provided a summary of its 2024 financials in an exclusive interview with Les Echos and on LinkedIn. Doctolib CFO Pierre Vergnes said the company wanted to be more transparent to dispel some of the "myths" about its business, which has de facto become part of the nation's health care system.

The basics:

• €348 million ARR in 2024 (+22.5% year-on-year)
• Average annual growth has been 40% over the past five years.
• Adjusted EBITDA was -€53.8 million, compared to -€87.1 million a year earlier.

The company has two main businesses. Its free app allows the public to book medical appointments and send medical documents. Doctolib has 80 million users in Europe. But the company generates 99% of its revenue through sales of its platform to healthcare professionals. Features include digital management, secretarial services, patient development, collaboration between caregivers, medical billing, and continuous patient monitoring.

Doctolib only operates in three countries – France, Germany (17% of revenue), Italy (2.6%)– but plans to expand into others soon. Writing on LinkedIn, Verges said the company is on track to turn a profit in 2025:

"𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. 𝗔𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱. We’ve made the decision to reinvest massively in innovation and satisfaction. In 2024, we invested nearly €115 million in R&D, about one-third of our revenue! This includes significant investments in AI, with, for instance, our consultation assistant already helping doctors with over 2 million consultations. This journey is possible thanks to our shareholders who believe in our vision and allow us to compete in a challenging market." | Les Echos, LinkedIn, Sifted

🍽️ 🏢 Turning to Swile, the HRtech unicorn has finally digested its strategic acquisition of Bimpli in late 2022 and is now focused on profitability. The company began as a platform to manage employee benefits, primarily meal tickets, but has since broadened its strategy.

Swile posted €204 million in revenue in 2024, a substantial 25% increase from the €163 million it reported in 2023. This surge reflects both the integration of Bimpli’s client base and Swile’s success in winning major public sector contracts, including France Travail, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and SNCF. These high-profile accounts mark a shift from Swile’s previous focus on SMEs, positioning the company as a leading player in both public and private sector employee benefits.

More striking is Swile’s turnaround in profitability. Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) reached €36 million in 2024, a dramatic improvement from a loss of €23 million the year before. This €59 million positive swing in EBITDA over 12 months — and €100 million over the past two years — signals a maturing business model and successful integration of acquisitions. While Swile still reported a net loss of €64 million in 2023, the 2024 EBITDA result suggests a trajectory toward full profitability, especially given the operational efficiencies gained through consolidation.

Beyond digital meal vouchers, Swile is aggressively expanding into the business travel market. Since acquiring Okarito in 2022 — a travel management startup with 500 clients at the time — Swile has scaled this line of business to over 2,000 clients. Business travel represents a market potentially larger than meal vouchers and aligns with Swile’s broader mission to unify all employee benefit experiences on a single global platform, according to Founder and CEO Loïc Soubeyrand.

The company has expanded into Brazil, which now accounts for 10% of Swile’s revenues. The company expects to reach one million users in Brazil by the end of 2025. Swile is exploring new markets, and Soubeyrand indicated that Swile is open to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to accelerate global growth. | Les Echos, FrenchWeb, Maddyness

🚀 Andréa Bensaid, founder of the digital marketing agency Eskimoz, has launched 199 Ventures, a €30 million self-funded investment fund aimed at integrating strategic marketing into startup growth. Partnering with private equity expert Gaultier Brun, the fund targets early-stage tech startups, offering investments between €50,000 and €200,000, along with hands-on support in areas like acquisition strategies and ROI analysis. 199 Ventures distinguishes itself through radical transparency, publicly sharing detailed information about its investments, including amounts and valuations, according to Bensaid. Operating independently without AMF approval, the fund co-invests alongside traditional VCs, bringing a unique marketing perspective to the table. Bensaid emphasizes the importance of marketing as a profit center, aiming to educate founders on branding, content strategy, and personal branding to drive sustainable growth. | LinkedIn, Les Echos, Maddyness

🪦☠️ Finally, we return to the tragic saga of Talent.io, the would-be unicorn that dissolved into bankruptcy. Founder Jonathan Azoulay and Ventech Partner Audrey Soussan shared lessons from the experience in a Q&A exchange. These include building a startup unfit for economic cycles, its dependency on LinkedIn, a lack of strategic agility, and a lack of humility. "For a long time, Talent.io was a standard bearer in my portfolio," Soussan said. "With its healthy and profitable growth, I thought the startup would one day be worth a billion. The end of this story is for me a good reminder that we are in a risky business whose assumptions must be constantly re-evaluated.” | Ventech

How Neurotech Poppins Combines Music And Data For Dyslexia Treatment

While video games are often blamed for shortening attention spans and hindering childhood development, one Paris-based startup is proving that play can be powerful medicine.

Poppins, a neurotech company founded by two engineers-turned-entrepreneurs from École Polytechnique, is rewriting the rules of dyslexia therapy — with rhythm, science, and a touch of fun.

Blending clinical rigor with gamified design, Poppins has developed the first CE-marked digital medical device that helps children with dyslexia improve their reading skills through structured, music-based exercises. At the heart of Poppins lies a bold idea: by training the brain’s auditory and rhythmic pathways, children with dyslexia can build the foundational skills they need to read with confidence. And unlike traditional therapy, Poppins makes the process accessible, engaging, and scalable.

The Paris-based startup has just secured €5 million in funding to expand its innovative digital therapy platform designed to help children with dyslexia. This latest round brings Poppins’ total funding to €20 million. The app, which looks like a game but functions as a scientifically validated therapy tool, is already used daily by thousands of families across France — and now, it’s setting its sights on the U.S.

“Poppins is not designed to replace speech therapy; it is a complementary medical device to support children who are either awaiting diagnosis or already in therapy,” said Co-Founder François Vonthron. “It’s about reinforcing their learning in a fun and interactive way.

💸 Top Funding Deals 💸

📇 Company: VSORA
🔍 Description: IP provider for chipmakers designing next-generation AI, signal processing, ADAS, and 5G communication systems.
💻 Website: http://www.vsora.com
📍 HQ City: Vélizy-Villacoublay, France
🧗 Round: Late VC
💰 Amount Raised: €36.36 million
🏦 Investors: Omnes Capital, Otium Capital, Adelie Capital, EIC Fund
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Pierre Emmanuel Bernard, Trung Dung Nguyen, Khaled Maalej, Julien Schmitt
🗞️ News: Maddyness

📇 Company: Via Sana
🔍 Description: Digital healthcare platform offering integrated services to support better patient health outcomes.
💻 Website: https://centreviasana.com
📍 HQ City: Tours, France
🧗 Round: Early VC
💰 Amount Raised: €16 million (some as debt)
🏦 Investors: 360 Capital, ISALT (la Caisse des dépôts)
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Louis Fosse, Ulysse Vallier
🗞️ News: Maddyness

📇 Company: Chipiron
🔍 Description: Developer of portable, ultra-low-field MRI scanners designed to make high-precision imaging more accessible and affordable.
💻 Website: https://www.chipiron.co
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €15 million
🏦 Investors: Blast Club, EIC Fund, iXcore, Bpifrance, France 2030, EIC Accelerator
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Evan Kervella, Dimitri Labat
🗞️ News: EU Startups, FrenchWeb, Maddyness

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