👋 Welcome to our weekly recap of the big news + funding in the French tech ecosystem this week.

In this week's French Tech Wire,

🌱 Seed Of The Week: If pilots train on simulators before flying real aircraft, why can’t the same technology be used to train surgeons? VirtualiSurg Founder & CEO Nicolas Mignan explains how the startup hopes to use VR and the metaverse to revolutionize medical education.

👀 Deep Dive: Public investment in Ÿnsect has been substantial. Its bankruptcy will give new ammunition to the French government's extensive support for costly innovation programs. We look at who invested what and how.

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Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

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🚀 Tech Talk 🚀

👮‍♂️ As The Family Turns...The ongoing legal drama involving the once-prominent Parisian startup hub known as The Family that was definitely not an accelerator or investment fund took another turn when former co-founder Oussama Ammar was stopped by the fuzz at the airport. Ammar, loyal readers will recall, has been accused of embezzlement by The Family, legal actions led by his former friends and co-founders Alice Zagury and Nicolas Colin on behalf of the company and various investors. There are cases pending across the Cayman Islands (where he has already lost a judgment), the UK, and France. Throughout, Ammar has remained defiant, primarily from his perch abroad. However, when he stepped off the plane in Nice this week, he was detained by officers from la Brigade de répression de la délinquance astucieuse (BRDA) and held for questioning before being released. On LinkedIn, he sighed: "I was released after a few questions and, for the first time in four years, I was finally able to give my side of the story. At this stage, the procedure is adversarial, and even if it is regrettable that there is no secrecy of the investigation, I still had the opportunity, for the first time, to express myself." Perhaps it was the first time he had a chance to talk to legal officials, but he also failed to appear at the Cayman Island proceedings and has not (to my knowledge) appeared at other legal hearings. 🍿 | LinkedIn, Le Parisien

For more, read my Deep Dive for Sifted:

🐛 As expected, alt-protein insect startup Ÿnsect filed for bankruptcy in the hopes of buying more time to either restructure its finances, sell off pieces of the biz, or find a buyer for the whole shebang. This potential death spiral comes amid a larger struggle for AgTech startups. French Tech has been rounding for more than two years, and agritechs are no exception. Last year, French agricultural and food start-ups saw funding fall by 36% in value, €315 million, and the number of deals dipped 33% to 38, according to a report by KPMG and La Ferme Digitale. This is a sharper fall than for the start-up ecosystem in general (7%). “We are in a second year of transition, which is difficult. But it remains an important sector, where the challenges of transformation are high, and part of the solution will come from tech,” Roger Averbuch, a partner at KPMG, told Les Echos. (More on Ynsect in this week's newsletter below). | Maddyness, Sifted, Les Echos

👋 🫡 After ten years leading Le Galion, Agathe Wautier has handed over the general management to Margot Courty, co-founder and the club’s first employee. Courty's leadership marks a new chapter for the exclusive entrepreneur network, emphasizing deeper connections over rapid expansion. | LinkedIn, Maddyness, LinkedIn

☔ Despite a 30% drop in funding in 2024, employment in French Techland remained stable, with a 1% increase in workforce. According to a report by tech association Numeum, this resilience is attributed to prudent resource management and a focus on profitability. The healthcare and ecological transition sectors performed particularly well. | Les Echos

⚽ 💸 World Cup champion Blaise Matuidi has launched the Origins investment club on the Roundtable platform, inviting his community to co-invest alongside him in technology companies that transform consumer lifestyles. This initiative aims to democratize access to premium investment opportunities, leveraging the unique insights and extensive networks of athletes. Co-founded with Ilan Abehassera and Salomon Aiach, Origins focuses on sectors such as deep tech, real estate, and healthcare. This move is part of a broader trend on Roundtable, which has introduced 15 new investment clubs led by prominent tech figures, facilitating community-driven investments across various industries. | Roundtable, Maddyness

🎾🚶💰 Speaking of sports and money...Venus Williams has joined fitness and social startup WeWard as an investor and ambassador, supporting the app’s mission to encourage a healthier and more active lifestyle through walking. The partnership includes a €40,000 donation to the charity CARE and a special in-app challenge where users can unlock increasing donation levels by reaching step goals. WeWard’s co-founder CEO Yves Benchimol has relocated to New York City to scale the company in the US. In an interview, he told me he spotted Williams by chance at a Paris restaurant just before moving, took his shot, and introduced himself. That started the conversations that led to the partnership. "I think in terms of image and business, it can be huge, especially in the US," he said. With 20 million users worldwide and over €20 million in rewards distributed, WeWard continues its international expansion, leveraging this high-profile partnership to strengthen its presence in the U.S. market. (We'll have a deeper dive next week on WeWard's journey.)

Seed Of The Week: VirtualiSurg

While VR-based surgical training is not a new concept, VirtualiSurg takes it to the next level by incorporating robotic-assisted tools and AI-driven performance tracking. 

VirtualiSurg is a meta-learning platform (welcome to the Mediverse!) where surgeons practice their techniques in a VR-powered operating room with real surgical instruments, haptic feedback, and AI-guided mentorship.

The goal is to make surgical training as realistic and effective as possible, minimizing errors and ultimately saving lives.

"VirtualiSurg will have succeeded when we’ve helped ensure that there are many more excellent surgeons around the world,” said founder and CEO Nicolas Mignan.

Deep Dive: Private Equity, Public Debt, and Bpifrance's Role in Ÿnsect's Bankruptcy

Ÿnsect has filed for bankruptcy protection in a bid to buy more time to either restructure its finances or find a buyer.

The insolvency of the French insect protein pioneer is a blow to private investors who will likely see all of their holdings wiped out. But it also raises difficult questions about the public strategy in France to back Deep Tech startups in the hope that their breakthrough technologies will require large-scale production that will help re-industrialize a nation that continues to see traditional manufacturers shuttering or pulling up their stakes and moving elsewhere.

With more than $625 million in equity and debt raised since 2011, Ÿnsect had long been hailed as a model for how public-private partnerships could create a new breed of industrial champions. Even better: its mission to create an alternative protein source checked many of the boxes of the French tech identity, including food sovereignty, climate tech, and health tech.

As of yet, Ÿnsects bankruptcy filing is not yet public. But drawing from previous public records and announcements, one can piece together the stakes for the VCs and the public entities that had put so much faith in the company's mission.

💸 Top Funding Deals 💸

📇 Company: Adocia
🔍 Description: A biotechnology company developing innovative treatments for diabetes and metabolic diseases.
💻 Website: http://adocia.com
📍 HQ City: Lyon
🧗 Round: Private Placement VC
💰 Amount Raised: €9.73M
🏦 Investors: Armistice Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Gérard Soula; Olivier Soula
🗞️ News: Adocia

📇 Company: Edumapper
🔍 Description: An educational platform providing tools to optimize learning experiences.
💻 Website: https://www.edumapper.com
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Pre-Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €5M
🏦 Investors: Kima Ventures; Eurazeo; Daphni; Ring Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Sébastien de Lafond, Julien Cheyssial, Jordan Sanial, Valentine Mandon
🗞️ News: LinkedIn

📇 Company: Byzantine Finance
🔍 Description: A decentralized finance platform providing financial solutions in the blockchain space.
💻 Website: https://byzantine.fi
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €2.73M
🏦 Investors: Node Capital; Blockwall; Kiln; Lightshift; MASTERKEY Venture Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Gaia Ferrero Regis, Jonas Bokelmann
🗞️ News: Binance

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