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La Machine is a weekly newsletter focused on French AI news and information. This is our extended monthly edition, including a recap of headlines, research, new company launches, and policy.
We'd love to hear your feedback. Our goal is to provide advanced intelligence on the French AI ecosystem.
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Chris O'Brien & Helen O'Reilly-Durand
Edito
Welcome to 2025 where AI is now the dominant force in the venture capital landscape. AI companies captured a significant portion of global funding in 2024, representing 37% of venture funding and 17% of deals, both all-time highs, according to CB Insights.
This surge in investment was driven by the revolutionary advancements in generative AI and large language models (LLMs), which have enabled a wide range of applications from creative writing to complex workflow automation.
While the AI economy is global, the United States has emerged as the clear leader in AI funding, securing 71% of global AI equity funding in 2024. And it's not particularly close. In general, US startups are gobbling down the bulk of VC dollars.
In Q4 2024, US-based AI companies received $38 billion in funding, far more than any other region. This dominance is fueled by the concentration of AI talent and the presence of major tech companies. This financial advantage has positioned the US as a global leader in the AI arms race, creating a potential innovation gap between the US and other countries. The top AI deals in Q4 2024 included Databricks ($10B), OpenAI ($6.6B), and xAI ($6B).
So, where does this leave France and Europe?
The European VC ecosystem experienced a decline in mega-rounds (deals worth €100 million or more) in 2024. However, AI investment remained strong in Europe. The largest European VC deal of 2024 was a€1.3 billion raised by the UK's GreenScale, a sustainable data center platform. This highlights the growing interest in AI and related infrastructure in Europe.
France has a number of AI startups gaining traction. For example, Mistral AI, founded in 2023, became a unicorn with a €6 billion valuation after a €600 million round in 2024. Poolside, another French startup, also secured a large Series B deal.
With the nation gearing up to host the Paris AI Summit in February, France will attempt to make its case that it belongs on stage with global AI leaders. To be sure, the nation has some tremendous assets. But the staggering amount of capital available in the US poses a daunting challenge to France's AI ambitions.
-- Chris
The Headlines
🗞️ Clara Chappaz retained her role as France’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, signaling continuity in the government’s tech strategy. Chappaz was appointed last fall as part of a new government, but attached to the Higher Ed and Research Ministry. There was some doubt about her future after that government collapsed. Following the creation of a new government in December, Chappaz was re-appointed, but she’s moving her base of operations to Bercy, home of the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. Chappaz, the former head of La French Tech mission, has been instrumental in shaping France’s digital policies and ensuring the nation remains a key player in tech innovation. Her reappointment reflects the government's focus on building AI expertise while fostering public-private collaboration. | Maddyness + Usine Digitale
🗞️ Rounded is an AI orchestration platform that lets anyone build an AI voice agent | French startup Rounded believes AI voice agents are going to become the default way customers interact with companies, so instead of building AI voice agents that are ready to use, the company is building an orchestration platform that lets companies build their own voice agent. | TechCrunch
🗞️ Can France become a global AI powerhouse? | Momentum has been slowing but the country boasts enviable technical skills and a burgeoning entrepreneurial culture | Financial Times
🗞️ France wants to dominate AI, but can it actually deliver? | Inside Paris’s Station F, the world’s largest start-up incubator, ambition buzzes louder than the city’s café chatter. Station F, since opening in 2017, has birthed over 7,000 businesses. Here, AI reigns supreme, with 34 of the incubator’s 40 top-performing start-ups built entirely around it. | MSN
Government + Policy
👉 France's AI Minister Chappaz emphasized the nation's commitment to countering foreign interference in its AI landscape. Speaking at a high-profile event, the minister highlighted concerns about the growing dominance of major global tech companies and stressed the importance of fostering a sovereign, ethical AI ecosystem in France. The strategy includes strengthening regulations, supporting local AI startups, and collaborating with EU partners to ensure Europe's competitive edge in the global AI race. | Euractiv
👉 A report by France's CSPLA highlights the profound implications of AI for creative industries, calling for clearer policies to address copyright challenges. The report underscores the legal uncertainty surrounding AI-generated works and urges updates to intellectual property laws to protect creators' rights. Recommendations include ensuring fair remuneration for artists and maintaining a balance between innovation and copyright enforcement as AI becomes an integral part of the creative process. | JD Supra
👉 French tax authorities can now use AI-powered tools to scan public social media activity to detect signs of tax fraud. With CNIL’s approval, officials will analyze taxpayers’ online presence to ensure their lifestyle aligns with declared incomes, targeting fraudsters who claim false domiciles or hide undeclared assets. This new policy, effective January 2025, expands previous AI applications for tracking undeclared properties and rentals, strengthening France’s fight against tax evasion. | The Connexion
Research
🧠 "Adapting to Industry 4.0 in France: Essential Competencies for a Future-Ready Workforce" |Turcato, Cristina Rodrigues Piazer, Bruno Pedroso, Maik Arnold, and Claudia Tania Picinin. 2024. Administrative Sciences 14, no. 12: 322. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14120322
🧠 Unleashing ChatGPT: Redefining Technology Acceptance and Digital Transformation in Higher Education | Mourtajji, Loubna, and Nathalie Arts-Chiss. 2024. Administrative Sciences 14, no. 12: 325. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14120325
🧠 Comparing performances of French orthopedic surgery residents with the artificial intelligence ChatGPT-4/4o in the French diploma exams of orthopedic and trauma surgery. | Nabih Maraqa, Ramy Samargandi, Antoine Poichotte, Julien Berhouet, Rayane Benhenneda.| Orthopaedics & Traumatology: Surgery & Research, 2024, 104080, ISSN 1877-0568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.otsr.2024.104080.
🧠 Application of RAG to French Parliamentary Debates of the Third Republic (1881-1940). A Conversation between AI and the Humanities |Aurélien Pellet, Julien Perez, Marie Puren. Generative Artificial Intelligence and Historical Research: Challenges, Potentials, and Limitations. Nov 2024, Lyon, France. https://hal.science/hal-04832663/document
New AI Company Radar
🚀 Maia was founded on December 12, 2024, in Lyon by Jean-Noel Combasson and Marc Lebrun, both currently Managing Directors at Natixis Partners. According to its filing, the company's mission is: "The design, development and operation of software solutions integrating artificial intelligence; The design, development and marketing and maintenance of web applications, software solutions; Research and innovation in the field of artificial intelligence, including machine learning, natural language processing and related technologies."
🚀 B. LOTUS was founded on December 16, 2024, by Liborio Panzarella and Marina Panzarella. The company's mission: "The development, design, commercialization, and maintenance of computer applications and software products. The provision of all consulting and expertise services, in particular, in big data and artificial intelligence, including data analysis, the development of algorithms, and the implementation of artificial intelligence solutions tailored to the needs of customers."
🚀 EAGR was founded on November 19, 2024, by Thibault Beauchesne and Gaultier Beauchesne. The company's mission: "Business and other (non-regulated) management advice; Business assistant; Operational assistance in all areas, coaching; Non-regulated training in the above areas." According to LinkedIn: "Eagr is a Virtual Commercial Coach that advances your teams with interactive content and AI simulations, 100% customized according to your company, your stakes, and their level."
AI Funding News
For the weeks of December 23 - January 10
📇 Company: Coave Therapeutics
🔍 Description: Clinical-stage biotechnology company developing gene therapies for ocular and central nervous system diseases.
💻 Website: http://coavetx.com/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €32M
🏦 Investors: Novo Holdings; Bpifrance; Invus; UI Investissement
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Rodolphe Clerval
🗞️ News: Forex TV
📇 Company: Happydemics
🔍 Description: Providing technology for marketing research.
💻 Website: http://happydemics.com/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series B
💰 Amount Raised: €13.00M
🏦 Investors: Adelie Capital; Wille Finance
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Amar Pandit; Tarek Ouagguini; Nicolas Trabuc
🗞️ News: Silicon Canals
📇 Company: Syroco
🔍 Description: Syroco EfficientShip is a software platform that builds digital twins of ships using physics modeling, data, and AI.
💻 Website: https://syro.co
📍 HQ City: Marseille
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €7.50M
🏦 Investors: Seventure Partners; Alter Equity
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Florent Boutellier; Bertrand Diard; Yves de Montcheuil; Olivier Taillard
🗞️ News: Maddyness
📇 Company: Data Inceptio
🔍 Description: Training and consulting in data, blockchain, and AI.
💻 Website: https://www.data-inceptio.com
📍 HQ City: Carquefou
🧗 Round: Pre-Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €80K
🏦 Investors: Justcloudit
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Olivier Lagrandeur
📇 Company: DeepHawk
🔍 Description: AI software for industrial quality control.
💻 Website: https://deephawk.ai/
📍 HQ City: Cesson-Sévigné
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €600K
🏦 Investors: The Moon Venture
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Gilles Allain, Tomas Crivelli
🗞️ News: LinkedIn
📇 Company: SkyVisor
🔍 Description: Inspection and automatic monitoring by drones for industrial infrastructures such as wind turbines and electrical installations.
💻 Website: http://www.skyvisor.fr/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €1.20M
🏦 Investors: Bpifrance; Ile-de-France (Paris Region); Tomcat Invest
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Paul Fontaine; Fabien Sauvage
🗞️ News: Pulse 2.o
Announcements
📢 Tech for Future 2025 start-up competition | Organized by La Tribune, the largest start-up competition in France returns for its 14th season. 51 start-ups, in six broad categories embodying the biggest economic and societal challenges of the coming years, will be rewarded in all regions. The categories include Data & AI. | Deadline to apply is January 14
📢 Mistralship Startup Program | Mistral AI has recently launched its first Startup Program — the Mistralship. | Apply here (first EMEA-batch applications will close on 31st January 2025)
Events
📆 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit | February 10-11, 2025 | Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, CEOs of small and large companies, representatives of academia, non-governmental organizations, artists, and members of civil society will gather in Paris to discuss the critical policy issues surrounding AI. | Information
📆 France Digitale's AI Day 2025 | February 11, 2025 | Paris will be the AI capital of the world (at least for a week) during the AI Action Summit. With our AI Day — the official business side event of the Summit — seize this moment to meet and learn about the best in AI innovation made in Europe. | Information
📆 World AI Cannes Festival | February 13 -15, 2025 | For 3 days, the prestigious Palais des Festival of Cannes will become the world capital of AI, where decision-makers and AI innovators meet, where the most promising innovations and technologies get into the spotlight, where those who are currently building the world’s most game-changing AI strategies and use-cases will be on stages. | Registration
📆 RAISE Summit 2025 | July 8-9, 2025 | RAISE Summit is the premier event for professionals seeking to disrupt, build, and connect in the AI landscape. This summit is the ultimate destination to validate AI strategies through real-world use cases, define a winning AI playbook, and find the right partners to deliver cutting-edge solutions. | Register
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