Headlines

🗞️ Europe’s €70 Billion Tech Bet: Go Big or Go Broke (Trying to Catch Up with the US). The European Investment Bank is dropping €70 billion into tech companies by 2027, hoping to unlock €250 billion in total investment. The new fun christened “TechEU” wants to take startups from “cool idea” to IPO, focusing on AI, robotics, quantum, and even offshore wind. The goal? Make Europe a tech superpower. The challenge? Compete with the U.S., which still treats “billions” like pocket change. | Usine Digitale

🗞️ French cloud challenger Scaleway acquired DataOps firm Saagie to beef up its platform-as-a-service game, and maybe go toe-to-toe with the hyperscalers. The deal brings Scaleway a full data pipeline toolkit and a juicy client list including ministries and major French corporates. Saagie’s tech makes wrangling data and AI pipelines a breeze - now wrapped in Scaleway’s sovereign cloud dream. | Usine Digitale

🗞️ ChatGPT Takes the Philosophy Bac Again… and Fails Even Harder. Two years after failing the French philosophy baccalauréat with a lukewarm 9/20, ChatGPT tried again in 2025 and somehow did worse. The verdict from a Sorbonne philosophy professor? “Looks like philosophy, but it’s not.” Despite name-dropping Plato and Heidegger, the AI student still turned in what the prof called “a user manual, not a real essay.” Final grade: 8/20. Ouch. Guess wisdom can’t be downloaded (yet). | Ouest France

🗞️ While regulators focus on social media, generative AI is spreading among minors and with real consequences, according to a new report from US-based advocacy group Common Sense Media:

• 70% of 13–18-year-olds have used ChatGPT or similar tools, yet only 37% of parents are aware.
• AI bots like Character.AI and Replika simulate human interaction, from therapists to partners, with sometimes disturbing outcomes. A 14-year-old’s suicide in 2024 led to legal action against one AI provider.
• PolyBuzz, blending AI roleplay with adult content, is one of many unregulated apps bypassing age filters.
• Snapchat’s MyAI and Meta AI have both been flagged for inappropriate responses to teens.
• Average age of first platform access: 8.5 years, says CNIL.

Despite isolated safeguards from Google and Snap, age checks remain weak, and data from minors may still train some models. France’s Ministry of Education introduced a non-interactive AI curriculum, but experts call for urgent regulation and credible youth-focused alternatives. | Les Echos

🗞️ France’s data protection regulator, CNIL (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés), has published two new guides to help schools navigate the responsible use of AI in education. Aimed separately at teachers and administrators, the FAQs outline key obligations under GDPR and the EU’s new AI Act, emphasizing data privacy, student safeguards, and transparency with parents. CNIL warns that inappropriate use of AI tools could compromise minors’ rights and stresses the need for proper risk assessments and tool selection. | CNIL

🗞️ French streaming platform Deezer launched a new feature that labels fully AI-generated tracks with a "content generated by AI" tag, a move it claims is the first of its kind globally. As uploads of AI-produced music on the platform soar past 20,000 tracks daily, Deezer is using an in-house detection tool with 98% accuracy to flag such content and demonetize it to protect human artists’ royalties. While Deezer keeps these tracks available for listening, it hopes the measure will curb the unfair distribution of payouts in an industry still grappling with how to define and regulate AI-made music. | Barron's

🗞️ AI for the Greater Good: Île-de-France Bets Big on Responsible Innovation. At VivaTech, Île-de-France President, Valérie Pécresse, unveiled four ambitious initiatives to position the region as a global leader in sovereign, ethical AI that directly benefits society. Backed by a €150 million strategy through 2028, the plan focuses on health, education, and industrial renewal.

🗞️ “FemTech Île-de-France,” Europe’s first regional investment fund dedicated to women’s health, will target under-addressed issues like endometriosis, fertility, menopause, and cardiovascular disease. Other pillars include the launch of an AI-powered public services program, a new AI high school campus in Paris, and heavy investments in infrastructure to ensure startups can design and deploy AI locally with full technological independence by 2030. | Ile-de-France

Other Headlines

🗞️ Gautier Cloix will bring Palantir’s ‘secret sauce’ to H Company after cofounder exodus | Gautier Cloix spent a decade at US Big Data giant Palantir before taking on the role of CEO at France’s H Company. | Sifted

🗞️ How AWS is helping a Paris startup beat the superbugs | French tech-bio company Phagos has developed a unique AI model on Amazon Web Services with the aim of overcoming antibiotic resistance. | AWS

ICYMI

🗞️ VSORA: The French AI Chipmaker Taking on NVIDIA with High-Performance, Cost-Efficient AI Hardware | Backed by €40 million in funding, CEO Khaled Maalej believes the company is set to disrupt the AI hardware market with its Jotunn8 chip, leveraging a fabless model and advanced chiplet architecture to slash the cost of deploying large language models and generative AI at scale. | The French Tech Journal

🗞️ Figma's CPO On Navigating The GenAI Revolution: 'It's A Very Dynamic Landscape.' | Chief Product Officer Yuhki Yamashita discusses how the design company abandoned its traditional planning process to build AI-powered products as it adapts to the rapid evolution of GenAI capabilities. | The French Tech Journal

🗞️ Alan Goes All-In on AI | Six months after announcing a Series F funding round of €173 million at a €4 billion valuation, the French insurtech is accelerating its embrace of AI to transform its operations and products. | The French Tech Journal

🧠 VivaTech 2025: The Rise of Autonomous AI Agents

Artificial intelligence, particularly AI agents and agentic systems, dominated VivaTech 2025, with over 40% of exhibitors showcasing AI-related innovations.

Of course, AI is nothing new at VivaTech. But this year, a significant shift from single-agent applications to multi-agent systems was evident throughout the conference. Industry leaders predicted that 2025 would be "the year of agents," with autonomous AI systems capable of collaborating with each other to solve complex problems.

These multi-agent systems are designed to handle high-impact challenges that typically require the involvement of multiple business disciplines, enabling enterprises to solve complex problems with trust and scale. Exhibitors, executives, and engineers explore how agentic systems are pushing the boundaries of automation, redefining software development, and (hopefully) translating years of AI hype into measurable impact.

🧠 Nuclear Power's AI-Driven Renaissance: From Taboo to Essential

The energy landscape is experiencing a dramatic transformation. While nuclear power was once considered a relic of the past, it has suddenly become essential to our technological future.

At VivaTech 2025, I moderated a discussion on the main stage about how artificial intelligence is reshaping not just energy demand, but the entire nuclear industry itself.

The panel brought together a mix of perspectives: Michel Laberge, founder of Vancouver-based General Fusion, pursuing a novel approach to nuclear fusion; Laban Coblentz from ITER, the world's largest international fusion experiment involving 35 countries; and Julien Garrel, executive president of Nuward, developing small modular reactors (SMRs) for the European market.

AI Funding News

📇 Company: Nabla
🔍 Description: An AI assistant that reduces practitioner stress by automating clinical documentation, improving patient care, and integrating seamlessly with EHRs
💻 Website: https://www.nabla.com/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series C
💰 Amount Raised: €63.64M
🏦 Investors: HV Capital, DST Global, Highland Europe, Tony Fadell, Cathay Innovation
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Alexandre Lebrun, Delphine Groll, Martin Raison
🗞️ News: Sifted

📇 Company: Animaj
🔍 Description: Builds a gateway between content creators and young audiences through animation
💻 Website: https://www.animaj.com
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series C
💰 Amount Raised: €75M (equity and debt)
🏦 Investors: XAnge, Bpifrance, Daphni, Left Lane Capital, HarbourView Equity Partners, Marquee Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Gregory Dray, Sixte de Vauplane
🗞️ News: Maddyness, Bpifrance, Sifted

📇 Company: Pelico
🔍 Description: AI-powered operations management platform helping industrial manufacturers resolve disruptions, anticipate bottlenecks, and improve operational performance in real time.
💻 Website: https://www.pelico.ai/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series B
💰 Amount Raised: $40M (~€37M)
🏦 Investors: Eight Roads, Partech, Serena Capital, 50 Partners
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Quentin Fournela, Jean-Baptiste Pinelli
🗞️ News: Maddyness

📇 Company: Sifflet
🔍 Description: Developer of an AI-powered data observability platform designed to help organizations monitor, troubleshoot, and ensure the reliability of their data pipelines.
💻 Website: https://www.siffletdata.com
📍 HQ City: Paris / New York
🧗 Round: Series A (extension)
💰 Amount Raised: €16M
🏦 Investors: EQT Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partners (existing); Capmont (new)
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Salma Bakouk, Wajdi Fathallah, Wissen Fathallah
🗞️ News: Maddyness, Blog

📇 Company: DESKi
🔍 Description: AI-powered cardiac ultrasound software for remote diagnosis on any device
💻 Website: https://heartfocus.ai
📍 HQ City: Bordeaux
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €5.45M
🏦 Investors: BNP Paribas Développement, NACo, Épopée Gestion, Better Angle, Racine², Good Only Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Bertrand Moal, Olivier Moal
🗞️ News: Finance News, Maddyness

📇 Company: Arlequin AI
🔍 Description: Provides insights from complex social data using advanced AI embeddings
💻 Website: http://arlq.ai
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €4.4M
🏦 Investors: Kima Ventures, Vsquared Ventures, 10x Founders, Better Angle
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Hugo Micheron
🗞️ News: Tech Funding News

📇 Company: ArcaScience
🔍 Description: Dual AI system leveraging biomedical data for precision querying and targeting
💻 Website: https://www.arcascience.ai/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €620K
🏦 Investors: Akka
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Romain Clement

📇 Company: Alsanor
🔍 Description: Humanoid robotic solutions for housekeeping
💻 Website: https://alsanor.com/
📍 HQ City: Nanterre
🧗 Round: Pre-Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €15kM
🏦 Investors: Startupbootcamp
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Noé Jenn-Treyer, Ihor Husak

🗣️ Announcements 🗣️

🗣️ Coral Protocol Announces World’s Largest AI Hackathon at RAISE Summit in Paris | Coral Protocol has announced the world’s largest AI hackathon for artificial intelligence developers with $150,000 in prizes. Culminating at RAISE Summit in Paris on July 8-9, “Raise Your Hack” will unite solo devs and teams creating innovative solutions that leverage AI. | Details

🗣️ Google Startup Perks program | We're excited to launch our new Startup Perks program, offering exclusive benefits and discounts from 20+ leading AI and tech companies within the Google Cloud ecosystem. | More information

🗣️ The Government has launched a call for “Digital transition of culture and the appropriation of artificial intelligence” projects. | As part of the France 2030 initiative, the goal is to support the digital transformation of the cultural and creative industries. This initiative aims to help cultural actors adopt AI while ensuring ethical use and copyright protection. The program encourages collaboration between cultural organizations and tech companies to develop innovative solutions, from data-sharing tools to secure content management. It seeks to enhance the competitiveness of French creative industries and promote a responsible, Europe-focused AI ecosystem. | More information

Events

The Calendar

📆 Paris AI Club | July 2 |The AI scene in San Francisco is electrifying. We bring this energy to Paris. The Paris AI Club organizes a monthly aperitif, bringing together the best AI talents in Paris. | Request to join

📆 RAISE YOUR HACK| July 4-9 | This is your chance to push boundaries, solve real-world challenges, and create impact at the official hackathon of the RAISE Summit 2025 at one of Paris's most iconic venues: Le Carrousel du Louvre. | Sign Up

📆 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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