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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.

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Chris O'Brien & Helen O'Reilly-Durand

Edito

France may be getting some serious hype as an AI hotspot, but not every founder is convinced that this is where it's at.

Case No. 1: Pathway, which is developing a platform to feed real-time data into AI models, announced it was relocating its HQ from Paris and is now headed for the 'Frisco Bay. The Polish-French startup was founded in 2020 and just raised $10 million. CEO Zuzanna Stamirowska told Sifted: "We need to be in the room where it happens — and it happens in the Bay Area."

Case No. 2: Humiris AI co-founders Joël Etse and Louis-Nicolas Roussel decamped for San Franciso. Originally named Joe-AI, the company recently changed its name. Humiris has released a mixture of AI models that allows users to create a customized blend of foundation models from Mistral, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Cohere, and Microsoft using a single prompt. (Substack) But the co-founders decided their hearts were in San Franciso. As Roussel explained on LinkedIn: "𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲? Being closer to the action and learning firsthand how leading tech giants are leveraging AI is key to our mission: 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 that bridges tech cultures and AI models from across the globe. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼? This multicultural, tech-driven city is the perfect hub to unite diverse ideas and ensure no single culture dominates the AI landscape." He added: "It feels like the AI infrastructure we’ve been building ... over the past six months resonates much more here. We've found a thriving AI engineering community very rich and welcoming."

There is no denying that the U.S. has taken a monstrous lead in funding for AI companies. Despite the constant angst every few years that Silicon Valley has lost its mojo, when a new tech cycle emerges the Bay Area manages to become ground zero.

The harsher reality facing France – and Europe – is that the later-stage funding for AI companies simply does not exist here in the volumes needed to compete. There is a lot of hand-wringing about regulation and entrepreneurial ambition. But in truth, it is the check size that matters.

The move to cloud computing a decade ago helped level the playing field in terms of launching a startup. Whereas dot-com era startups had to buy their own software, servers, and networking equipment, the cloud significantly lowered those infrastructure costs. Now, AI is raising them as a significant barrier again when it comes to scaling up.

If Europe wants to protect sovereignty and support home-grown champions, this Growth Equity gap must be addressed. Unfortunately, AI's cost structure has only made that more challenging. And with countries like France now facing a budget crisis, it's not clear how much political or financial will there is to address this widening chasm.

-- Chris

The Headlines

🗞️ French Government Eyes Atos' AI & Quantum Business | The French government is making a move to acquire Atos’ cutting-edge AI high-performance computing and quantum business units for €500 million. The bid reflects a push for national tech sovereignty and aims to secure a strategic edge in future computing technologies. This comes as a struggling Atos continues to restructure and streamline operations. | Datacenter Dynamics, Yahoo Finance

🗞️ Orange gets its GenAI on. The French telecom giant made a barrage of AI announcements over the past week. Orange said it is teaming up with Meta & OpenAI to build African AI Models. Orange Business debuted its Managed GenAI service for enterprises. And Orange signed a deal with OpenAI to secure pre-release access to the company’s newest AI models. | U.S. News, Mobile Europe, Reuters

🗞️ The French government said it will support the nation's energy company, EDF, with loans for 6 new nuclear reactors. The move was described as crucial for meeting energy demands and decarbonization goals, while also paving the way for future AI-driven energy solutions. | Datacenter Dynamics

🗞️ LightOn shined bright in its market debut. The company also revealed it is expanding its operations across Europe and the Middle East, focusing on secure, enterprise-grade solutions. | Reuters

Other headlines:

🗞️ Does Mistral have what it takes to win the LLM market? | Sources tell Sifted the company is set to hit €30m in revenue | Sifted

🗞️ How French start-up Mistral AI is planning to take on Silicon Valley | Mistral AI, one of Europe’s most valuable AI companies, is reportedly making plans to build a base in the US, having already started working on a Palo Alto office. | EuroNews

Products

☀️ Sesterce has unveiled a cutting-edge AI supercomputer in Marseille, powered by NVIDIA’s latest H100 GPUs. This high-performance machine is designed to tackle complex AI workloads, from deep learning to data-intensive simulations. Positioned in a strategic location, the supercomputer underscores Sesterce’s ambition to strengthen Europe’s AI capabilities and drive innovation across industries. | HPCwire

☀️ PleIAs AI Lab released a fully open dataset to democratize AI research. The dataset is expected to accelerate progress in diverse fields such as natural language processing and machine learning. By providing open resources, these organizations aim to foster transparency and inclusivity in AI research. | Slashdot

☀️ French AI startup Seelab.ai is transforming how creative teams design projects with its intuitive, all-in-one generative AI platform. With 20,000 users already onboard, Seelab offers innovative features like FLUX, a state-of-the-art image generation model, custom model training, 4K resolution upscaling, automatic background removal, and social media-ready image exports. These tools simplify visual creation while staying brand-consistent, eliminating the need for additional graphic design software. Backed by a €1.5 million funding round, Seelab is expanding its capabilities and hiring top talent to meet the growing demands of design and marketing teams. | Seelab.ai

☀️ Thales has unveiled a powerful AI-driven upgrade for Rafale fighter jets, boosting their combat capabilities. These advancements promise enhanced decision-making and real-time threat analysis. | Eurasian Times

☀️ French AI pioneers Luxurynsight and Heuritech are teaming up to redefine data intelligence for luxury fashion and beauty brands. By combining their expertise in consumer insights and trend forecasting, the partnership promises to deliver next-level solutions to help brands stay ahead in a competitive market. This collaboration highlights the growing role of AI in transforming the luxury industry. | PR Newswire

Government + Policy

👉 French computing consortium GENCI has received €40M in funding to increase the capacities of its French AI flagship Jean Zay, a supercomputer hosted and operated by the Institute for Development and Resources in Intensive Scientific Computing (IDRIS – CNRS). This high-performance system supports diverse AI projects, from climate modeling to language processing, accelerating scientific discoveries and innovation. | HPCwire

👉 Hetzel turns to AI and private investment to bolster French research | France’s Hetzel Commission advocated for increased collaboration between private firms and AI advancements to rejuvenate the nation’s research landscape. The initiative aims to address funding challenges and spur innovation. By leveraging AI, the commission seeks to modernize research methodologies and increase global competitiveness. This strategic shift aligns with the broader European push for AI-powered industrial and academic growth. | Research Professional News

👉 French Diplomat Calls for Global AI Regulation | Henri Verdier, France's ambassador for digital affairs, has called for international cooperation to regulate AI's rapid growth. He emphasized that without clear global rules, the technology risks spiraling out of control, impacting security and democracy worldwide. | TheJournal.ie

Research

🧠 When algorithms replace biologists: A Discrete Choice Experiment for the valuation of risk-prediction tools in Neurodegenerative Diseases | Ismaël Rafaï, Bérengère Davin-Casalena, Dimitri Dubois, Bruno Ventelou | Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, AMSE, INRAE | Read

🧠 Motivation and socialization during summer predict medical students’ success: An artificial intelligence study | Pensier, J., Benoist, F., Deffontis, L., Boulet, N., Al Taweel, B., Costa, D., … Chanques, G. (2024) | University of Montpellier | Medical Teacher, 1–10. | Read

🧠 Clinical and Translational Research in Radiotheranostics | Jeremie Calais | Nuclear medicine | University Paris-Saclay | Read

🧠 CONVERSATIONAL MEDICAL AI: READY FOR PRACTICE | Alan (French Insurtech) | "While conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds promise in addressing this problem, its safe deployment in patient-facing roles remains largely unexplored in real-world medical settings. We present the first large-scale evaluation of a physician-supervised LLM-based conversational agent in a real-world medical setting. | Read

🧠 French research institution LETG and software engineering firm Alkante launched Telkante Lab for cutting-edge geographic data integration. LETG (l’unité Littoral – Environnement – Télédétection – Géomatique) received a €363,000 grant from the French National Research Agency (ANR). This collaboration aims to integrate satellite-based remote sensing data with geographic information systems, unlocking new possibilities for mapping and environmental analysis. By combining LETG's academic expertise and Alkante's tech capabilities, the lab addresses challenges in processing massive volumes of geographic data, making it accessible for advanced research on climate, deforestation, and hydrology. | Telkante Lab

🧠 AI company Neovision and the LIRIS research lab have joined forces to launch DATAWISE, a project aimed at streamlining data annotation—essential fuel for deep learning models. Neovision’s innovative tool, Tadaviz, simplifies annotation by combining visualization and automation, reducing the repetitive and time-consuming nature of the process. This partnership addresses the challenge of creating high-quality datasets for supervised learning in industries like manufacturing. By leveraging Tadaviz, the team aims to minimize human intervention while maintaining the precision needed for effective AI model training. | DATAWISE

🧠 Inria, France’s national research institute for digital sciences, announced that it is amplifying its international AI efforts with a new Center of Expertise. This initiative fosters collaboration with global AI leaders to tackle pressing challenges, from ethical AI to cutting-edge research in machine learning. By leveraging its extensive network and expertise, Inria aims to drive impactful projects while promoting cross-border innovation. | Inria

Foundings

🚀 Adeo Factory was founded on December 1, 2024, by Aurélien Schelcher and Adrien Grand. According to its filing, the company makes "tailor-made software" and conducts "Research, development, integration, marketing, and distribution of solutions by artificial intelligence. Schelcher is the founder of OrelFactory, an app development studio. Grand is a CPO whose LinkedIn profile indicates he is "working on a new project" and says, "I'll have the pleasure to unveil my new project soon." That project is likely Feedio: "Feedio is an intuitive application that allows teachers to create and share voice messages with their students. Each comment can be easily accessed using a unique code, ensuring a personalized and secure experience. Our technology is designed to integrate seamlessly into the school environment while providing an efficient and direct means of communication."

🚀 SalesGecko is a stealth company in development described as, "SalesGecko is more than just a CRM—it’s a motivational platform designed to transform sales into an engaging, disciplined process. By combining artificial intelligence with gamification, the startup creates a unique approach to sales productivity." The co-founders are Bora Kizil and Julien Muller, who have worked together for almost a decade at Ezako: "an established company in Artificial Intelligence, Anomaly Detection and Predictive Analytics."

🚀 Sandra AI was founded on November 4, 2024, by Badr El Idrissi Mokdad, Skandere Sahli, and Ismail Majjad. Officially, the company's mission is: "The development, commercialization, and exploitation of artificial intelligence solutions." However, the company is part of the Y Combinator Fall '24 batch and its parent company is incorporated in Delaware. According to YC, Sandra AI is "the first multilingual AI receptionist for car dealerships, capturing every customer opportunity by managing both inbound and outbound calls. This frees dealership teams to focus on closing deals and delivering excellent in-person service. Try out Sandra AI by calling it directly at +1 (202) 568-6833."

AI Funding News

For the week of November 25 - November 29

📇 Company: Raidium
🔍 Description: Raidium develops the world's first foundation model for precision radiology, offering a multimodal AI-native PACS viewer with advanced imaging capabilities designed for clinical and research use.
💻 Website: www.raidium.eu
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €16M
🏦 Investors: Newfund; Kurma Partners; Founders Future; Galion.exe; Techmind; Debiopharm Corporate Ventures; European EIC Fund
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Dr. Paul Hérent (CEO); Pierre Manceron (CSO)
🗞️ News: https://www.frenchweb.fr/raidium-leve-16-millions-deuros-pour-devenir-le-copilote-des-radiologues/450085

📇 Company: The Marshmallow Project
🔍 Description: Uses AI to develop educational content for children via digital platforms
📍 HQ City: Marseille
🧗 Round: SEED
💰 Amount Raised: €10.0M
🏦 Investors: Balderton Capital; Kima Ventures; General Catalyst
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Cedric O; Flore Cousin; Nicolas Princen; Fréderic Bardeau
🗞️ News: https://sifted.eu/articles/cedric-o-the-marshmallow-project-news

📇 Company: Argil
🔍 Description: Argil is a French generative AI startup that enables users to create realistic, multilingual video avatars, transforming text and audio content into engaging videos in minutes.
💻 Website: https://www.argil.com
📍 HQ City: Paris + San Francisco
🧗 Round: Pre-seed & Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €4.9M
🏦 Investors: EQT Ventures; Kwebblekop (YouTube Star); Charles Gorintin (Cofounder & CTO, Alan); Seedcamp; Axeleo
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Laodis Menard; Brivael Arzel
🗞️ News: https://www.frenchweb.fr/argil-leve-39-millions-deuros-pour-democratiser-la-video-personnalisee-pour-tous/450076

📇 Company: Mago
🔍 Description: Provider of AI tools empowering creators to transform and stylise any video
💻 Website: https://www.mago.studio/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: SEED
💰 Amount Raised: €1.5M
🏦 Investors: Atlantic Labs
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Aleksandr Spirin; Alvaro Lamarche Toloza
🗞️ News: https://siliconcanals.com/french-startup-mago-raises-1-5m/

📇 Company: Klart AI
🔍 Description: Enterprise-grade AI Assistant Connected to Company Knowledge & Tools
💻 Website: http://klartai.com
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: SEED
💰 Amount Raised: N/A
🏦 Investors: Startup Wise Guys
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Erol Koseoglu; Noyan Bilge
🗞️ News: https://swipeline.co/sirketlere-yapay-zeka-asistanlari-sunan-klart-ai-tohum-oncesi-yatirimi-aldi/

Announcements

📢 Mistralship Startup Program | Mistral AI has recently launched its first Startup Program — the Mistralship. | Apply here

📢 Social Tides - Grow AI accelerator | Impact organizations using AI or machine learning can apply for the program, which provides access to training, mentorship, and up to $250,000 in grant funding. Created in partnership between INCO, Share it, and Google.org. | Information session December 5 (online )

Events

📆 apidays Paris 2024 | December 3 to 5 | Apidays Paris 2024 is also home of our other sister conferences GENERATIONAI focusing on AI-related topics and GREENIO, addressing IT sustainability. | Tickets

📆 The Athens Roundtable on AI and the Rule of Law | December 9, 2024 | OECD Headquarters in Paris | The convening will bring together leading AI decision-makers, with a focus on enhancing international coordination for accountability in AI governance. | Information

📆 Responsible AI Masterclasses by Impact AI | December 12, 2024| Information

📆 AI and Art: Towards a New Era of Creativity | December 10 | Nice | AI is no longer content to be a creative tool: it is becoming a cultural actor capable of generating, transforming, and inspiring new forms of expression while questioning the role of the artist, the creative process and even the definition of art. This conference offers an essential reflection on these mutations, in a quest for dialogue between technological innovation and human authenticity. | EuropIA Institute

📆 Positive AI Summit, by Positive AI | December 12, 2024 | Positive AI Summit is the first event of the Do Tank Positive AI. Created in 2022 by BCG, Orange, Malakoff Humanis, and L’Oréal, the association brings together companies that are concerned about the societal impact of AI. | Information

📆 International Conference on AI in Work, Innovation, Productivity, and Skills | December 12-13, 2024 | The OECD is leading international analysis on the productivity of firms using AI. Leading voices on artificial intelligence will convene in Paris to explore the effects of AI on employment, skills, productivity, and innovation, and how policies can effectively respond. | Register to view online

📆 Paris Open Source AI Summit, by Linagora | December 19, 2024 | Information

📆 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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