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French Tech Funding Wire November 17: XAnge bags €200M, Beside, U-Space, Sunday & More!
XAnge announced €200M towards its 5th fund. Between Nov 10 and Nov 14 a total of 13 French Tech companies raised €72.35 million, including: Filiz, Dialog, OWLO, K-Words, Paage, Zaiffer, KLODIOS, Karbikes, fluiidd, and Mariloo.
La Machine #50: The AI Building Inspector Has Entered The Chat
Freeda's AI catches blueprint blunders; Yann LeCun ditches Meta; Beside rings up $32M for its AI voice app; Anthropic lands in Paris; Accel says Europe's AI application startups are rocking; there's a robot loose in a nuclear power plant.
La Machine #49: Microsoft AI ❤️ France
The American Tech giant released a report emphasizing all the ways it's spending €4 billion on France's AI transformation. Plus: Nvidia eyes a $1B bet on Poolside, Schneider Electric rides the data center wave, and French publishers warn of AI abuse.
Microsoft Stakes €4B Claim To Lead France's AI Transformation
The tech giant is going all-in on France’s AI future, pledging to train a million citizens, back 2,500 startups, and spread innovation beyond Paris. In a report released this week, the company highlighted partnerships, from Mistral to Danone, to demonstrate its commitment to France's AI ambitions.
La Machine #48: Probabl's Cause Takes AI From Lab to Launchpad
Scikit-learn’s creators aim to turn France’s AI research into global business with Probabl. Plus: Doctolib’s AI parenting assistant, Mistral’s new enterprise platform, France’s civil-service chatbot, OpenAI’s Paris expansion, and this week’s top AI funding rounds.
'Space Is Now a Battlefield': Macron Unveils €4.3B Defense Plan And Appeals To Startups
Macron warns that space is no longer a sanctuary, announcing major new space defense investments and says he wants 'New Space' French startups to help counter rising orbital threats from Russia and other hostile powers.
Making AI Plans: How Freeda Wants To Reinvent Building Buildings
In an industry where even a two centimeter error can derail a multimillion-euro project, Freeda has raised €3.4M to bring the precision of AI to construction plans to stop costly mistakes from happening before a single brick is laid.
🗣️ Special Edition | Shein, Sex Dolls, and Fast Fashion: The Great French Retail War of 2025 Begins
A controversial partnership between legendary French retailer BHV and the Chinese low-cost retailer erupted into a cultural and economic fight. Amid Paris protests and a government crackdown on illicit goods, France faces a reckoning over algorithmic commerce and its principles.
From Quantum Physics to Circular Mobility: Upway's Journey To Transforming The E-Bike Market
The French startup raised $60M in Series C funding to expand its refurbished e-bike empire across Europe and the US. With sales doubling yearly and operations already profitable in multiple markets, Co-founder and COO Stéphane Ficaja explains how Upway is chasing its goal of 1M bikes by 2030.
From Laos to Leading Europe’s Biggest Teleconsultation Platform: The Unstoppable Rise of Sylvie Nhansana
In a world where women still raise just 2% of VC funding, Sylvie Nhansana defies every statistic: engineer, black belt, and CEO of Qare and HealthHero France. She's now building what could become the world’s first truly global teleconsultation platform.
Spotlight Video Interview: Director Julie Huguet on La French Tech Mission
"What we want to do is help entrepreneurs have the best ecosystem to create, to scale, and to go abroad."
Spotlight Interview: ChangeNOW CEO Santiago Lefebvre Wants You To Believe Again
ChangeNOW 2025, the "world expo of solutions for the planet," is in full swing this week. Ahead of the Paris opening, I spoke with Lefebvre about how a bold idea born at COP21 became a global gathering, and why, in a divided world, hope and action still matter.
Spotlight Interview: Keles' Laurent Van Lerberghe On Digital Health Investing
"The region between the UK, France, and Benelux is becoming something like a new Palo Alto. Everything is reachable within two and a half hours, creating a concentrated ecosystem of talent, capital, and market opportunities."
🇫🇷 French Tech Wire: Galactic Sheriff Macron Wants SpaceTech Founders To Saddle Up
President Macron calls space a new battlefield and courts defense and space startups with €4.3B; Doctolib’s antitrust fine sparks debate on dominance; Sylvie N’hansana’s rise reshapes telehealth; WebSummit buzz meets downpour.
French Tech Wire: Upway’s Refurbished E-Bike Empire Shifts To Higher Gear
Upway raises $60M to scale its circular e-bike business. Plus: new French Tech 2030 startups, STATION F releases annual Future 40 – 2025 Edition, Mistral AI’s Montmartre HQ, and Doctolib fined.
👻 French Tech Wire: France Spooked By Fears Of Great Founder Migration
As France’s AI founders eye the U.S., a new wave of startup soul-searching sweeps the nation. Also: How Interstellar Lab and Barbara Belvisi are reinventing the future of agriculture on Earth and in space; and World Fund makes a big green bet on France. Happy Halloween, y'all! Boo! 🙀🫣
🇫🇷 French Tech Wire: Certificall Battles Visual AI Insurance Fraud
Also in this edition: ImCheck’s €1B biotech exit shakes up the scene, Lemlist snaps up Claap to boost AI sales, France’s startup job engine stalls, and OVHcloud’s founder returns to reclaim the cockpit.
Editors' Picks
🗣️ Special Edition | Shein, Sex Dolls, and Fast Fashion: The Great French Retail War of 2025 Begins
A controversial partnership between legendary French retailer BHV and the Chinese low-cost retailer erupted into a cultural and economic fight. Amid Paris protests and a government crackdown on illicit goods, France faces a reckoning over algorithmic commerce and its principles.