🧮 Data Point: Patent Titans

France’s patent leaderboard is back. According to the latest ranking from zee Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI), the patent heavyweights in France remain resolutely industrial. Cars, planes, and the machinery that keeps them moving still rule the innovation game.

On a macro level, patent activity is rebounding. INPI recorded 16,807 patent applications in 2025, an 8.7% increase year over year, signaling a renewed burst of inventive energy after several years of relative stability.

At the top of the filing leaderboard sits Stellantis with 1,294 patent applications, followed closely by Safran (1,266) and Renault Group (746). In other words, mobility literally drives French innovation, or, at least, by patent filings. The automotive and aerospace giants dominate the list, reflecting the deep R&D pipelines behind electrification, propulsion systems, and next-generation transport technologies.

After the mobility trio comes an interesting mix of sectors. L’Oréal (714) continues to prove that beauty is serious science, while French energy research institute CEA (568) anchors the academic side of the innovation ecosystem. Other familiar industrial names fill the top ten: Valeo, Airbus, Orange, Thales, and STMicroelectronics.

Innovation in France is highly concentrated. The top 50 patent filers account for nearly 63% of all filings, while the top 20 alone represent about 53%. In other words, a relatively small club of industrial giants and research institutions carries much of the country’s patent output.

Despite the AI hype cycle, France’s patent engine still runs on turbines, engines, batteries, and industrial systems.

💸 Weekly Funding Recap: March 6

📇 Company: DeepIP
🏷️ Sectors: AI & Machine Learning, LegalTech
🔍 Description: DeepIP is a Franco-American AI startup developing software that automates and augments the patent lifecycle for intellectual property professionals. A spin-off from Kili Technology, the platform uses artificial intelligence to assist with patent drafting, prosecution, and portfolio management, significantly reducing the time required for patent preparation and responses to patent office actions. The solution aims to integrate AI throughout the entire patent lifecycle, enabling companies to create stronger, more defensible patents while improving efficiency for IP teams.
💻 Website: DeepIP
📍 HQ City: Paris, New York City
🧗 Round: Series B
💰 Amount Raised: €23M
🏦 Investors: Korelya Capital, Serena, Headline, Balderton Capital
👨💼👩💼 Founders: François-Xavier Leduc, Édouard d’Archimbaud
🗞️ News: DeepIP has raised $25M in a Series B round led by Korelya Capital (the fund founded by Fleur Pellerin) and Serena, with participation from Headline and Balderton Capital. The round follows a $15M raise in March 2025, bringing total funding over the past year to $40M. The company will use the capital to accelerate international expansion and strengthen its AI platform across the patent lifecycle, with a strong focus on the U.S. market, where 80% of its customers are currently located. DeepIP now serves around 400 clients—including companies such as Dexcom and Philips—across 25 jurisdictions and has processed more than 40,000 patent files. The startup has grown rapidly from fewer than 10 employees to 45 within a year and plans to reach 100 employees by the end of 2026 as it pursues global leadership in AI-powered intellectual property management. | Maddyness

📇 Company: Heliup
🏷️ Sectors: Energy, DeepTech
🔍 Description: Heliup is a French deeptech company developing ultra-lightweight photovoltaic panels designed specifically for large rooftops with limited load-bearing capacity. A spin-off from the CEA, the company combines high-efficiency silicon cells with a proprietary lightweight encapsulation architecture that allows solar installations without structural reinforcement, reducing installation costs, timelines, and environmental impact. Heliup targets a large but structurally underserved segment of the European building stock, particularly logistics, industrial, and commercial rooftops.
💻 Website: Heliup
📍 HQ City: Le Bourget-du-Lac
🧗 Round: Growth
💰 Amount Raised: €16M
🏦 Investors: Supernova Invest, MAIF Impact, Lita Gestion, C2AD, Starquest Capital, BNP Paribas Développement
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Yannick Veschetti, Julien Gaume, Pierre Ruols, Laurent Prieur
🗞️ News: Heliup has raised €16M to accelerate European industrial scale-up and commercial expansion of its ultra-lightweight photovoltaic technology. The company operates a 100 MWc production facility in Le Cheylas (Isère), which has been operational since January 2025 and is supported by the EU Innovation Fund through the SHEEFT project. The funding will support the expansion of Heliup’s manufacturing capacity, the growth of its European commercial teams, and the replication of its industrial model across new production units, aiming for a 10x increase in capacity by 2028. Positioned at the intersection of rooftop solar mandates, growing demand for energy self-consumption, and European industrial sovereignty, Heliup aims to unlock rooftop solar deployment in previously unsuitable locations for conventional photovoltaic systems. | Les Echos

📇 Company: Metavonics
🏷️ Sectors: SpaceTech & Aerospace, DefenseTech
🔍 Description: Metavonics is a French deeptech startup developing modular avionics technologies for safety-critical embedded systems. Founded in 2021, the company designs standardized, certifiable electronic components, along with software tools, to simplify the development, integration, certification, and lifecycle management of avionics functions. Its modular architecture aims to improve the safety, flexibility, and performance of next-generation embedded systems used in aerospace and defense.
💻 Website: Metavonics
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €7.3M
🏦 Investors: Safran Corporate Ventures, TTTech
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Martial Montrichard, Mohamed Eladl, Ashley Tse
🗞️ News: Metavonics has raised €7.3M in a Series A round with participation from Safran Corporate Ventures and Austrian embedded systems specialist TTTech. Alongside the investment, the startup has signed a strategic partnership with Safran Electronics & Defense to accelerate the development and deployment of its modular avionics technology. The deal reflects Safran’s strategy to support innovative technologies improving the safety and performance of critical embedded systems in aerospace, while strengthening its position in next-generation avionics infrastructure. | Zonebourse

📇 Company: Amatera
🏷️ Sectors: AgriTech, BioTech
🔍 Description: Amatera is a French agricultural biotech startup developing climate-resilient crop varieties using a laboratory-based accelerated evolution approach. The company induces genetic variation in plant cells under controlled stress conditions, then selects promising variants through large-scale microcultures. This technique—rarely applied to perennial plants—aims to create more resilient crops such as coffee and vines capable of withstanding rising temperatures, drought, and other climate pressures.
💻 Website: Amatera
📍 HQ City: Évry-Courcouronnes
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €6M
🏦 Investors: Demea Sustainable Investment, Oyster Bay Venture Capital, PINC, Mudcake, Exceptional Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Lucie Kriegshauser, Omar Dekkiche
🗞️ News: Amatera has raised €6M to accelerate R&D on climate-resilient crops, particularly coffee varieties adapted to climate change. The startup is developing new plant lines, including a naturally decaffeinated coffee and a hybrid “robutisca” combining the agronomic resilience of robusta with the taste profile of arabica. Based at the Genopole in Évry, the company expects the first commercial harvests of its varieties within 5–8 years. In the meantime, Amatera plans to generate early revenue by licensing its plant-cell regeneration platform to seed companies working on crops such as maize, wheat, and tomatoes, helping them accelerate breeding cycles and reduce production costs. | Les Echos

📇 Company: Ilion Water Technologies
🏷️ Sectors: CleanTech, DeepTech
🔍 Description: Ilion Water Technologies is a French deeptech startup developing a low-energy desalination technology designed to replace the high-pressure systems used in conventional reverse osmosis. Born from research at ENS-PSL and CNRS, the company has created an electro-membrane pump capable of pushing water through membranes at atmospheric pressure using only a few volts. The approach aims to significantly reduce energy consumption, eliminate costly high-pressure equipment, and limit the use of chemicals in desalination and water purification processes.
💻 Website: Ilion Water Technologies
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €3.8M
🏦 Investors: Demea Sustainable Investment, Critical Path Ventures, Bpifrance, Région Île-de-France, CNRS, PSL, European Research Council
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Lucie Ries, Zacharie Pilo, Paulina Sarnikowski, Lydéric Bocquet, Frédéric Hammel 
🗞️ News: Ilion Water Technologies has raised €3.8M to advance the industrial development of its low-pressure desalination pump. The funding will support real-world pilot tests with industrial partners beginning in 2026 in Île-de-France. The technology, based on research by physicist Lydéric Bocquet, aims to reduce the energy cost of reverse osmosis by up to 50% while lowering capital expenditures by removing high-pressure infrastructure. In addition, integrated sensors allow real-time water quality monitoring, reducing chemical usage in filtration processes. The startup targets industrial integrators and engineering firms designing desalination and water treatment systems across sectors such as drinking water, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and semiconductors. | Les Echos

📇 Company: Novacium
🏷️ Sectors: DeepTech, Energy
🔍 Description: Novacium is a French energy materials deeptech startup specializing in silicon-based technologies for next-generation batteries and hydrogen production. Founded in 2022, the company develops advanced silicon anode materials designed to significantly increase lithium-ion battery capacity, as well as autonomous hydrogen generation systems powered by a patented silicon–aluminum alloy for civil and military applications.
💻 Website: Novacium
📍 HQ City: Solaize
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €2.5M
🏦 Investors: HPQ Silicium
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Jed Kraiem, Oleksiy Nichiporuk, Julien Degoulange
🗞️ News: HPQ Silicium has increased its equity stake in French energy deeptech Novacium from 28.4% to 36.8%, strengthening its strategic exposure to the startup’s battery and hydrogen technologies. The move accompanies governance changes designed to simplify Novacium’s structure and facilitate access to European and French funding programs reserved for domestically controlled companies in strategic sectors such as energy and defense. HPQ and Novacium have also signed an enhanced licensing agreement covering the development and commercialization of their joint technologies, with a focus on deploying clean hydrogen and advanced battery materials internationally, including in North America. The strategic alignment positions Novacium to accelerate industrial and commercial deployment of its energy technologies while expanding access to public innovation programs and collaborative industrial projects across Europe. | Le Devoir, HPQ

📇 Company: Albupad
🏷️ Sectors: BioTech, DeepTech
🔍 Description: Albupad is a Strasbourg-based deeptech biotech startup developing a patented platform for sustained drug delivery using native protein-based biomaterials. The technology leverages albumin—the most abundant protein in human blood—to create stable biomaterials that gradually release therapeutic molecules over extended periods. By transforming naturally soluble albumin into a stable biomaterial without altering its native structure, Albupad enables long-acting injectable or implantable formulations that reduce injection frequency and improve treatment adherence for patients.
💻 Website: Albupad
📍 HQ City: Strasbourg
🧗 Round: Pre-Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €1.3M
🏦 Investors: Alsace Business Angels, Yeast, Bpifrance
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Eya Aloui, Jordan Beurton
🗞️ News: Albupad has secured €1.3M to advance its sustained-release drug delivery platform and produce prototypes ready for integration into pharmaceutical pipelines. The startup originated from academic research conducted by founder Eya Aloui on albumin-based biomaterials and has been supported by CONECTUS through technology transfer. Winner of the national i-Lab 2024 competition and incubated at SEMIA – Quest for Health since 2022, the company is developing biomaterials that enable the gradual release of therapeutic proteins and peptides in the body. The funding will support the development of advanced prototypes, regulatory structuring, and strategic collaborations with pharmaceutical companies, positioning Albupad to address the growing market for long-acting injectable therapies used in chronic diseases and oncology.

📇 Company: Animaj
🏷️ Sectors: AI & Machine Learning, Entertainment
🔍 Description: Animaj is a Paris-based digital animation studio building AI-native production infrastructure for children’s entertainment. The company operates a proprietary platform combining audience intelligence, generative AI animation tools, and automated production workflows to create animated episodes from concept to YouTube release in under five weeks—around four times faster than traditional animation pipelines. Animaj focuses on developing global kids’ IP and expanding it across streaming, licensing, and interactive media formats.
💻 Website: Animaj
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Late Stage
💰 Amount Raised: Undisclosed
🏦 Investors: Google
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Sixte Berliner de Vauplane, Gregory Dray, Gilles Gaillard
🗞️ News: Animaj has secured backing from Google’s AI Futures Fund as part of a strategic partnership focused on AI-driven animation and digital storytelling. The deal provides Animaj with investment, early access to Google’s most advanced generative AI models, and direct collaboration with Google teams to develop high-quality content for its global YouTube audience. Google's program is wide-ranging, and it does not typically disclose the amount of investment. Animaj has previously raised $135m across six rounds. The company already reaches 242 million unique monthly viewers on YouTube and owns major kids’ IP, including Pocoyo. With its AI-native studio platform integrating tools such as audience intelligence, sketch-to-pose, and motion-in-betweening systems, Animaj aims to accelerate production timelines while expanding into interactive storytelling and new formats tailored to how younger audiences discover content online. The partnership reflects growing investor confidence in AI-powered animation studios as the next generation of global children’s entertainment franchises. | Animaj, C21Media

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