👋 Edito 👋

French entrepreneurs are increasingly asking themselves that awkward question:

And, as it is wont to do, the local media caught whiff of the sense of panic wafting across the Parisian air like a croissant fresh out of the oven at 4:30 a.m. and threw itself into this debate con mucho gusto...buoyed by no lack of LinkedIn posts announcing various comings and goings...

And it's not just France, btw. Sifted reports that 23% of European AI startups are thinking about relocating to the Land of Opportunity and Super Size Fries.

France's new AI and Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff has heard these rumblings. And in an exclusive interview with Maddyness, she had a message for France's entrepreneurs:

Here are a few thoughts...

These things go in cycles. From the U.S. side of my life, I have been following Silicon Valley in some fashion for more than 30 years (yikes!).

I can not even count how many times the Valley's obit has been written during those decades. (It missed the internet! Mobile! Web 2.0! Etc.!) It is always behind, until it isn't. Just a couple of years ago, every tech bro was pronouncing SF doomed and declaring they were moving to Texas or Miami or wherever. And now they're all crammed right back into the tiny hamlet of San Francisco.

On the other side of the Atlantic, when I moved to France in 2014, we just started to hear about entrepreneurs moving back to France and Europe. SaaS and Fintech helped close the startup gap, though not completely. Now, AI has obviously torn that gap wide open again.

Moving to the U.S. just seems so...obvious. So, is it really?

By the top line fundraising numbers, clearly, there is no question that more money is being invested in the U.S. But look below those top-line numbers. The number of startups raising rounds is in free fall in the U.S., just as it is in Europe.

Can you move faster in the U.S. and get your first customers? Absolutely.

Will they dump your ass faster and move on in a blink if you stumble? Absolutely.

That $10M Seed that seemed might come faster and furiouser (fyi, that's not really a word, but it's just more fun to say so let's go with it), but it's also a pittance on the U.S. scale and so not worth a VC spending their time helping you iterate if things aren't getting traction. Too many other chips on the table.

And yes, there are lots of startups and big companies window shopping for new AI tools. But how many are really sticking? America is the land of the free and the home of disposable stuff. There's not much sentimentality about dropping your platform thingy like a rancid steak tartar left on the countertop overnight.

That attitude extends to pesky humans as well. Remember that one of the greatest innovations of American capitalism over the past several decades is reducing humans to numbers on a balance sheet. Witness the current orgy of layoffs among highly profitable tech giants (Amazon: 14,000! Microsoft: 9,000!). Over the course of a decade, Hewlett-Packard fired 140,000 employees, and that was probably not even a thing about which you heard. You are needed and important until the very second that you are not.

Of course, you may be the 1 in 1,000 who succeeds. Or, it may be just part of the experience. You will learn important life lessons. It will toughen you up. Harden your exterior. Make you more resilient. Teach you to deal with failure. Finally, you will understand all those baseball metaphors so you can confuse/dazzle future French colleagues by exclaiming, "After touching base with the team, I decided to step up to the plate and swing for the fences but the client threw us a curveball right out of left field, so now we’re just hoping our cleanup hitter in marketing can pinch-hit before we all strike out with the board.”

Before then, you could find yourself wrapping burritos in the Mission District or doing an OnlyFans show to pay the rent in your live-work-group-home-loft-cabinet and buy a ticket back to France. But, oh, what stories you will have to tell.

Inside this week's edition:

👀 Starting in finance, Barbara Belvisi's career detoured through VC before its current destination as CEO and Founder of Intersellar Lab, which is building BioPods that look more like spacecraft than greenhouses. These AI-powered farming systems address Earth's sustainability challenges while serving as a dress rehearsal for humanity's multi-planetary future. We caught up with Belvisi, which is never easy, as she shuttles back and forth between the U.S. and France.

Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

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Tech Talk

🇫🇷🤖 As mentioned in the edito, new Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff did indeed give her first interview, begging France's tech diaspora to stay. 🥺 In her exclusive with Maddyness, the former MP (and ex-Bacardi exec!) promised to protect startup support schemes amid looming budget cuts and to keep France 2030 investments intact. Le Hénanff, who helped draft the SREN law on digital sovereignty, says her ministry will work “in startup mode” to deliver quick, concrete help to founders. Top priorities: restoring confidence, scaling the “Osez l’IA” plan, pushing EU capital markets reform, and getting more women into tech (“only 23% of jobs in digital are held by women,” she laments). | Maddyness

🇺🇸💔 Whoopsy, looks like some didn't get the message. Once the poster child of the French Tech, Criteo just swiped left on France and is officially packing its bags for...the States. The adtech firm, born in Paris in 2005 and listed on Wall Street since 2013, announced it’s moving its legal HQ from France to Luxembourg. That is intended to be a layover to re-capitalize its stock structure before going to 'Merica, prolly in 2027. Now run by an American CEO out of New York, the company is completing its long transatlantic makeover. As we were saying, for many in the ecosystem, it’s less vive la tech and more au revoir, la France. | Les Échos

😬✈️ Whoopsy Bis… just days after announcing it’s moving its HQ to the U.S., Criteo is losing its French captain too. Estelle Decré Ravez, who took over the France office in June 2024, has quietly exited the adtech unicorn. No drama, just… gone. The firm confirmed her departure but offered no comment. Probably too busy packing its bags. For now, European exec Jill Orr will steer the French ship. | Les Échos

🤳💸 As the Government Giveth, So Shall They Taxeth. France just doubled its “Taxe Gafam” — from 3% to 6% — because nothing says “innovation nation” like giving Google a headache. The move, passed 296 to 58, is part of the 2026 budget deal meant to appease the Socialists (and mildly annoy Washington). Economy Minister Roland Lescure called for “prudence,” warning that poking Trump’s America with a fiscal stick might end badly. The tax, born in 2019 to target Big Tech’s French revenues, only raises about €700M a year, but politically, it’s priceless. | FrenchWeb

🥸 🛰️ “Don’t Look Up,” But Maybe Encrypt That Call. Turns out half of all geostationary satellite communications are sent in the clear, including military and banking data. Researchers from the Universities of California and Maryland spent seven months eavesdropping on 39 satellites with a $250 setup (seriously) and found 50% of transmissions unencrypted. Even the Mexican army and Walmart made the cut. Operators like T-Mobile and Walmart have since scrambled to fix things, but the lesson is clear: what happens above our heads is shockingly public. | Les Échos

🚦🚴‍♂️ K-Ryole’s Last Ride? Not Just Yet. Once the darling of French cyclo-logistics, K-Ryole, which makes smart electric trailers, has been pedaling uphill since its judicial recovery this summer. Now, three rescue bids are in: Rebirth (yes, the Angell Bikes folks) offering €200K and 22 jobs; Rouget Finance, €350K for 13 staff; and Juan de la Torre, the startup’s U.S. head, matching that amount to save 18. Founded in 2016 and backed by Bpifrance and Quadia, K-Ryole once raised €10.5M to roll out its Tonneins factory. Now it’s hoping one of these white knights can keep the wheels turning. |Les Échos

✅ 💉 Doctolib Finally Checks “Profitable” on Its Health Record. After 12 years, a pandemic boom, and countless doctors appointments, Doctolib has gone from the waiting room to the winner’s circle: it’s profitable. CEO Stanislas Niox-Château casually dropped the news mid-interview on BFM TV, because why not? The €5.8B healthtech now counts 400,000 healthcare pros and 80 million patients (half of them in France), with €438M in recurring revenue last year. Once the poster child for “growth over gains,” Doctolib now claims it’s “master of its own destiny.” | Maddyness

🌍 World Fund Turns Up the Heat on French Climate Tech. Move over, AI hype. World Fund, Europe’s biggest climate-focused VC, is about to splash €300M on France’s greenest startups. Launched in 2021 by Daria Saharova & co., the fund has already backed deeptech stars like IQM, Space Forge, and Planet A Foods, and now it’s eyeing tricolore gems like Dioxycle, Ncodin, and Spark Cleantech. Why France? A killer combo of AI brainpower, France 2030 billions, and a 41% annual rise in greentech funding since 2016. Plus, French climate startups are now minting unicorns almost 10x faster than before. World Fund’s mission: help them cross the dreaded “Series B valley of death” and grow into full-blown European climate champions. | Maddyness

🚚 💑 🚚💘 Shippingbo Finds a Main Squeeze. Toulouse-based Shippingbo just got hitched — Dutch-style. Main Capital Partners snapped up a majority stake with a €20M investment, per Les Echos. The logistics SaaS darling (think order + warehouse + transport = one sexy platform) serves 1,000 clients, including DHL and Weber. With its new Dutch boo, Shippingbo’s plotting to roll into Spain, Belgium, and Switzerland — and maybe ship itself to European stardom.| Les Echos, Tech EU

🕹️🎆 Paris Games Week Goes Full Pop Mode. France’s biggest gaming bash, the Paris Games Week, respawns this week. Under new bosses Fimalac and GL Events (yep, the Olympic folks), Paris Games Week is mashing up gaming, concerts, and pop culture. Late-night openings, late-night gigs at the Dôme de Paris feature influencers Squeezie, Bigflo & Oli, and 1,000+ creators on deck. | Le Figaro

Barbara Belvisi + Interstellar Lab: Cultivating the Future of Life on Earth and the Final Frontier

Barbara Belvisi had spent years establishing herself as a leading, influential investor and mentor in the emerging French tech ecosystem. A career that started in classic finance had taken a turn into tech entrepreneurship and a hardware startup studio before she walked away from it all because she wanted to figure out something that combined her passions for sustainability and space.

And when she started to formulate the outlines of what eventually became the embryonic idea for Interstellar Lab, well....

"Initially, when I started, I came up with this crazy idea of like, okay, let's build a habitat so we can grow plants on the moon and Mars," she recalled. "And even from the tech ecosystem here in France, where I was an investor, it was kind of a crazy cuckoo idea to start that, and people were like, 'Well, what is she talking about?'"

Six years after launching Interstellar Lab, the company has demonstrated traction on its two-pronged business model: Earth and space. It's struck partnerships with NASA in the U.S. for some of the more futuristic projects and marquee names like L'Oreal for more practical commercial applications in beauty and agriculture.

With recent victories, including NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge and partnerships spanning from L'Oréal to commercial space stations, the company exemplifies how space-inspired innovation can address terrestrial challenges while preparing for life beyond Earth.

"It was just a PowerPoint," Belvisi said. "Now it's real. And it's going to scale."

💸 Top Funding Deals 💸

📇 Company: Onepark
🔍 Description: French mobility and smart parking platform enabling users to book parking spaces online in over 3,500 locations across Europe. Onepark connects drivers with hotels, airports, and private operators to optimize underused parking capacity, combining convenience with urban efficiency.
💻 Website: https://www.onepark.co
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Growth / Series C
💰 Amount Raised: €40 million
🏦 Investors: TotalEnergies (new strategic investor), Keolis, ADP (Aéroports de Paris), Accor (existing investors)
👨💼👩💼 Founders: David Vanden Born, Gilles Latouche
🗞️ News: Onepark raised €40 million in fresh capital led by TotalEnergies, which also entered into a strategic partnership allowing its 2.3 million Fleet card users to access Onepark’s parking services. Existing shareholders Keolis, ADP, and Accor also reinvested. The deal aims to double Onepark’s revenue to €60 million and expand its user base to 5 million. The company will use the funding to accelerate its B2B solution Flow, explore potential acquisitions, and solidify its position as a European leader in digital parking and mobility services. | Maddyness

📇 Company: Primaa
🔍 Description: Paris-based MedTech startup developing AI-powered diagnostic software for histology and cancer detection. Primaa’s CE-marked solution Cleo Breast automates the detection and quantification of key biomarkers in breast cancer, while Cleo Skin—in the process of CE marking—targets melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma. Its tools enhance diagnostic accuracy, reduce processing time, and alleviate pathologists’ workloads.
💻 Website: https://www.primaa.ai
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Extended Financing Round
💰 Amount Raised: €7 million
🏦 Investors: MH Innov’–Elaia partnership fund, SWEN Capital Partners, Super Capital, and members of the Wendel family
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Fanny Sockeel (CEO & Co-founder)
🗞️ News: The new capital will accelerate Primaa’s European expansion and customer support, advance predictive AI models for disease progression and relapse risk, and support U.S. market entry through upcoming FDA certification activities. Its Cleo Breast and Cleo Skin tools are already deployed in leading French institutions such as Institut Curie, AP-HP, and Saint-Joseph Hospital. | Tech EU

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