In this edition:

🧠 Scikit-learn, born at a French research institute, is one of the world’s most-used machine learning libraries. Probabl aims to turn it into a global business. Its journey reveals France’s AI potential and the structural hurdles of commercializing public research. Probabl CEO Yann Lechelle explains his plot to pull this off.

Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

Headlines

🗞️ Meet that AI that rocks the cradle: Doctolib is launching an AI-powered medical assistant that will first support parents of children under four starting in 2026 by helping them navigate France’s 14 mandatory checkups and early parenting challenges like postpartum depression. The conversational assistant, built with French doctors and researchers, will offer personalized answers and recommendations, but no diagnoses or prescriptions, while keeping all data securely hosted in Europe. Doctolib CEO Stanislas Niox-Chateau says the tool aims to combat health misinformation, which he calls “a global and French scourge,” by steering users away from dubious TikTok or Instagram advice. Although what babies are going on social media at that age is anyone's guess! Following its AI rollout for doctors last year, this move marks Doctolib’s next leap toward making trustworthy, sovereign AI healthcare accessible to millions. | Les Echos

🗞️ Meanwhile, France is bringing AI into the beating heart of its public administration. In partnership with Mistral AI, the government is rolling out a conversational assistant to 10,000 civil servants across ministries such as Justice, Economy, Education, and Culture. The eight-month pilot, launched by Public Service Minister David Amiel, aims to test how AI can simplify paperwork (wait, paperwork? in France?), support research projects, and enhance efficiency, while keeping data within secure, sovereign infrastructures. Costing around €300,000, the project will help estimate the price tag of a full nationwide rollout. If successful, it could mark a turning point in France’s digital transformation of the public sector. | Maddyness

🗞️ ...Speaking of the M-train...Hopefully, that government project will get some tracking. But if it don't, well, it won't be alone. It's enough of a problem that Mistral has unveiled Mistral AI Studio, a powerful web platform that promises to take artificial intelligence from the lab to the enterprise. In the official announcement, the company wrote: "Many prototypes. Few systems in production. Enterprise AI teams have built dozens of prototypes—copilots, chat interfaces, summarization tools, internal Q&A. The models are capable, the use cases are clear, and the business appetite is there. What’s missing is a reliable path to production and a robust system to support much of it." Replacing its earlier “Le Platforme” API, the new system lets users build, monitor, and deploy AI apps using both proprietary and open-weight models like Mistral Large, Mixtral, and Codestral. Designed for businesses frustrated by stalled prototypes, AI Studio is currently in private beta. | Mistral AI

🗞️ Paris has become OpenAI’s largest hub for its Forward Deployed Engineers team. FDEs, the new buzziest of buzzwords in AI-land, are elite engineers who embed directly with clients to co-develop and deploy cutting-edge AI solutions, bridging the gap between research and real-world application. (Sensing a theme yet?) As companies race to integrate AI into complex systems, FDEs have become critical for translating OpenAI’s models into usable, scalable products that drive immediate business and societal impact. According to a Q&A with Arnaud Fournier, head of OpenAI's Paris office, in the Journal des Entreprises, the Paris-based unit works hand in hand with major partners like John Deere to co-develop cutting-edge AI solutions ranging from sustainable agriculture tools to OpenAI’s own Agent SDK, first prototyped by the team. Launched only in January 2025, the group has rapidly expanded to about a dozen engineers, with more hiring underway. Fournier describes it as a blend of research lab and innovation partner, helping companies across sectors unlock AI’s potential. | Journal des Entreprises

OTHER HEADLINES

🗞️ ‘I let ChatGPT decide:’ This American woman moved to a French town after asking AI for advice | Julie Neis loves the simple routine of sitting, cup in hand, while taking in the views of the fountain and arcades. Later she walks around the old town, maybe meeting up with friends for an Aperol, or browsing the twice-weekly market. A Michigan native who grew up in Texas, Neis feels at home among Uzès’ narrow streets and medieval architecture, even though she hadn’t set foot in the town until six months ago. So how did she end up moving her life there? Simple: She let ChatGPT choose. | CNN Travel

🗞️ How digital twins tackle climate risks and boosts efficiency of the French rail network | How can 3D modelling of the rails help improve climate resilience, reduce waste, and how to avoid a data overload? Alexis Meneses, Chief Strategy Officer at Altametris, explains how AI-powered 3D digital twins are transforming rail infrastructure management in France, enabling data-driven decision-making. | Railtech

ICYMI

🗞️ Inside TiHive: How a French Deeptech Startup Is Revolutionizing Quality Control, One Diaper at a Time | The Grenoble-based company just raised €8M to scale its terahertz-AI technology that can see inside products on production lines | The French Tech Journal

🗞️ 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

🧠 Mission Probabl: The Quest to Transform French AI Research into A Tech Champion

Yann Lechelle is attempting something that has bedeviled French technology for decades: transforming world-class academic research into a commercial powerhouse.

His startup Probabl, which just closed an €18.5 million seed round, represents both France's AI ambitions and the persistent challenges of bridging the gap between university labs and market success.

The company's origin story reads like a case study in French technology transfer complications.

Scikit-learn is one of the world's most popular machine learning libraries. It's been downloaded over 2.5 billion times. Yet despite this global reach, few outside the data science community even knew about its French origins. It sat hidden within INRIA, France's national computer science research institute.

"People not in data science had no clue this was French, even though it is at the top of the world in AI," Lechelle said.

AI Funding News

For the week ending October 24, there were 6 AI startups that raised a total of €30.4 million.

📇 Company: UPCITI
🔍 Description: Paris-based smart city technology company developing integrated hardware and edge AI software that helps cities operate more efficiently while preserving citizen privacy. UPCITI’s privacy-by-design sensors process visual data locally to optimize traffic, safety, and infrastructure management without transmitting personal information.
💻 Website: https://www.upciti.com
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: $20 million
🏦 Investors: Notion Capital (lead), Point Nine Capital, Chalfen Ventures
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Jean-Baptiste Poljak (CEO)
🗞️ News: The funding will accelerate UPCITI’s international expansion — including the opening of a U.S. headquarters in New York City — and drive product innovation as the company scales its privacy-first urban analytics platform across North America and beyond. | TechFundingNews

📇 Company: Volta Software
🔍 Description: French-Italian startup revolutionizing B2B commerce with an AI-powered platform that unifies, automates, and amplifies sales operations. Volta integrates with existing ERP, CRM, and PIM systems to centralize data, automate up to 90% of manual tasks, and leverage AI insights for growth and customer engagement.
💻 Website: https://www.voltasoftware.com/
📍 HQ City: Paris, France / Milan, Italy
🧗 Round: Extension Round (Post-Seed / Early Series A)
💰 Amount Raised: €5 million (total funding €11 million)
🏦 Investors: RTP Global (lead), Pascal Houillon (former CEO of Cegid & Sage), Emblem, Robin Capital, Founders Future
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Paul Guillemin (CEO), Mario Parteli (Co-founder)
🗞️ News: RTP Global doubles down on Volta Software to accelerate AI-driven digital transformation in B2B commerce. The new capital will fuel commercial rollout, team expansion (30+ employees), and further development of Volta’s AI platform designed to unify, automate, and amplify the B2B sales experience.

📇 Company: Kotcha
🔍 Description: Paris-based startup co-founded with marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge and the NN Running Team, Kotcha uses AI to make world-class running coaching accessible to everyone. The app recreates the athlete–coach relationship through four AI coaches (Head Coach, Nutritionist, Data Analyst, Personal Trainer) that adapt weekly training, nutrition, and recovery plans to each runner’s progress and lifestyle.
💻 Website: https://www.kotcha.com/
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Pre-Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €3.5 million
🏦 Investors: Racine2 (operated by Serena and makesense), True Global, Motier Ventures, and individual investors from the consumer, health, running, and sports sectors
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Ben Dupont (CEO), Michel-André Chirita (CTO), Dimitri Dor (CMO), Eliud Kipchoge, and the NN Running Team
🗞️ News: Funding will support Kotcha’s launch in Europe and abroad, bringing its AI-powered coaching app to runners worldwide. Available globally from October 23, 2025, the app offers a free trial and a €14.99/month subscription. Kipchoge’s philosophy — “Running is a team sport” — lies at the heart of Kotcha’s mission to blend human empathy with AI precision so that no runner ever runs alone. | FrenchWeb

📇 Company: Fleetiz
🔍 Description: Fleetiz develops an all-in-one fleet management platform designed to simplify and optimize the operation of bicycle and equipment fleets. Its solution leverages AI for predictive maintenance, user safety, and fleet optimization, helping companies reduce costs and environmental impact while supporting sustainable mobility.
💻 Website: https://fleetiz.fr
📍 HQ City: France (exact city not specified)
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €1 million
🏦 Investors: CITA
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Emmanuel Greve, Thibault Martin,
🗞️ News: Fleetiz raised €1 million alongside CITA to accelerate the development of its platform, strengthen its presence in the French and European sustainable mobility markets, and integrate new AI-based modules for predictive maintenance and fleet safety. The company will also showcase its innovations at the RNTP 2025 in Orléans. | LinkedIn

📇 Company: Certificall
🔍 Description: Toulouse-based insurtech startup providing a digital proof certification platform that transforms photos and videos into tamper-proof, legally admissible evidence across the EU. Certificall helps insurers, brokers, and large industries prevent fraud and ensure document integrity through geolocation, qualified time stamping, eIDAS compliance, and digital signature seals. The platform already supports 150+ enterprise clients and 20,000 users, including Groupama and Eiffage Energies, with over 3 million certified photos to date.
💻 Website: https://www.certificall.app/
📍 HQ City: Toulouse, France
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €1M
🏦 Investors: TomCat (lead), Groupama, InsurAngels
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Guillaume Laurent (President, Co-founder), Nicolas Chabauty (CEO, Co-founder)
🗞️ News: Certificall will use the funding to strengthen its technological platform and accelerate its commercial expansion in Europe. The company is positioning itself as a trusted third party for visual evidence in the fight against AI-driven digital fraud, fully compliant with EU eIDAS regulations and benefiting from the growing shift toward digital identity and self-care tools across financial services. | The French Tech Journal

📇 Company: MNGRS.AI
🔍 Description: French AI-powered artist management platform developed by Global Music Community. MNGRS.AI serves as a “digital manager” for creators, using artificial intelligence to guide them through career strategy, release planning, audience growth, and content optimization — empowering artists to professionalize and scale sustainably without replacing human creativity.
💻 Website: https://www.mngrs.ai
📍 HQ City: Paris, France
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: $1 million
🏦 Investors: Music and sports investors, including Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Jules Koundé (FC Barcelona), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), and African cultural entrepreneur Mamby Laye Diomandé (founder of SIMA – Salon des Industries Musicales d’Afrique francophone)
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Alexandre Deniot (ex-Midem, Universal Music) and Thomas Quenoil (ex-Universal Music Group, Midem)
🗞️ News: The funding will support MNGRS.AI’s international expansion and product development as it scales its AI-driven artist management service to serve thousands of creators across Europe, North America, and Africa — democratizing access to professional career management in a $16 billion global artist services market. | LinkedIn

🗣️ Announcements 🗣️

🗣️ AI Startup Accelerator | For its 3rd edition, the AI Startup Accelerator program at Station F is partnering with SNCF Connect & Tech, Hugging Face, and HEC Paris Incubation & Acceleration Center to support French startups that are building the future of mobility through open source AI. For 6 months, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with the experts of our partners, to experiment with your solution on concrete use cases, to access real data, and to benefit from a strategic and technical mentorship to take your product to the next level. | Apply by October 31

🗣️ Pioneers AI Lab | The AI Lab unites the top 8 AI builders in Europe every 3 months to build global consumer and prosumer products at STATION F, Paris. | More details on the next application batch

📆 Events 📆

📆 AI x Oncology & Gene Editing | October 30 | Oncology and gene editing are no longer emerging fields; they are at an inflection point. ​AI-driven single-cell analysis, CRISPR variants beyond Cas9, and programmable recombinases are moving from proof-of-concept to clinical and industrial applications. These technologies are not only redefining therapeutic paradigms in cancer but also expanding into agriculture and synthetic biology. ​This evening convenes founders and investors at the frontier to examine how these innovations translate from the lab bench into platforms and products that can reshape industries. | Waiting List

📆 Deeptech Connect | November 4 | Conceived and organized by the SATT Network, Deeptech Connect is a unique event connecting investors, industrial companies, and startups from French academic research. This third edition is part of a new unifying ambition, with twice as many startups, representing nearly 200 exhibiting startups from SATT and SAT E, French and international technology transfer organizations, national research organizations, and stakeholders in partnership research. All are involved as co-organizers of the event to support the development of these young companies they helped create and which are now seeking new partners. The SATT Network brings together 13 Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies (SATTs) in France. Committed to driving economic dynamism through scientific innovation, SATTs provide businesses with low-risk, high-potential technological solutions to increase their competitiveness. | Tickets

Les 4–5 novembre 2025, Palais des Congrès (Paris), GreenTech Forum réunit l’écosystème du numérique responsable. Cette édition met l’IA au centre : impacts énergie/eau, efficacité des modèles, data centers & cloud, reporting (CSRD/Scope 3), souveraineté et accessibilité.  Demande d’accréditation / prise de rendez-vous : répondez à ce mail (ou via j.aube@coromandel-rp.fr).

📆 The European AI Championship 2025 - Launch party | November 5 |What is the European AI Championship? ​Coming soon: 15 of Europe’s top AI engineers will battle live on stage, building real-world solutions using AI tools. They will represent their country to win, and you'll be able to watch and cheer for them with 1500 fellow engineers and AI-curious minds. Experience a championship where code meets competition, and AI hype meets AI application, wrapped in a unique, entertaining show. Think Eurovision, but for AI builders! | Buy tickets

📆 Data & AI Leaders Summit | November 5-6 | Paris becomes the nerve centre of data and responsible artificial intelligence. Access a program rooted in business reality: case studies, AI audits, governance, industrialisation, and sustainability. France's AI ecosystem is dynamic but under pressure: talent shortages, projects stuck at the POC stage, regulatory uncertainties (AI Act), and poor-quality data. Data & AI Leaders Summit Paris helps you move forward with technical content, immediately applicable and designed for the field. | Register

📆 dotAI | November 6 | We’re putting the spotlight on the best engineers in fabulous stages, so that their work is beautifully wrapped, their ideas travel better, and so that future leading engineers can aspire for that recognition. | Register

📆 Tectonic European Defense Summit | November 12-13 | Gather with the brightest minds in defense technology, policy, and innovation to forge the future of European security. | Buy Tickets

📆 Paris Meetup | fal x Hugging Face x BFL | November 13 | Join us for an evening of AI, creativity & connection. fal, Hugging Face, and Black Forest Labs invite you to an exclusive Paris meetup combining short talks, quick presentations, and open networking. Whether you're an AI engineer, developer, founder, product manager, or AI artist interested in generative media, this is your chance to connect with peers, demo new tools, and explore collaboration. | Request to join

📆 The Sovereign Cyber & Defence AI Forum | November 17 - November 20 | For ten years, European Cyber Week, organized by the Cyber Excellence Cluster and its members, has been bringing together French and European cybersecurity and cyberdefense players around a common goal: building sustainable digital sovereignty in line with the geopolitical challenges and commercial issues of the contemporary world. Civilian and military experts, startups and large groups, researchers and institutions: all will be present to discuss major technological, industrial, and societal issues. Cyber and artificial intelligence for defense, training, and guidance, Capture the Flag Challenge, wargaming, Bitflip, dual innovations, European and international defense, business and networking, resilience. | Register

📆 SophI.A Summit 2025 | November 19 - November 21 | The seventh edition of the international AI conference will take place at Sophia Antipolis Technology Park on the French Riviera, to reveal the latest advances in the field of artificial intelligence and its applications. This event brings together global AI experts in biology, health, mobility, and smart applications, covering both core technology and its applications, who will present their work through meetings, debates, round tables, and posters. | Buy Tickets

📆 Adopt AI | November 24 - 26 | The iconic Grand Palais will host the business-focused continuation of the AI Action Summit, led by President Macron alongside Heads of State and Government. Over three days, Fortune 500 CEOs, top researchers, and forward-thinking C-level leaders will showcase how AI is reshaping industries, driving strategy, and merging human and machine intelligence. | Buy Tickets

📆 ai-Pulse | December 4 | Hosted by Scaleway at Station F. Join leaders and engineers for a one-day technical conference dedicated to AI breakthroughs, research, and product demonstrations.| Register

📆 apidays Paris | December 9 - 11 | CNIT Forest, Paris | As Europe’s capital of tech, policy, and innovation, Paris provides the perfect setting to explore the convergence of APIs and AI. At the heart of this intersection, apidays Paris sparks essential conversations on data security, digital sovereignty, and sustainable innovation in the age of intelligent systems. | Buy Tickets

👋🏻 If you’re enjoying The French Tech Journal, support the project by forwarding it to friends and sharing it on your social networks. You can also comment on this post. And if you have ideas for stories, tips, or just want to harass us, shoot us an email: chris@frenchtechjournal.com / helen@frenchtechjournal.com 👋🏻‌