?? La Machine #3: This Week In French AI Funding + News ??
Chris O'Brien
American journalist in France Journalist | Newsletter Editor | Content Marketing Specialist | Conference Moderator
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Headlines
??? Fifteen French NGOs are taking legal action against the French Social Security Agency’s National Family Allowance Fund (CNAF), the public body managing family and social benefits, over the use of a risk-scoring algorithm that impacts nearly half of France's population. The NGOs claim the algorithm, used to flag "high-risk" recipients for benefit reviews, violates GDPR rules and discriminates against vulnerable groups, particularly women and low-income families. Following a ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) that such algorithms are unlawful, the NGOs are calling for a preliminary CJEU ruling on the case. The outcome could reshape how public bodies across Europe use algorithms in welfare systems. | Euractiv, Amnesty International
??? French AI startup Mistral AI has made two big product announcements. First, they launched “Les Ministraux,” a set of lightweight AI models optimized for edge devices like laptops and smartphones. These models, designed to work offline, focus on privacy and fast processing, offering companies a solution that doesn't rely on cloud infrastructure. Second, Mistral's continued growth includes major investments and plans for broad AI integration, from robotics to code generation. This marks their push toward accessible, decentralized AI solutions for diverse industries. | Mistral AI, TechCrunch
??? ...But, while Mistral seems to have a lot of money and cash, The Information put the company on its Generative AI Takeover List of possible acquisition targets. Why? The report cited Mistral's strong technical capabilities, particularly its high-performing open-source AI models, its European base, and the potential challenges of monetizing its technology independently in a market dominated by large tech giants like Microsoft and Google.
??? At the Big Data +AI conference, Clara Chappaz , France's new Secretary of State for AI and Digital, urged everyone to stop talking about AI and just use it already. France is throwing a billion euros at AI but might still be playing catch-up as companies are too slow deploying it, she said. | Alliancy
??? Meanwhile, Fran?ois Villeroy de Galhau , Governor of the Banque de France , gave a speech at the Fintech Forum where he encouraged the industry -- and the French -- to stop focusing only on the negatives and recognize the potential benefits of AI.
"Artificial intelligence (AI) – and especially generative AI – has clearly made exponential progress over the past two years. And despite massive interest, we have not yet collectively grasped the full extent of the transformation to come," he said. "Let's be humble enough to admit that we don't know everything and that we don't really know what the business models of tomorrow will look like. But in the case of AI, if we wait until we are sure before innovating, we will be sure to get it wrong.?As a central bank and financial supervisor, it is imperative that we keep up with these developments; and learning by doing is critical." | Banque de France
??? In a recent report, the French collective MentalTech France highlighted the growing role of AI in mental health care and called for strict guidelines on its use. As the demand for psychiatric services rises, especially after the pandemic, AI could help streamline diagnostics and treatment suggestions, according to the association. However, experts warn against over-reliance on the technology, emphasizing that human professionals should always oversee AI-driven conclusions. The report advocates for the involvement of mental health experts in AI development and urges transparency with patients, ensuring they can choose whether or not to use these tools in their care. | BFMTV
??? Frenchy Microsoft Corp. exec Sebastien Bubeck made headlines when the AI VP decided to jump ship to frenemy OpenAI to work on artificial general intelligence or AGI. Of course, Microsoft is both OpenAI's largest investor and a rival. "Bubeck, a 10-year Microsoft veteran, had been overseeing the company’s work on small language models, a field that tries to meet or exceed the effectiveness of larger AI systems while running more efficiently," said Bloomberg.
Other AI News
?? The French founders who are setting up AI start-ups in the United States | There remain a legion of entrepreneurs launching their start-ups in the United States, such as the bosses of Dottxt, Poolday, Lindy, and Scenario. | Les Echos (FR)
?? With A Focus On ‘Future-Fit’ Business, France’s ESSEC Launches Grand New Strategy | A look at the business school's strategic changes that include a greater emphasis on AI. | Poets & Quants
AI Funding
?? Company: Sto?k
?? Description: A cyber security insurance product for small and medium-sized businesses.
?? Website: https://stoik.io/
??HQ City: Paris
?? Round: Series B
?? Amount raised: €25 million (€50 million total raised to date)
?? Investors: Tokio Marine HCC International, Alven, Andreessen Horowitz, Munich Re Ventures, Opera Tech Ventures, and Anthemis.
???????? Founders: Nicolas Sayer , Jules Veyrat , Alexandre Andreini , Franziska Geier , and Philippe Mangematin .
??? News: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/14/european-cyber-insurance-startup-stoik-secures-27-million/
?? Company: autone
?? Description: Developed an AI-driven system of intelligence to provide brands with accurate predictions to eliminate waste and save money.
?? Website: https://autone.io
??HQ City: London, Milan
?? Round: Series A
?? Amount raised: $17 million
?? Investors: General Catalyst, YCombinator, Speedinvest, Seedcamp, Motier, Financière Saint James, and 2100 VC.
???????? Founders: Adil Bouhdadi (French founder) and Harry Glucksmann Cheslaw
??? News: https://autone.io/series-a/
?? Company: Najar (ex Welii)
?? Description: Uses AI to help fast-growing companies save time and money by optimizing the purchasing process and management of all their SaaS software.
?? Website: https://najar.ai/
??HQ City: Paris
?? Round: Series A
?? Amount raised: €15 million
?? Investors: 13books Capital
???????? Founders: Vincent Coste
?? Company: Gladia
?? Description: Curated Open Source State of the Arts AI models.
?? Website: https://gladia.io/
??HQ City: Paris
?? Round: Series A
?? Amount raised: €14.7 million
?? Investors: XAnge, Illuminate Financial, XTX Ventures, Athletico Ventures, Gaingels, Mana Ventures, Motier Ventures, Roosh Ventures, and Soma Capital.
???????? Founders: CEO Jean-Louis Quéguiner and CTO Jonathan Soto
?? Company: Pretto
?? Description: Making mortgages simple thanks to artificial intelligence and product design.
?? Website: https://www.pretto.fr/
??HQ City: Paris
?? Round: Early
?? Amount raised: €12.2 million VC + €1.8 million debt
?? Investors: Alven, Eurazeo, Serena, Orange Ventures, BlackFin Capital Partner and Kernel
???????? Founders: Pierre Chapon and Renaud Pestre,
?? Company: Dottxt
?? Description: A tool to make LLMs reliable enough for the world to build on.
?? Website: https://dottxt.co/
领英推荐
??HQ City: Paris & San Francisco
?? Round: Seed
?? Amount raised: $11.9 million
?? Investors: Elaia, EQT Ventures, Seedcamp, Common Magic, Kima Ventures, Script Capital, STATION F, and Business Angels including Roxanne VARZA, Julien Chaumond, Bob van Luijt, Erik Bernhardsson, Jean-Louis Quéguiner, Rick Lamers, and Pierre Valade.
???????? Founders: CEO Rémi Louf, CTO Daniel Gerlanc, and Chief Science Officer Brandon T. Willard
?? Company: @Xpln
?? Description: Develops new solutions for measuring and optimizing advertising effectiveness, supported by artificial intelligence, 100% cookieless, adapted to the new era of digital marketing.
?? Website: https://xpln.ai/
??HQ City: Paris
?? Round: Series A
?? Amount raised: €7 million
?? Investors: Ventech, Spring Invest
???????? Founders: Fabien Magalon and Edouard Letort
?? Company: Aiko (Italian-French)
?? Description: AIKO creates and markets Artificial Intelligence-based algorithms to enhance the autonomy of small satellite missions.
?? Website: https://www.aikospace.com/
??HQ City: Turin-Toulouse
?? Round: Early VC
?? Amount raised: €3.5 million
?? Investors: Deep Blue Ventures (DBV), the deeptech venture capital fund managed by Deep Ocean Capital, and Primo Ventures through the Primo Space Fund
???????? Founders: CEO Lorenzo Feruglio
?? Company: Mendo
?? Description: Specializes in employee training on the use of software and generative AI tools.
?? Website: https://mendo.cloud/en
??HQ City: Paris
?? Round: Seed
?? Amount raised: €3.5 million
?? Investors: UK-based fund Emerge Education, Tomcat Ventures, and Business Angels such as Claudio Erba, CEO of Docebo.
???????? Founders: Quentin Amaudry and Alexandre P.
?? Company: Edgee
?? Description: Open source edge computing platform to provide developers with a full range of edge services, from AI to cybersecurity.
?? Website: https://www.edgee.cloud/
??HQ City: Paris
?? Round: Pre-Seed
?? Amount raised: €2.9 million
?? Investors: Serena Capital, VentureFriends, Business Angels
???????? Founders: Sacha Morard, former CTO/CIO of Le Monde Group, and Gilles Raymond, a serial entrepreneur
??? News: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BDiTvBW1cwzLwJStLlAoTTWROyCdpnpw5R5DmODzwE0/edit?tab=t.0
?? Company: Zola
?? Description: AI-powered HR management platform for small and medium-sized businesses.
?? Website: https://www.zola.fr/
??HQ City: Paris
?? Round: Seed
?? Amount raised: €1 million
?? Investors: Business Angel groups including Provence Angels, Le Stud, Myrtus Venture and individual investors such as Jérémy Blackwell (private banker) and Alexandre Ichai (Ava Capital Manager).
???????? Founders: Jér?me Vobmann and Rapha?l Werlé
Events
?? 12th Global Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks | October 22 & 23 | The conference mainly focuses on the theme "The Next Evolution in Digital Transformation" | Register
?? Policy Dialogue on AI Governance: Impact of AI on Gender | October 30, 2024 | UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France | Register
?? ai-PULSE | November 7 | Sponsored by Scaleway at Station F | Join leaders and engineers for a one-day technical conference dedicated to AI breakthroughs, research & demonstrations | Registration
?? AWS GenAI Day France | November 25 | A free event that brings together the French GenAI community to connect, collaborate, and be at the forefront of the latest innovations around generative AI. The event is aimed at technology specialists from all sectors and skill levels who want to discover how generative AI can help them innovate quickly and deliver flexible and reliable solutions at scale. During the afternoon, AWS will offer you thematic tracks (Business/Industries, Technology, Startups) as well as a closing cocktail. Throughout the day, you will be able to discover AWS demos, innovative GenAI startup stands, "Ask an Expert" sessions, and partner stands. The event will be broadcast online for remote participants. | Information
?? SOPHI.A Summit | November 27 to 29, 2024 | At the heart of the European cradle of innovation, SOPHI.A Antipolis, international experts and leading companies will bring their thoughts and research on AI-related themes such as health, images, ethics, management, and GenAI. | Information
?? Data Centre World Paris | November 27 & 28 | The event brings together a community of data center professionals, including decision-makers, technical experts, and innovative solution providers. | Register
?? Big Data & AI World | November 27 & 28 | Register
?? GenAI Days Paris édition #2 | November 28 | A conference focusing on feedback on the applications of Generative AI. | Tickets
Chris O'Brien and Helen O'Reilly - Durand -Durand
Coach à la retraite, Citoyen Engagé Team for the Planet - Ami de la #Terre - Enthusiast Alliance #Humain et #IA #AllianceIHIA
2 天前Today begins the World Impact Summit in Bordeaux, France. The international summit of positive impact solutions. Acting together for a more resilient world. https://worldimpactsummit.com/ #WIS2025 #WorldImpactSummit