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Startup funding news 💸

Rounds of +€15M:

• Zama has raised €57 million in a Series B round led by Blockchange Ventures and Pantera Capital to scale its homomorphic encryption (FHE) technology for confidential blockchain applications. With its FHEVM engine enabling encrypted smart contracts on-chain, Zama aims to make privacy a default feature in blockchain, already attracting over 5,000 developers and achieving unicorn status with a valuation over €1 billion.

• Insurtech Orus has raised €25 million in a Series B round led by Singular to expand its digital insurance services for Europe's 25 million small businesses. With 30,000 clients and recent entry into the Spanish market, Orus plans further European expansion in 2026 and is developing a platform for insurance brokers to support its multichannel growth strategy.

Rounds €5M to €15M:

• Ever Dye has raised €15 million in Series A funding to industrialize its bio-based textile dyeing technology, which drastically cuts energy use, water pollution, and CO₂ emissions. With partnerships already in place with major brands like Lacoste and Petit Bateau, the startup aims to scale its low-impact, CAPEX-free model and become the global standard for sustainable textile dyeing.

• PoliCloud has raised €7.5 million to scale its sovereign, distributed cloud infrastructure combining micro data centers and Hivenet software for a secure, energy-efficient alternative to hyperscalers. Targeting public and private sectors, the startup plans to deploy 20,000 GPUs by 2026, leveraging municipal partnerships for local hosting and connectivity.

• DejaBlue, a Franco-American startup founded by two former Lyft employees, has raised €7.2 million to expand its reliable and user-friendly EV charging solutions across France and eventually into other European markets. With plans to double its workforce and develop turnkey energy contracts, the company aims to position itself as a comprehensive energy and mobility provider within the growing electric vehicle ecosystem.

• Le Drive tout nu, a zero-waste food retail startup, has raised €7 million to support its national expansion and scale up its reusable packaging system. With plans to open 25 new drives and supermarkets across France by 2027, the company continues to grow its mission of making sustainable consumption accessible to all.

• Wilgo, an edtech startup founded by former Foxintelligence executives and the ex-CEO of Maisons du Monde, has raised €6 million to expand its gamified revision app for students aged 11 to 18. After helping 50,000 ninth-graders prepare for France’s national brevet exam, Wilgo aims to personalize learning and reach over 5.5 million students across France, with future plans for European expansion.

• Qomon has raised €5.5 million to expand its civic engagement platform, which centralizes campaign coordination, volunteer management, fundraising, and impact analysis for over 600 organizations in 60 countries.

• Grenoble-based medtech GeodAIsics has raised €5 million from independent medical stakeholders to advance its generative AI technology for personalized medicine. The startup creates patient digital twins using complex data to enable early detection of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, kidney failure, infections, and certain cancers.

Rounds €1M to €5M:

• Altertable, a startup founded by former engineers from Sorare and Algolia, has raised €2.5 million to build an AI-driven unified data platform aimed at replacing outdated enterprise data stacks. Backed by top investors like 20VC and Kima Ventures, the company plans to launch its first product by fall 2025, offering proactive, real-time data insights tailored for scaling startups.

• Vipali has raised €2.5 million to expand its hybrid prevention model combining a personalized wellness app and in-person health centers. Backed by private investors and regional support, the company aims to extend its scientifically validated, AI-powered health solutions to more users and open three new centers across France by year-end.

• Hydroclimat has raised €2 million to scale its ultra-local climate and hydrological modeling platform, which assesses asset vulnerability to climate risks worldwide through 2100. Backed by Starquest's CCR-F fund and Région Sud Investissement, the funding will support commercial expansion and new services focused on water and climate risks.

• Stairling has raised €1.5 million to offer VTC drivers full-time employment with comprehensive social benefits, including vehicle access, insurance, and personal support services. With over 500 salaried drivers already, the platform (partnered with Uber, Heetch, and Bolt) plans to employ 3,000 drivers by 2026 and aims to promote its socially protective model to public authorities.

M&A transactions 🎊

Scaleway has acquired Normandy-based DataOps specialist Saagie to strengthen its vision of a sovereign European cloud platform for infrastructure, data, and AI. This move enhances Scaleway’s vertical integration strategy, enabling fully sovereign data pipelines and reinforcing its position as a key alternative to U.S. hyperscalers in the AI-ready cloud market.

Primelis, the French martech group, has acquired Omny AI, a startup specializing in Amazon sales optimization, marking its second acquisition in 2025 as it aims to reach €100 million in revenue within three years. This strategic move enhances Primelis' capabilities in AI-driven marketing technologies and reinforces its expansion in the U.S. market.

Petit BamBou has acquired HypnoTidoo, a pioneer in children's hypnotherapy, to expand into youth mental health and offer over 100 new audio sessions focused on sleep, emotions, and confidence starting September 2025. With this move, the mindfulness app, which boasts 12 million users globally, strengthens its position as a holistic mental well-being platform for families and educators.

Oxylabs Group has acquired French web scraping API provider ScrapingBee in an undisclosed eight-figure deal, aiming to expand into the direct-to-consumer market. ScrapingBee, known for its developer-friendly tools and rapid growth, will retain its brand and leadership while benefiting from Oxylabs' scale and technical expertise.

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

Tomcat Ventures is launching its second fund, aiming to raise €80–100 million by year-end to support 70 early-stage startups in impact, finance, AI, and Future of Work by 2030. Building on its hands-on approach, the firm plans to combine capital with deep operational support, investing up to €2.5 million per company and focusing on long-term growth rather than short-term returns.

Asterion Ventures has launched "F3 Inception," a new pre-seed and seed fund focused on deeptech and impactful AI innovations tackling major environmental and societal challenges. Targeting 10–12 startups annually with investments up to €2.5 million, the fund emphasizes systemic impact, long-term support, and leverages a robust community of over 800 engaged business angels and seasoned entrepreneurs.

The Centre-Val de Loire region has launched “Start’in Centre-Val de Loire”, a €5 million support program to help early-stage industrial startups scale their production locally. Open until November 14, 2025, the initiative offers funding, tailored guidance, and connections to regional industrial ecosystems to foster innovation in fields like energy transition, health, and robotics.

Startup news 💡

H Company faces continued turmoil as COO Mike Benchimol departs after just ten months, following the earlier exit of its CEO during VivaTech and several co-founders in 2024. Despite joining the French Tech 120 and acquiring Mithril Security, leadership instability casts doubt over the company’s direction and long-term viability in the agentic AI space.

Happn has launched "Perfect Date", a new AI-powered feature developed with Mistral AI, which suggests ideal date spots based on user preferences and location after a mutual match. Happn has 165 million users globally, strong traction in India, Brazil, and Turkey, and has been profitable since 2019.

Gatewatcher has secured €25 million in venture debt from the European Investment Bank to expand its AI-powered cybersecurity platform and bolster Europe’s digital sovereignty. Recognized by Gartner as the only European “Visionary” in Network Detection and Response, the French company plans to intensify R&D and global expansion across IT, OT, IoT, and cloud environments.

DeepLife, a biotech firm specializing in AI-powered cellular digital twins, has partnered with cultivated meat pioneer Gourmey to create the first avian digital twin, enabling advanced modeling of poultry cell behavior for improved flavor, nutrition, and production efficiency.

Big company & policy news 💡

OVHcloud is developing its own open-source LLM, aiming to launch it within the next 12 to 24 months as part of a broader AI strategy involving dataset tools and fine-tuning platforms for clients. Backed by an investment of several hundred million euros, the French cloud giant also tests OmisimO, a routing model for AI tasks, and positions itself as a European alternative in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Google plans to establish its first French data center in Châteauroux, marking a strategic shift amid rising European demands for digital sovereignty. The potential project spans 195 hectares, involves a local land deal with Tricolore Computing (a Google subsidiary), and reflects Google's broader $75 billion global infrastructure investment.

TF1 PUB has partnered with Aive to integrate its AI-powered video post-production platform, enabling automated, optimized ad content tailored for multiple formats and marketing goals. Leveraging Aive’s proprietary Multimodal Generative Technology, TF1 aims to streamline creative workflows, enhance campaign performance, and expand digital content output across TF1+ and other streaming platforms.

Taxi leader G7 has launched an AI-powered virtual assistant developed with Dydu to enhance customer service and streamline support for its 32 million annual users and 15,000 drivers. Integrated on G7’s homepage and soon expanding to social media and mobile apps, the chatbot handles routine queries in natural language, allowing human agents to focus on more complex issues.

Interesting reads 💡

Unicorn Spendesk, which specializes in corporate expense management, achieved its first month of profitability in March. The company now aims to reach €60 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2025.

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