Hi everyone,

Back-to-school season has been nothing short of intense for French Tech. The ecosystem kicked off September with a flurry of mega-rounds, strategic M&A deals, and new funds, highlighted, of course, by Mistral’s record-breaking raise that crowned France’s first decacorn and reshaped Europe’s AI landscape. From deeptech to fintech, agrifood, and cybersecurity, the pace of activity signals both resilience and ambition across sectors.

Let’s dive in!

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Startup funding news 💸

Rounds of +€15M:

• Mistral AI has raised a record-breaking €1.7 billion Series C round led by ASML, pushing Mistral’s valuation to €11.7 billion, making it the first French "decacorn" and the most valuable AI startup in Europe. This strategic alliance strengthens Europe’s tech sovereignty and deepens collaboration across the AI–semiconductor value chain, as Mistral expands globally with over 350 employees and partnerships spanning Nvidia, MGX, and half of the CAC 40.

• Cailabs, the Rennes-based deeptech specializing in advanced photonics for space and defense communications, has raised €57 million to scale its industrial and R&D capabilities. The round combines €37M from the European Investment Bank (BEI) and €20M from Definvest (DGA and Bpifrance), the EIC Fund, NewSpace Capital, Starquest Capital, and Crédit Agricole Ille-et-Vilaine Expansion (CAIVE)—solidifying Cailabs' role in next-gen optical laser communications for satellites and ground stations.

• Scintil Photonics has raised €50 million in a Series B round led by Yotta Capital Partners and NGP Capital, with backing from Nvidia, Bpifrance, BNP Paribas Développement, and Supernova Invest, to industrialize its silicon photonics circuits for AI infrastructure. Designed to reduce energy consumption in data centers, Scintil’s integrated optical chips target the fast-growing co-packaged optics (CPO) market, aiming to meet the surging hardware demands of AI at global scale while reducing carbon impact by a factor of 6 to 7.

• Nxtfood, the startup behind the plant‑based brand Accro, has raised €49 million to expand its industrial production, strengthen R&D, and accelerate international growth - after having tripled its revenue in 2024. The company plans to scale up its manufacturing capacity (notably by tripling the size of its site in Vitry‑en‑Artois), invest in marketing across France and Europe, and aims to reach financial breakeven within 12‑18 months.

• Greenway secured €32 million in funding, including €30 million in debt and €2 million in equity from SOCADIF Capital Investissement and business angels. The company’s all-in-one professional card, already used by tens of thousands of employees, aims to simplify expense management while donating 1% of each transaction to social and environmental projects. Greenway will use the funds to double its staff, reach profitability with €5M in recurring revenue, and exceed 100,000 cards in circulation by early 2026.

• La Fourche, the French online organic supermarket, has raised €31.5 million in a round co-led by Bpifrance Large Venture and Astanor to automate logistics, expand internationally, and reach profitability by the end of 2025. With 150,000 members, a B Corp certification, and a solidarity-based subscription model, the company continues to grow against market trends—aiming for over €100 million in revenue this year while advancing its mission to democratize access to sustainable consumption.

• Finary has raised €25 million in a Series B round led by PayPal Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, LocalGlobe, Shapers & Hedosophia, Speedinvest, and others, to scale up its investment platform across Europe. They plan to use the funds to develop new financial products, enhance their wealth‑management tools using AI, recruit around 50 people, and aim to exceed €5 billion in assets under management within three years.

• Vizzia, the Paris-based video surveillance startup focused on serving municipalities, has raised €16 million in a round led by Headline with support from Sistafund, to expand across France and prepare for entry into Germany, the UK, Spain, and Italy. Unlike AI-driven rivals, Vizzia promotes a “low-tech” and sovereign approach using GDPR-compliant, European-hosted systems designed to be quickly deployed and maintained, already adopted by over 200 cities.

• DeFacto has raised €16 million to scale its AI-powered credit infrastructure across Europe, with ambitions to become a core player in short-term SME financing, a market worth €3.2 trillion. With over €1 billion lent to 17,000+ SMEs and support from partners like Citibank and Viola Credit, DeFacto aims to reach €10 billion in financing by 2028 while operating without a back or middle office, leveraging OpenAI and Mistral models for end-to-end automation.

Rounds €5M to €15M:

• Zefir has raised €15 million in a round led by FinTech Collective, with continued backing from Sequoia Capital, Zigg Capital, and Heartcore Capital, to fuel growth, double its headcount, and launch ZIA, its new AI-powered virtual real estate agent. After pivoting from guaranteed sales to a collective selling model, Zefir has tripled its annual growth, surpassed €600 million in transactions, and now aims to expand into 15 more cities while becoming the leading intelligent real estate platform in Europe.

• Seyna has raised €10 million in a round led by 115K (La Banque Postale), with participation from existing investors White Star Capital and Elaia, to support its "Horizon 2027" growth plan and further integrate AI into its insurance platform. After reaching €91 million in revenue in 2024, Seyna aims to become the go-to white-label insurer for brokers across Europe, already managing over 120 products and protecting 2 million policyholders.

• Rofim, a Marseille-based medtech focused on digital care coordination, has raised €10 million in a round led by its historical investors Banque des Territoires, Orange Ventures Impact, and Région Sud Investissement, joined by CAAP Création and Buena Vista Capital. The company’s SaaS platform, already used by 70,000 professionals across 10 countries, integrates telemedicine tools and aims to expand across Europe while enhancing its AI capabilities for semantic analysis of medical data.

• French healthtech startup ArcaScience raised $7 million to use AI in predicting the benefit-risk profiles of new drugs before they fail in costly late-stage trials. The company, already collaborating with Sanofi, AstraZeneca, and the Paris Brain Institute, plans to expand into the US and UK, launch its first patient-facing solution targeting pediatric brain cancers and dermatological diseases, and strengthen its clinical team.

• Juisci, the French medtech startup specializing in AI for scientific publications, has raised €5.5 million in seed funding from Ring Capital, Big Pi Ventures, Bpifrance, and strategic angels to accelerate R&D and target international growth, particularly in the U.S. market. With over 200,000 users in 60 countries, Juisci’s domain-specific AI transforms dense medical literature into clear, digestible content—empowering healthcare professionals with fast, reliable access to scientific knowledge through summaries, infographics, and multilingual tools.

Rounds €1M to €5M:

• Temelion, a French ConstrucTech startup automating building design for engineering firms, has raised €3.2 million in seed funding led by 360 Capital, with participation from ISAI Build Venture, SE Ventures, Kima Ventures, and construction-sector angels. Its AI-powered platform streamlines repetitive tasks like documentation, bid analysis, and compliance—freeing engineers to focus on technical work, with the goal of becoming the go-to tech partner across the full project lifecycle.

• ORIS Materials Intelligence, a French ConstrucTech startup spun off from a major construction group, has raised €3 million from LIBERSET to scale its AI-powered platform for low-carbon infrastructure design. Already used on over 18,500 km of transport projects, ORIS helps reduce CO₂ emissions, construction costs, and resource usage—positioning itself as a key player in the decarbonization of roads and railways across Europe and Asia.

M&A transactions 🎊

LeHibou, the freelance matchmaking platform for major corporations, has made its first-ever acquisition by buying Adonys Security, a cybersecurity consulting firm, aiming to boost its presence in that sector, which will now represent 20% of its revenue. With this move, the profitable scale-up — recently added to France’s Next 40 — plans to accelerate European growth through further acquisitions and expects to hit €150 million in revenue by 2025.

Legal‑tech firm Doctrine has acquired its domestic competitor Predictice, marking its fourth acquisition since 2023 as it accelerates European expansion. The deal—reportedly worth around €20 million—brings Doctrine’s team to 230 employees and strengthens its position in markets like France, Germany, Italy, and Luxembourg with a client base of 25,000 legal professionals.

Groover, the French music promotion platform, has acquired London-based Temple, a startup that helps independent artists turn listeners into loyal fans using tools like customizable microsites, CRM, and audience data collection. The acquisition will enable Groover to launch a new suite of fan‑engagement features, reinforcing its mission to be the most artist-first platform in the music industry, with a community already surpassing 650,000 artists across 180 countries.

Mayday, the French startup specializing in AI-powered knowledge management for customer service, has been acquired by German software group USU, five years after its founding. With clients like Fnac-Darty, EDF, and Doctolib, Mayday’s team of 50 employees will join USU to build a European leader in customer experience, uniting their technologies under the shared vision that “no AI works without solid knowledge management.”

YesWeHack, the French bug bounty platform, has made its first-ever acquisition by purchasing Sekost, a Brittany-based startup specializing in ethical hacking services for SMEs. The deal—facilitated by YesWeHack’s recent €26 million Series C—strengthens its position in the increasingly competitive cybersecurity space, as it continues scaling amid rising demand for AI-powered vulnerability detection.

Cycle, a startup launched by Hexa (formerly eFounders) in 2019 has been acquired by Atlassian. The team will join Atlassian to integrate Cycle’s user feedback tools into Jira Product Discovery, used by over 300,000 companies worldwide. Backed by Boldstart Ventures, Cycle marks Hexa’s 11th exit, with its standalone product set to shut down on October 31, 2025, as its core features are absorbed into Atlassian’s product suite.

Stoïk, the French cyber insurance startup, has made its first acquisition by buying CyberContract, a Belgian leader in SME cyber coverage. The deal gives Stoïk an instant foothold in Belgium, adding over 1,000 clients and 150 broker partners. The move supports Stoïk’s plan to build a pan-European broker network combining insurance and cybersecurity services.

Brevo has acquired French smart loyalty startup Cohort to boost its CRM platform with social and community features. Cohort, used by brands like Lacoste, turns social media engagement into loyalty insights. The deal supports Brevo’s goal to link customer engagement to business performance, as it grows past €179M ARR and continues its global expansion and AI investment.

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

Quadrille Capital has closed a €500 million fund across its three core strategies—Growth (€285M), Primary (€70M), and Secondary (€150M)—doubling its assets under management to €1.8 billion. With a strong base of loyal institutional investors and a dual presence in Europe and the U.S., the firm aims to capitalize on long-term tech "super cycles" like AI, while strengthening its position as a pan-European and transatlantic investment platform.

French investment firm Wind has launched “Technologies souveraines,” a €25 million annual fund focused on defense and sovereignty, uniquely open to individual investors with a minimum ticket of €7,500 and tax benefits under France’s 2025 finance law. Targeting sectors from drones and cybersecurity to energy, AI, and quantum computing, the fund aims to channel dormant household savings into strategic industries amid rising geopolitical tensions and Europe’s push for greater independence.

M2care, a venture studio dedicated to healthtech, has secured investment from French Tech Accélération 2 (France 2030) alongside Mérieux Développement, NAOS Institute, Crédit Agricole Centre Est, and several family offices to scale its company-building model. With this support, M2care plans to launch 8 new health startups, expanding on current projects like Previa Medical, TheraSonic, and Rhovica Neuroimaging, and accelerating the translation of academic research into hospital-grade medical technologies.

Startup news 💡

OpenClassrooms has become the first French institution accredited to grant U.S. degrees, following recognition by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, allowing it to offer Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degrees in the U.S. without extra cost to students. This milestone marks a strategic expansion into the American higher education market, with a focus on apprenticeship-based learning and profitable, sustainable growth, supported by partnerships with entities like the State of California and the City of New York.

Back Market, the French unicorn specializing in refurbished electronics, is expanding offline with its first physical store in New York and 500 retail points across France by year-end, while also launching a new repair service open to all consumers, regardless of purchase history. These moves aim to broaden its customer base and reinforce its position across the reconditioned value chain, as the company targets over €3 billion in business volume in 2025 and eyes leadership in the circular economy.

Revolut has appointed Frédéric Oudéa, former CEO of Société Générale, as President of its Western Europe division, reinforcing its ambitions to become a dominant European banking group. This high-profile hire follows the relocation of Revolut’s Western European HQ to Paris and supports its push for a full banking license to expand into savings and mortgage products across its 60 million global users, including 5 million in France.

In a surprise twist, the founders of Fruitz have bought back their dating app from Bumble, which had planned to shut it down just three years after acquiring it for $75 million. Now fully independent and back in French hands, Fruitz will retain its signature "fruit-based" concept for the next 18 months as the team rebuilds its product roadmap and revives operations across five countries.

Big company & policy news 💡

The French political debate has been intense this past weeks with the proposed “Zucman tax,” a law that would impose a 2% minimum levy on fortunes over €100M. Entrepreneurs, especially in the French Tech ecosystem, warn it could hurt innovation and investment, while supporters argue it ensures the ultra-wealthy contribute fairly.

More on this:

• Bpifrance CEO Nicolas Dufourcq fiercely criticized the proposed “Zucman tax,” calling it an absurd, jealousy-driven idea that would panic entrepreneurs and never be implemented, arguing it risks undermining France’s top business leaders instead of supporting them.

• At France Digitale Day, economist Gabriel Zucman defended the measure as a tool of fairness, while Philippe Aghion cautioned it risks penalizing startups with illiquid assets—underscoring the tension between justice and competitiveness in French Tech

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