Raise, Baby, Raise!
Elon Musk offered $100 billion for OpenAI, Macron announced €109 billion in AI investments, and the EU pledged an additional €200 billion. Who will shape the future of AI?
Can France win the AI battle? 🥊
The Paris AI Summit has highlighted a reality we can no longer ignore: France has all the assets to establish itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence.
(And no, we’re not just saying that because we’re French… 🇫🇷 )
From clean energy to world-class talent, bold startups, and massive investments, the country is building a strong and competitive AI ecosystem.
Thanks to our nuclear energy, France can sustain the massive growth of AI without increasing its carbon footprint. As data center energy consumption skyrockets, our energy model stands out as a major competitive advantage.
Our schools train some of the world’s most sought-after experts in mathematics, engineering, AI, design, and, of course, business. It’s no coincidence that the biggest tech companies integrate these talents into their research teams.
Mistral AI is proving that France can innovate, compete with American giants, and even disrupt the market. Free, Orange, and Bouygues now offer premium generative AI to all their subscribers.
A future where AI becomes a built-in service? 💡
Just like 4G or cloud services before it, premium AI could become a standard feature in major corporate offerings. If this scenario plays out, it could force OpenAI, Anthropic, and others to completely rethink their business models… and might just make Mistral a key catalyst of this transformation….
Prompt, baby, prompt…
Each year, we support over 100+ startups through a flexible, dynamic, and collaborative program, helping you achieve in just four months what would normally take a year on your own. 🕖
🚀 Got an innovative project? Or know entrepreneurs ready to take their startup to the next level? now is the time to apply!
📅 Applications are open until February 16th at midnight.
🤔 📊 Have you heard about employee equity in startups?
In partnership with Sovalue, Angelsquare, H7, HubSpot For Startups, CCI Paris, and the Incubateur HEC Paris, SeedLegals France is launching the 2025 Employee Equity Barometer
Your opinion matters! Take their quick survey (5 minutes max) and help improve the understanding of market practices. 🚀
AdCreative.ai Acquired by Appier for $38.7M.
AdCreative.ai, a leading startup specializing in AI-driven ad creation and a former participant in the Beauty Tech Atelier by L’Oréal, has been acquired by Appier in a $38.7 million deal. This acquisition marks a significant milestone for the Martech ecosystem and underscores the growing impact of generative AI in digital advertising.
This acquisition is part of a broader vision: to accelerate AI adoption in digital advertising and provide marketers with even more powerful tools to optimize their campaigns.
👏 Congratulations to Alexandre Leciel, Yusuf KAYA & Tarık İnce.
🚀 Neuralk AI raises $4M to Revolutionize tabular data in commerce. 🚀
French deep tech startup Neuralk AI founded by Antoine Moissenot and Alexandre Pasquiou, which participated in Meta’s AI program and was named #FUTURE40, has secured $4 million in funding to build the first Tabular Foundation Model designed to transform the way businesses leverage structured data. 🤯
“This funding is a game-changer for Neuralk-AI, enabling us to help brands and retailers stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market.”
Antoine Moissenot | Co-founder & CEO
With a team of 10 machine learning experts, there is already working with major players like E.Leclerc, Auchan Retail, Mirakl, and Lucky Cart.
👉 More information (🇫🇷)
Podero Raises €5.5M to Power the Future of Utilities! ⚡🌍
Podero, a startup from TotalEnergies On program has secured a €5.5M Seed round. This milestone will accelerate the deployment of its platform, helping utilities navigate market volatility and rising energy costs. By offering financial incentives, Podero enables providers to control energy usage in real time, synchronizing it with photovoltaic production and energy markets to reduce consumer energy costs by up to 27.4%.
Tyba Raises $13.9M to Scale Profitable Energy Storage Solutions ⚡🔋
Tyba, a startup from the TotalEnergies On program, has secured a $13.9M Series A funding round to help energy companies optimize battery storage operations by providing accurate price forecasts and automated dispatch decisions to maximize profitability.
Tyba is now set to expand into new domestic and international markets, scaling energy storage solutions that enhance the efficiency, reliability, and profitability of renewables.
BiocSol Secures €4.4M to Advance Sustainable Biopesticides and Protect Global Crops 🌱🔬
Belgian startup BiocSol, incubated From Hectar, has secured an additional €4.4M to accelerate the development of its biopesticides, bringing its total funding close to €10M. Founded in 2023, BiocSol develops microorganism-based solutions to combat resistant fungal pathogens which threaten global food security. Its innovations provide a sustainable alternative to traditional chemical pesticides.
With this funding, this startup aims to scale its R&D and bring its biofungicides to market, helping farmers worldwide protect crops while reducing environmental impact. 🚀
Startup Of The Day
🦷 IOLOKIS: Giving Dentists Their Smile Back!
Dentists spend too much time juggling tools, paperwork, and complex systems leaving less time for what truly matters: their patients. 🤯
That’s why Fady Abboud founded IOLOKIS, a startup from Incubateur HEC Paris, to revolutionize dental practices with Sofia, an AI-powered assistant that makes managing patient data effortless.
📝 2PR: Turn your spoken ideas into impactful LinkedIn posts with AI.
💡 Dust: A customizable AI assistant platform that enhances productivity by integrating your data sources and automating tasks
📱 FeedHive: An advanced AI-powered social media management tool that streamlines content creation, scheduling, and analytics.
🤖 ViableView: An AI analytics platform tailored for entrepreneurs to streamline market and product data analysis.
Noota.io: Noota is an AI-powered platform that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings, enhancing productivity by automating note-taking and integrating with tools like CRM and ATS.
After 16 Years, Spotify Proves Profitability Is Possible, but not without sacrifices…
In a landmark achievement since its inception in 2008, Spotify has reported its first full year of profitability in 2024. The Swedish streaming giant announced an operating income of €1.4 billion, a significant turnaround from the €446 million loss recorded the previous year.
This success is attributed to a combination of strategic initiatives, including cost-cutting measures, price adjustments, and a reevaluation of its content strategy.
Strategic Shifts and Cost Management
In 2023, Spotify shifted its focus from rapid user growth to cost efficiency, responding to the need for long-term profitability. This transition came with difficult decisions, including three rounds of layoffs affecting 2,300 employees, alongside reduced podcast investments and significant cuts in marketing budgets, ultimately saving nearly €500 million.
Podcast Ventures and Content Strategy
To reduce its reliance on costly music royalties ($11 billion, or 70% of its revenue), Spotify heavily invested in podcasts, acquiring studios and signing exclusive deals. The goal was to boost ad revenue with higher margins, but the strategy failed to deliver the expected returns. The podcast division suffered significant losses, and Spotify ultimately decided to scale back and abandon podcast expansion efforts.
Price Adjustments and Market Position
In mid-2023, Spotify raised its standard subscription price by €1 in Europe (€11/month) and $2 in the U.S., with minimal cancellations. Despite concerns, premium subscribers grew by 43 million in 18 months, reaching 263 million, highlighting Spotify’s strong market position and resilient demand.
Looking Ahead
With 675 million+ monthly users, Spotify remains the global leader (excluding China). CEO Daniel Ek affirmed its profitability, stating, “We are proving we can be a profitable company.” As Spotify fine-tunes its model, balancing growth and profit, it sets a benchmark for sustainable success in streaming.
Beev simplifies the switch to electric mobility by providing electric vehicle leasing and charging station installation for individuals and businesses. ⚡🚗
Dev | Design | Marketing | Operations | Sales | Data
👉 Join Beev
LQUOM is developing long-distance quantum communication technology to provide a completely secure Internet in the areas of finance, telemedicine, and defense.
👉 Join LQUOM
Domani offers shared housing for seniors experiencing a loss of autonomy, providing a secure, adapted, and community-oriented environment as an alternative to traditional nursing homes.
👉 Join Domani
Toore is an operations management software that streamlines the refurbishment of electrical products, machinery, and vehicles with traceability and tailored decision-support tools.
👉Join Toore
“AI is not here to replace humans, but to unlock their potential.”
Quote generated by AI.
France has the talent, the infrastructure, and the ambition but the AI race isn’t just about technical superiority. It’s about distribution, regulation, and scale. The U.S. dominates on compute (NVIDIA, OpenAI, Google), while China leverages sheer data volume and government-backed strategies. Thanks for the article.