The 10 most notable fundraisings in French Tech in 2024

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The year 2024 has not been easy for the French startup ecosystem. In an uncertain economic and political context, it is becoming more difficult to raise funds. Despite everything, some young shoots have carried out substantial funding rounds over the last twelve months. Here are which ones.

Mistral AI

Unsurprisingly, Mistral AI carried out the largest operation of the year in French Tech, with 600 million euros raised. An achievement that brought the valuation of the artificial intelligence (AI) startup to 6 billion euros. The American giant Microsoft is among its investors, and has established a partnership with the young French company.

Founded in 2023, Mistral is establishing itself as one of the most promising companies in the highly sought-after sector of generative AI. It develops large language models for businesses. Its competitor to ChatGPT, Le Chat, is also available to all users.

Electra

Electra, a specialist in charging electric vehicles, comes in second with a fundraising of 304 million euros. A ranking that demonstrates the appeal of AI and greentech to investors, even in a gloomy context.

The company founded in 2021 is working on developing a network of ultra-fast charging stations across Europe, with the mission of accelerating the transition to electric mobility. Its objective: “to make recharging as simple as filling up with petrol, to save time and provide comfort to motorists“.

H Company

And third place in this ranking is occupied by a startup specializing in… AI! In May, H Company raised €220 million from French and foreign investors. This young company develops models capable of breaking down complex tasks into several subtasks, aimed at improving worker productivity and automating workflows in companies. H Company’s AIs are designed to reason and plan, allowing them to approach problems as humans do.

HysetCo

HysetCo, a pioneering hydrogen mobility startup, raised €200 million in April, with the ambition of accelerating the deployment of its solutions and decarbonizing urban transport.

The startup offers a comprehensive approach that includes the development and operation of a network of hydrogen refueling stations, the provision of an integrated hydrogen vehicle rental service, and a range of solutions for managing its fleet. It is mainly aimed at professionals, particularly taxi drivers.

The Exploration Company

The Exploration Company is a company from the new space in this top, which owes its presence in this top to a fundraising of 150 million euros carried out in November. Founded in 2021, the startup aims to democratize access to space thanks to an affordable solution. Its Nyx capsule is modular, reusable and can be refueled directly in orbit. Above all, it is Europe's first private space capsule.

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The company has already sold six missions, and has established a partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) to strengthen the Old Continent's capabilities in space exploration and commercial activities.

Pigment

Thanks to a fundraising of 134 million euros, Pigment has reached a valuation of one billion euros and has therefore obtained unicorn status. The startup offers an all-in-one platform based on artificial intelligence, which aggregates financial, marketing, HR and commercial data in order to help company management make more efficient and agile choices.

The objective is to enable them to plan, decide and adapt to any change. Its clients include major industry names such as Coca-Cola, Deliveroo, Figma and Merck Pharmaceuticals.

Stonal

Proptech Stonal completed a €100 million funding round in May. Founded in 2017, it aims to help real estate professionals make informed decisions about their properties. It provides them with easy access to comprehensive and reliable data across economic, technical and financial dimensions. Its SaaS solution automatically collects, structures, classifies and analyses data from documents, plans and external sources.

Stonal manages a portfolio of more than 200 million square metres, including 1.3 million homes in France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.

Langa International

Cleantech Langa International raised €85 million in January 2024. This independent renewable electricity developer and producer specializes in various projects, including solar, wind, storage and hydroelectric technologies.

Active mainly in Europe, South America, Africa and island territories, the startup plans to produce more than 6 gigawatts through its various projects, with 400 megawatts already in operation or ready to be built.

« Strong values ​​guide our exchanges and our commitments to our partners, employees, customers and locals. Shared by a diverse and plural team of more than 120 members from 15 different nationalities, they constitute the foundations of our identity and guide our choices », explains Langa.

Unseenlabs

This year, Unseelabs reached a new milestone in its development with a funding round of 85 million euros. Founded in 2015, this space startup offers its customers “ maritime surveillance from orbit “.

It puts its constellation of satellites at their disposal, allowing them to detect and geolocate radiofrequency signals, to have a precise idea of ​​the position of transmitting boats. Its customers include authorities, insurance companies and NGOs.

Zama

Zama closes this ranking with a fundraising of 73 million euros carried out in March. Founded in 2020, it aims to solve data privacy issues by creating encryption technologies.

It not only helps in the secure processing of data in sensitive sectors such as health and finance, but also develops encryption that allows calculations on data while keeping it completely private. Finally, its open-source cryptographic libraries that make advanced encryption accessible to developers.

Its funding round reflects the growing need for effective cybersecurity solutions, while cybercrime continues to skyrocket with ever more sophisticated attacks.

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