Roxanne Varza

French politics shake the tech landscape 🇫🇷 while... Mistral AI: Paris-based AI startup Mistral has secured €600m in new funding at a €5.8bn valuation. The round was co-led by DST Global and General Catalyst. ZELIQ: Paris-based sales engagement platform Zeliq raised $10m in seed funding. The round was led by Exor Ventures with participation from Resonance. kelvin: Paris-based kelvin, specializing in home energy renovation software, raised €5m. The round was led by Racine, with Seedcamp, Kima Ventures, and Motier Ventures also participating. Macron's tenure saw significant growth in the tech sector with increased funding and support for startups. However, the RN’s policies focus on digital sovereignty and protectionism, potentially impacting global talent and investment flows. 💥 There's a debate on whether the RN's approach can maintain the current momentum and ambition in the French and European tech landscape. Additionally, other countries like Germany and Austria have seen similar election results, indicating that this might not only be the case in France but across Europe, which has already been leaning towards a protectionist stance. #FrenchTech #Startups #AI #Investment #Politics #Innovation #Mistral #LaFrenchTech

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A must read for every founder (and investor) in B2B marketplaces. ⤵️ All credits to Fabrice Grinda + FJ Labs 👏🏽 https://lnkd.in/eB7uGzyH #firstdegree #founders #investors #whyrelationshipsmatter
#alwaysbelearning #sharingknowledge

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Tomorrow I’m lucky to be hosting a panel with three exceptional founders: - Gilles Gaillard - Co-founder of Animaj, raised 100m EUR (in equity and debt) in 2023 to build an AI-powered animation studio that counts 𝗮 stunning 15 billion (!) YouTube views per year. Animaj acquires animation and cartoon franchises to turn them into digital-first content and amplifies their distribution using AI. - Baptiste Jamin - Co-founder of Crisp IM, 42 alumni, also can be called the “King of Bootstrap”. He started building chatbots in 2015, 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹. Crisp centralises all customer interactions through live chat, chatbots, and a shared inbox. Today Crisp serves over 600,000 companies without raising any funds. - Vincent SIMON - Co-founder of Relationchips and founder of Simundia. Vincent is a serial entrepreneur & investor who founded a coaching platform that raised over 15m EUR & is currently working on a no-code sales workflow platform. What do they have in common? They started their career as freelancers and worked their way up to become highly successful entrepreneurs. 👉 Join us at Le Wagon tomorrow at 7pm to hear their story. We’ll also host a networking session for you to meet people from our community who are working on projects that might interest you. 🔗Link to register in the comments.

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📣 Major Update for French Founders and VC Firms! 🚀 Versible eu We have built a full database of all the private funds investing in #Seed, #SeriesA, and #SeriesB across nearly every sector in the #French ecosystem. As part of our mission, we are developing the next generation of venture capital management software. Our goal is to streamline the fundraising process and enhance investor relations for founders and investors throughout Europe. Each of our initiatives aims to shine a spotlight on the hardworking individuals who are shaping the future of the world. Stay tuned for Monday 27th. #Venturecapital #Seed #Lafrenchtech #LegalTech #Agriculture #Mobility #Deeptech #FoodTech #InsurTech #BioTech #HealthTech #Realestate #Web3

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The French government is spearheading a renewed push to integrate the European Union's fragmented capital markets to revive the bloc's flourishing startup ecosystem and reduce their dependence on U.S. venture capital funds. Complicated local regulations and oversight have prevented the EU from developing deep, unified capital markets on par with the U.S. This forces promising European startups to inevitably turn to U.S. VCs and IPO markets as they scale, representing a missed wealth creation opportunity for the bloc. French officials argue that reviving the long-stalled EU capital markets union must be a top priority. This would harmonize financial rules and oversight across the 27-nation bloc, providing startups access to larger pools of integrated risk capital. While the majority of the nations are on board, at least in principle, several governments remain reluctant to cede regulatory control of their financial markets. Another proposed solution involves getting public sector investors, such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), more involved in riskier startup bets.

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When I founded Hexa (eFounders) with Thibaud Elziere back in 2011, the term Startup Studio hadn't been coined yet; it emerged around 2014. In 2019, #TeamEntrepreneurship was termed to showcase how we operate as a studio amidst the growing number of Studios. At Hexa, we've established 14 core principles, our "Hexa Cheat Sheet," reflecting our values and mission for the next decade. Fueled with Ambition and Driven by Purpose Discover more in the full article & pdf in the first comment.

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I’m pleased to have contributed to Arianee’s position paper, "From A Production-Based to A Service-Based Economy: The Role of Tokenization in Decoupling Growth." This insightful paper tackles a topic close to my heart. This paper outlines numerous practical strategies for companies to progress on tackling overproduction while creating new economic opportunities. Thank you Arianee, Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel and of course my friend Francois Souchet for the opportunity to collaborate. #circulareconomy #technology #circularbusinessmodels #sustainability

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Together with our CTO, Antoine Latrille, I'm delighted to share the study on AI adoption that we conducted across 80 of our startups in France and in the USA. Here is a preview of the key insights: 1) IA integration is about wining the race of productivity => 70% of companies have implemented IA and 67% reported productivity gains. Motivation is not only internal as 1 over 4 startup fear competitor could outpace them. 2) Internal knowledge is preferred as outsourcing => for 90% startups as they want to ensure they can swiftly adapt to AI advancements and maintain control over their innovations 3) US ecosystem is more favorable but both French and American startups share desire to integrate AI => 10 out 12 AI tools are coming from the US with a more favorable regulation and bigger AI investments ($67b against $2b in France in 2023). However 95% of French startups have or want to integrate IA and 1 over 5 have participated in our IA Booster program. Initiated in December, Newfund IA Booster was meant to support startups learn from real-life AI applications, promoting an in-house approach to innovation. At Newfund, we're committed in bridging cross-Atlantic differences and supporting our startups in harnessing the full potential of AI to outpace global competition. To read more about the study: https://lnkd.in/eArUP4uR #AI #Startups #Newfund #USA #France #Innovation

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Looking for VC investment in your Open Source based company? this is what is important says Maxime Corbani #opensource

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Bitcoin vs Memecoins : A traditional investor asked, "What makes Bitcoin different from the rest of all meme coins in crypto ?" A savvy fund manager responded: "Think of Bitcoin as the Louis Vuitton of crypto; rest all Memecoins is just a basic (un-know or less know) bag in crypto" What’s your take on this? Share your views as comments! #CryptoDebate #BitcoinVsMemeCoins #memecoins Coinbase Binance Kraken Digital Asset Exchange Uphold

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What you need to know this week in 🇫🇷 French Tech Updates: 🤦‍♂️ My thoughts on this tweet and the reactions it sparked 🤴 Why San Francisco is the Iron Throne of the startup world 🤖 Mistral reportedly raising again at a $5b valuation 💶 5 French startups who raised €22.75M Get the whole update here! https://lnkd.in/eaYbFT94 #startups #venturecapital #frenchtech #ai

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Cool convo with Naza Metghalchi last week when we discussed what are the types of automation that could be opportunities for challengers 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️ ( 👋 Qevlar AI | We're Hiring! Parloa ) vs incumbents 🐘 The key for me was to really think around what agents can actually do that was not possible in the past (and not just make easier something that we could somewhat do with effort already). Agents are changing the game if you think about a non sequence-friendly automation: like with potentially « infinite » branches and loops. This unlocks goal oriented automation when in the past we had « steps/actions flow » oriented automation. Exciting 🚀

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🚀 Exciting Collaboration Opportunity: Tokenization of Real Assets with BIS Innovation Hub! 🚀 I'm thrilled to share that BIS Innovation Hub is seeking private financial institutions to collaborate on their groundbreaking Project Agora, focusing on the tokenization of real-world assets to enhance cross-border payments. This presents a unique opportunity for financial institutions to engage in a transformative initiative. 📄 Summary of the Project: Project Agora, initiated by BIS along with seven central banks (Bank of France, Bank of Japan, Swiss National Bank, etc.), aims to integrate tokenized commercial bank deposits with tokenized central bank money. This initiative seeks to streamline cross-border payments using blockchain technology and smart contracts, addressing inefficiencies in the current financial system. 🤝 Synergies with BitSpectrum: BitSpectrum, with its decentralized finance solutions, is perfectly positioned to complement Project Agora. Here’s how: - Shared Objectives: Both focus on improving financial systems through blockchain and tokenization. - Complementary Technologies: BitSpectrum’s robust decentralized platform can enhance Project Agora’s unified ledger for cross-border payments. - Enhanced Liquidity Management: BitSpectrum’s tools can ensure efficient liquidity in Project Agora’s framework. - Regulatory Compliance and Security: Both initiatives prioritize meeting international financial standards. 🌟 Call to Action: I'm reaching out to my network for potential joint applicants. If you are a financial institution such as a commercial bank, deposit-taking institution, FMI, or a critical service provider in the payment ecosystem, and you hold an account with any participant central bank, let's explore this opportunity together! 📅 Application Details: - Deadline: May 31, 2024 - More Info: [BIS Project Agora Overview](https://lnkd.in/gPizgG8S) 🔗 Why Collaborate? Partnering with BitSpectrum and Project Agora offers unprecedented international exposure and the potential to secure new accounts while contributing to a pioneering global financial transformation. Interested parties, please DM me or reach out directly via email. Let’s make an impact in the world of finance together! #Tokenization #Blockchain #CrossBorderPayments #FinanceInnovation #CollaborationOpportunity

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💟 This is the kind of news that makes you love Venture Capital! 🦄🇫🇷 Some will only remember the €1.5 billion exit for a French company. It's not a UNICORN valuation, it's a real EXIT! 3️⃣ 6️⃣ Some will only remember the x36 multiple on investment. 💥 Some will only remember the €175 million proceeds returned to the funds with a single operation. 👑What I'll remember, is Denis Ladegaillerie's passion, vision, and ambition. These are the keys to success. Excited to share this fantastic news for Believe, for Ventech, but also for the entire Tech ecosystem! 🚀 #VentureCapital #SuccessStory cc France Digitale

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French AI startup H raises $220M seed round https://lnkd.in/gc3bHHTJ It’s not often that you hear about a seed round above $10 million. H, a startup based in Paris and previously known as Holistic AI, has announced a $220 million seed round just a few months after the company’s inception. It has managed to raise so much money so quickly because it’s an AI startup working on new models with an impressive founding team. Charles Kantor, the startup’s co-founder and CEO, was a university researcher at Stanford. As you may have guessed, H is going to work on AI agents: automated systems that can perform tasks that are traditionally performed by human workers. The company’s minimalistic site states that H is working on “frontier action models to boost the productivity of workers.” https://www.hcompany.ai/

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French AI startup H raises $220M seed round Paris-based startup H, formerly known as Holistic AI, secures an extraordinary $220 million #seed round shortly after its inception, a rarity in the #startup world. Led by a stellar founding team, including former researchers and employees of Google DeepMind, H focuses on developing #AI agents to automate tasks traditionally performed by humans. Co-founder and CEO Charles A. Kantor, a former #Stanford researcher, leads the team, which includes veterans of DeepMind such as Karl Tuyls, Laurent Sifre, @Daan Wierstra, and Julien Perolat. H aims to revolutionize productivity with its "frontier action models," targeting sectors where #automation can significantly enhance efficiency. Investors comprise a diverse group, including billionaires like Eric Schmidt and Bernard Arnault, VC funds like Accel and FirstMark Capital, and strategic backers like Amazon, Samsung Electronics, and UiPath. For more information: https://lnkd.in/dfMxMvJZ #AI #Startup #SeedRound #Innovation

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What are some valuable insights into the European startup ecosystem? I recently had the opportunity to read an insightful discussion between two established investors in the European venture space - Saul Klein of LocalGlobe and Raluca Ragab of Eurazeo. At the TechCrunch StrictlyVC event in London, they generously shared their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges facing founders and investors across the continent (for source or entire article see comment). While the fundamentals of starting and scaling a high-growth business remain similar everywhere, Saul and Raluca highlighted some key differences that impact the European landscape. One aspect they discussed was the relative lack of liquidity events compared to the U.S., which makes returns riskier for investors. With fewer large exits, it can be more difficult to attract later stage capital. 🔝 At the same time, both highlighted many promising qualities of Europe's startup hubs. Talent pools are deep, and multinational collaboration comes naturally to entrepreneurs in the region. Government programs also aim to foster innovation, and COVID has accelerated the digital transformation of traditional industries 🏭. However, Klein and Ragab's perspectives underscore the work that still needs to be done in Europe to catch up with the U.S. exit environment. Their balanced view got me thinking about how to strengthen Europe's network effects in the long term. As leaders seeking to build an inclusive world of shared prosperity, what innovative strategies could help connect the continent's many vibrant startup ecosystems? I'd love to hear your thoughts. #D11ZVentures #techcrunch #FutureOfTech #VCInsights

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#ai is the special guest of #vivatech2023, here in Paris. Here are a couple of ideas shared by Mila Cramer (Project A Ventures) and Antoine Veret (Breega): 1. AI will dramatically change/improve customer experience/s; 2. AI will increase productivity and replace quite a few of the repetitive/mundane activities; 3. There’s an accelerated tendency of LLM commoditization, including where specific data sets may create an edge; 4. Educational development, based on children speech recognition, for example, is a great example of AI possible acceleration; 5. Recruitment (yes, recruitment) activities, being exposed to (human) bias, are just an indication of another type of activities that may be performed in a more effective way if supported by AI. How does it sound to you? #morphiq #airevolution #aitrends

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