In just some days, France will host the Synthetic Intelligence Motion Summit, with heads of state flocking to Paris to fulfill international tech leaders. They’ll almost definitely announce some huge investments and diplomatic agreements targeted on security or the environmental influence of synthetic intelligence.
Forward of the summit, early-stage VC agency Galion.exe, progress funding agency Revaia, and advisory agency Chausson Companions teamed as much as create the French AI Report, which appears to be like on the present traits within the tech ecosystem.
Whereas all eyes are at present on the U.S. and China with OpenAI trying to elevate tens of billions of {dollars} and DeepSeek capturing everybody’s consideration, there was a increase in AI startups in Europe, too. In 2024 alone, AI corporations represented round 20% of all VC funding within the area.
In complete, that represents round $8 billion in funding for AI startups in 2024. That metric is almost definitely going to develop quickly, as AI startups are nonetheless comparatively younger. Seventy p.c of the capital raised by AI startups in 2024 was for a seed to Sequence B spherical.
European international locations that have a tendency to draw VC funding basically have additionally change into the principle AI funding hubs, with the U.Ok. main the group, France and Germany following go well with, and the Nordics punching above its demographic weight. Right here’s the breakdown from 2020 to 2024:
Curiously, as AI corporations change into greater, they have a tendency to draw worldwide buyers, with U.S. VC companies accounting for round 50% of cash invested in AI corporations on the Sequence C spherical and later.
In France extra particularly, there are “greater than 750 startups which have created 35,000 jobs and function in all areas which are reworking as we speak’s society,” Minister Delegate for synthetic intelligence and digital applied sciences Clara Chappaz mentioned at a press convention.
She additionally talked about that there are 2,000 scientists targeted on AI analysis and 600 doctorate college students engaged on synthetic intelligence. And you will have seen that there are fairly just a few French engineers and researchers working for AI corporations within the U.S., too.
The staff behind the French AI Report seemed extra carefully on the prime 400 AI startups in France and tried to determine the rising stars. Whereas Mistral AI and Poolside are already some acquainted names for readers who’ve adopted the AI trade, the overwhelming majority of AI startups aren’t engaged on the subsequent basis mannequin.
On the infrastructure entrance, some corporations are optimizing the info workflows and pipelines, equivalent to Linkup and Kestra, or bettering inference efficiency, equivalent to ZML, or creating brokers that may sift by means of giant knowledge units and enhance productiveness. Mud is an efficient instance of that.
However the actuality is that almost all AI startups in France are specializing in functions for particular verticals. Based mostly on this report, two necessary areas for AI startups in France are well being and local weather.
Owkin and its spin-off biotech firm Bioptimus have been main the pack on the well being tech entrance, nevertheless it’s a surprisingly numerous group of corporations with three huge areas of curiosity: imaging instruments, drug discovery, and medical remedy enchancment.
Equally, whereas a big chunk of the AI trade is concentrated on productiveness positive factors for workplace employees, synthetic intelligence can be actively getting used to construct the next-generation of local weather startups. Along with agritech, carbon and power administration — two matters which are associated — appear to be an enormous focus. There are additionally a handful of promising new supplies corporations which are rising (Altrove, for example).
All the businesses included within the listing may be discovered right here. You’ll additionally discover loads of AI corporations engaged on one job operate — gross sales, buyer care, HR or authorized — and utilizing AI to simplify the commonest duties.
After all, some corporations aren’t going to be there in 5 years. However a lot of them are at present rising at a speedy tempo. We’re nonetheless at first of the AI revolution, and although it’s straightforward to consider the AI trade as a zero-sum recreation with one nation or one firm “profitable” over the others, it looks like the AI increase is extra distributed than anticipated.
