"France leads the pack for Generative AI funding in Europe, London has 3X the number of GenAI startups"

From TechCrunch, June 19:

Like it or hate it, artificial intelligence – especially generative AI – is the technology story of 2024.

OpenAI, with its rollouts of viral services like ChatGPT and billions in funding, may have gobbled up the lion’s share of attention and money so far. But according to a new report out from top VC Accel and the analysts at Dealroom, over in Europe and Israel there are a wave of hopefuls now emerging to make their mark.

Together, Europe and Israel typically make up some 45% of all venture funding annually, yet when you translate that to the specific sphere of AI, the proportion drops to less than half of that (and generative AI even less). You can take that as a signal that Europe and Israel are lagging in the market. Or more optimistically, it means that we will see a number of interesting developments in the months and years ahead as the region catches up. 

Investors are now on the hunt for the next big thing, potentially at prices that are less inflated than in the U.S. Interestingly, Accel partner Harry Nelis tells me that one of the reasons why this report materialized at all was because his firm has been hard at work evaluating all the generative AI startups emerging across the region, to figure out what to invest in. So watch this space. 

In the meantime, here are some of the most interesting data points out of the report:

London is the city that has ‘generated’ the most GenAI startups. 

Of the 221 startups Dealroom and Accel analysed, some 27%, nearly one-third of the group, were created in London. Tel Aviv took the number-two slot at 13%; Berlin 12%; and Amsterdam 5%. Interestingly, although Paris is the city everyone has been talking about for a while as a hotbed for AI development, it found itself very much in the middle of the city rankings, at 10%.

Image Credits: Dealroom/Accel (opens in a new window) under a license.

But those startups are packing a punch. 

French-founded GenAI startups are raking in the most money

Collectively, French startups that self-describe themselves as working in the field of generative AI have raised $2.29 billion to date, the most of any country across Europe, and more than Israel. Recent rounds have included Mistral AI raising $640 million earlier this month (on top of some $500 million+ before that), “H” raising a $220 million SEED ROUND a few weeks ago, and Poolside reportedly also in the midst of raising a hefty round.

....MUCH MORE

"Talking about for a while"? I sneer at your "...for a while":

December 2023 French OpenAI Rival Mistral Nears $2 Billion Valuation With Andreessen Horowitz Backing
This. This is what we've been pitching for the last five years as the way France picks up the economic torch from Germany....

July 2023 "...Big Tech Alumni building AI startups in Paris"

June 2023: "France makes high-profile push to be the A.I. hub of Europe setting up challenge to U.S., China"
June 2023: "Report: France's Macron Seeks Seat at AI Table"

And back into the mists of time (well, the twenty-teens):

"French government officials advocate for a €500m investment in blockchain technology"
The country might be better served adding to the €1.5 billion that President Macron has pledged for research in Artificial Intelligence.
But I might be biased....Related:
France: "For Emmanuel Macron, AI is more than a technological revolution. It is a political revolution of hope in an increasingly dystopian future" 

"The Race is On for European AI Research"

Profit From The Global Riot Control Industry 

"The Top-10 French Artificial Intelligence Startups" 

The Creator of the iPod and the iPhone Seeks to Dethrone Tech’s Giants
It’s a crisp January morning in Paris’s 13th Arrondissement, and outside Station F, the former freight terminal that is the epicenter of France’s startup scene, twentysomethings climb out of cars hailed using iPhone apps. 

Tony Fadell’s Next Act? Taking on Silicon Valley—From Paris

"‘The Disruptors’ — Unique insight into Europe’s 1,600 AI startups (Part 2)"
I was about to headline this link "The 1600 AI Startups you must know" to play off the "672 thought leaders you must follow on Twitter" or the "37,000 young people who want to take your job" articles but then realized our wary-yet-intrigued readers are not the type of people who respond well to someone saying they 'must' do anything.

And many more.