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....
And now, from PitchBook, August 30, 2019
Two years ago, the French people elected Emmanuel Macron as their 25th president. His pro-business policies and visions of transforming the slow-moving state into a European powerhouse of innovation helped make him the youngest leader of the nation. Sensing change in the air, Station F, which is said to be the world's largest startup campus, launched in Paris to represent France's tech renaissance.
Based in Paris' 13th arrondissement, or district, Station F sits in an unused rail depot said to span the length of the Eiffel Tower. It is home to over 1,000 startups and offers incubator programs run by companies including Facebook, L'Oréal and Microsoft.
In addition to its working spaces, event areas and restaurant, Station F launched a co-living space in June. The space is the largest of its kind in Europe, according to the company, with the capacity to house 600 startup founders and employees. All of these elements combined have reportedly attracted a steady stream of tech juggernauts like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, as well as French dignitaries.
Perhaps a surprise to some, Station F is a private sector initiative rather than government-backed. It's owned by Xavier Niel, the founder of telecommunications provider Illiad and international seed investor Kima Ventures. Having a high-profile backer is surely a huge benefit for Station F's startups, especially when it comes to raising money. Several Station F businesses have secured millions of euros from investors.
Team Vitality reportedly landed a €20 million (around $22 million) investment from entrepreneur Tej Kohli in November; the esports company was developed under the tutelage of Naver, a South Korean search engine provider. In February, co-living space provider Colonies received €11 million in a round that included Idinvest Partners and Kima, per reports. And in April, cybersecurity company Alsid, which is part of aerospace giant Thales Group's program, raised €13 million in a round led by Idinvest Partners.
Boom in VC activity....MUCH MORE
The success of Station F's resident startups has seemingly made the accelerator the physical manifestation of the growing popularity of France's VC ecosystem. Year after year, the country has seen record amounts of capital go into its startups. French VC deal flow increased from €1.6 billion in 2015 to €2.5 billion so far in 2019, while the median VC deal size for French companies increased from €2.2 million last year to this year's €3.2 million, per PitchBook data....
Related:
August 13
"Going private: France makes sacrifices for its startup nation"
If interested seee also:
Tech Funding Trends In France Q1 2019
Q&A with M. Macron's New Digital Minister, Cédric O, on Tech in France
France: "For Emmanuel Macron, AI is more than a technological revolution. It is a political revolution of hope in an increasingly dystopian future"
Ahead of and during the tour Reuters had a couple headlines, amusing in juxtaposition:
Macron to call on U.S. funds to build French start-ups, not steal them"French government officials advocate for a €500m investment in blockchain technology"
'Don't drop the ball': U.S. tech investors warn Macron over taxes
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.
"The Race is On for European AI Research"
Profit From The Global Riot Control Industry
"The Top-10 French Artificial Intelligence Startups"
Tony Fadell’s Next Act? Taking on Silicon Valley—From Paris
