From Sifted.eu, February 14:
Verkor and Mistral AI have left big shoes to fill — and these startups might be the next ones to do it
French president Emmanuel Macron is well-known for his love of unicorns.
In 2022, when sky-high company valuations were still fashionable, he set an ambitious target of hitting 100 French unicorns by 2030. Two years later, the country counts 30 startups that have reached a $1bn valuation — with the latest addition to the club, Paris-based fintech Pennylane, hitting the milestone a week ago.
That doesn’t mean that reaching president Macron’s objective will be easy. Last year, France saw only two startups become unicorns — battery manufacturer Verkor and AI newbie Mistral, with the latter managing to launch, raise almost €500m and unlock a $2bn valuation all in the same year.
This compares to eight new unicorns in 2022 and 17 in 2021. Like the rest of Europe, France is feeling the hit of the downturn.
So, who will be next on the list? Sifted looked through Dealroom data to find out which French startups are likely to power through a challenging context and achieve the much coveted unicorn status next.
ElectraFounding date: 2021Latest valuation: Just under $1bnWith Electra’s latest round of funding, a €304m Series B earlier this year, CEO Aurélien de Meaux told Sifted the company was close to becoming a unicorn. The startup is building a network of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles — a market that is expected to explode as consumers make the switch to greener cars.
PigmentFounding date: 2019Latest valuation: $850mPigment’s business planning software pulls together data that finance teams need to have a comprehensive view of the company and to model financial decisions. Last year, it bagged an $88m Series C at an $850m valuation led by US investor ICONIQ, which came off the back of a 600% increase in revenue and a 10-fold increase in users throughout 2022, according to the company.
DeepkiFounding date: 2014Latest valuation: $660-990m, according to a Dealroom estimateDeepki collects and aggregates data on sustainability metrics like carbon emissions, water and energy usage and waste, as well as other ESG measurements for business customers. It raised a $150m Series C in March 2022, followed in 2023 by a partnership with US property management company CBRE, which made an investment, of an undisclosed size, in the company....
....MUCH MORE
We'll have more on Mistral next week. Previously:French Tech: "Mistral AI secures €105M in Europe’s largest-ever seed round"
"...Big Tech Alumni building AI startups in Paris"
"France's unicorn start-up Mistral AI embodies its artificial intelligence hopes"
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....
AI to See ‘Major Second Wave,’ NVIDIA CEO Says in Fireside Chat With iliad Group Exec
NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang says sovereign AI a growing need for countries to reflect unique cultural, linguistic, industrial characteristics
European startups will get a massive boost from a new generation of AI infrastructure, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang said Friday in a fireside chat with iliad Group Deputy CEO Aude Durand — and it’s coming just in time.
