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- 🇫🇷 French Tech Updates — October 15, 2025. €103.82M in new funding for French companies.
🇫🇷 French Tech Updates — October 15, 2025. €103.82M in new funding for French companies.
What you need to know this week in France: 🤖 Apply to the Pioneers AI Lab, 🙋🏼♀️ the first 100 Women to Watch in Europe list, 🌳 Keenest tops €10M to invest in climate-focused businesses.

Welcome to French Tech Updates! Your weekly source of startup, VC, and tech news and insights. I’m James, a startup-obsessed American living in Paris.
The first one person unicorn will be a consumer startup. Are you ready to build it? 🦄
Don’t miss your chance to join Pioneers AI Lab in Station F and create the next unicorn consumer AI startup!
This new product studio and builder’s hub kicks off on October 20th in the bustling heart of France’s tech scene: Station F.
Pioneer AI lab is looking for 8 ambitious consumer builders to join their first batch, and here’s still time to apply before the application deadline tomorrow!
The lab is reinventing the way companies are built with a focus on consumer businesses as the first category that will be reshaped by AI-native products. With AI expanding access to services once reserved for elites, founders have a rare window to build generation-defining consumer companies. These unicorns of the future will quickly scale to millions of users and shape how we live, learn, and take care out ourselves.
The Pioneers AI Lab is backed by prestigious partners—including support from Pioneers, Mistral AI, Lovable, ElevenLabs, Google Cloud, and Station F.
Click the link here to apply.
📝 Quiz: Across the EU, what % of pension fund capital is invested into venture capital / alternative funds?
(answer at the bottom of the newsletter)
A.) 0.12%
B.) 0.53%
C.) 1.9%
D.) 5.4%
What’s new this week in 🇫🇷
🇪🇺 Sequoia is re-committing to Europe: fund partner Luciana Lixandru confirmed during the Sifted Summit in London on Monday that the storied VC will expand its European team.
🙋🏼♀️ Sifted, Station F, and SISTA launch the first 100 Women to Watch in Europe list: the list includes numerous French founders, investors, and tech leaders. Congratulations to all in this inaugural edition of the list!
🌳 Climate-focused investment club Keenest tops €10M in investable capital: Keenvest pays its investors a “climate dividend” based on the amount of CO₂ emissions avoided thanks to its investments. In the last three months, the company has doubled their AUM and will use the latest funding to back more climate focused startups.
🌍 Headlines from around the world
🤖 n8n raised €180M at a €2.5 billion valuation (Tech EU)
😱 Discord has experienced a “catastrophic” data breach that leaked over 1.5 terabytes of user data (Discord)
👩⚖️ Tesla’s self-driving software is once again under investigation in the US for safety concerns (BBC)
📺 Instagram is exploring a dedicated TV app to bring short-form video to larger screens (Bloomberg)
🤑 Nvidia will invest up to $2B in xAI’s $20B round (Tech Funding News)
💸 Lawsuits are costing AI companies billions with Anthropic already paying a $1.5B settlement out of pocket (The Guardian)
🤔 A Harvard economist found that 92% of US GDP growth in H1, 2025 came from AI R&D investment (Evotek)
📈 NYSE’s parent company is investing $2 billion in betting market star Polymarket (Reuters)
💽 OpenAI will take up to a 10% stake in AMD as part of one of the largest hardware purchases ever and a diversification from reliance on Nvidia (CNBC)
New Funding 💶
14 companies announced €103.82M in new funding last week including €340K by Beez Biotech (🧬 Biotech), €600K by vebo° (🚲 mobility), and €1M by Extensee (✈️ Drones)

Yomi Pharma | €1.18M | 🧬 Biotech
Limoges-based biotech Yomi Pharma has raised €1.18 million through crowdfunding to develop a new targeted therapy for aggressive lung cancers linked to EGFR mutations. The company uses a patented molecule based on a protein called sortilin to block EGF—a key protein that helps cancer cells grow. Their approach works even after EGFR mutates and stops responding to existing treatments. The round exceeded its initial €800K goal, backed by promising preclinical results.
Claimy | €1.5M | 🎵 Music
Paris-based Claimy raised €1.5 million to help songwriters and publishers recover unpaid royalties. Its AI platform audits catalogs and usage data to detect missing payments and file claims with rights orgs like SACEM. The startup manages €6 million in rights and works with several major clients, including Céline Dion’s team.
Skyld | €1.5M | 🛡️ Cybersecurity
Paris-based cybersecurity startup Skyld has raised €1.5 million in a seed round to secure AI models against theft and misuse. Founded in 2023 by cryptography PhD Marie Paindavoine, Skyld builds software that protects algorithms from reverse engineering, a critical security point as AI expands into sensitive sectors like healthcare, defense, and autonomous systems. Backers include Auriga Cyber Ventures, BNP Développement, Bloomhaus, and Sodero.
Diffly | €1.7M | 📊 B2B SaaS
Paris-based Diffly has raised €1.7 million to scale its win-loss analysis platform for B2B sales teams. Already used by companies like Adobe and Contentsquare, Diffly helps businesses understand why they win or lose deals. The round, backed by Better Angle, 360 Capital, and Bpifrance, will fund product development and commercial expansion across Europe.
Ficha | €2M | ♻️ Cleantech
Paris-based cleantech Ficha has raised ≈€2 million to support its AI-powered waste-sorting technology. Its tools Camia and Cocon work in tandem across garbage trucks and garbage bins to help cities and waste companies detect waste sorting errors in real time. Already used in Rouen, Lyon, and Annecy by Suez, Paprec, and Nicollin, Ficha aims to cut down on the €165M annual cost of sorting mistakes in France.
Purenat | €2M | ⚙️ Deeptech
Bayonne-based Purenat has raised €2 million to scale up production of its air-purifying textiles. Founded in 2020, the company develops a patented biomimetic fabric that filters and destroys organic air pollutants in industrial settings. With support from investors including Industrya, Newfund, and WinEquity, Purenat aims to move from pilot projects to industrial-scale manufacturing and expand across Europe.
Ewake | €2M | 🤖 AI Agents
Paris-based startup Ewake has raised €2 million in pre-seed funding led by Connect Ventures to develop AI agents that tackle software reliability issues. Founded by ex-Criteo engineers Pooné Mokari and Omid Gosha, Ewake’s "AI teammate" monitors production environments and automates debugging, aiming to reduce downtime and data overload.
Kenko | €4M | 💼 Insurtech
Paris-based insurtech startup Kenko has raised €4 million from Pléiade Venture, with backing from Bpifrance and CIC Innovation. Founded in 2022, Kenko offers health and group insurance solutions tailored to SMEs and mid-sized companies.
Diffusely | €11M | 🎨 MarTech
The Paris-based visual AI startup, formerly known as Meero, has raised €11 million to double down on its pivot from a photographer marketplace to AI-powered SaaS. The company now offers AI tools that help brands generate images at scale. Diffusely is betting on verticalized content automation to regain momentum after abandoning its original model. Backers in the round include Alven, Eurazeo, Prime Ventures, and 50 Partners.
Phagos | €25M | 🧬 Biotech
Paris-based biotech startup Phagos has raised €25 million in a Series A round to expand its AI-driven phage therapy for bacterial infections. Founded in 2021, Phagos develops precision treatments using bacteriophages (viruses that kill specific bacteria) targeting pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli in animals. Its platform, Alphagos, combines microbiology and AI to keep up with bacterial resistance, offering an alternative to antibiotics. The funding will support international growth and further development of its veterinary solutions across livestock and aquaculture.
Filigran | €50M | 🛡️ Cybersecurity
Paris-based Filigran raised €50M ($58 million) in a Series C round to expand its open-source cybersecurity suite, which includes tools for threat intelligence (OpenCTI), attack simulation (OpenBAS), and now cyber risk management (OpenGRC). It's also building XTM One, an AI-driven platform that automates threat defense workflows. The funding will support global growth and a larger R&D team.($58 million)
Upcoming Events 🗓
MCP Connect with Alpic, Alan & Mistral – October 14
Levées de fonds pour les startups AI-natives : les conseils des VCs – October 14
Unlock VC Summit 2025 – October 14-15
Next Gen Female Founders – October 15
Paris AI Club: October Demo night – October 15
SISTAFUND x FUND F x AUXXO breakfast 🥐 – October 15
Paris Meetup: Automations for Freelancers and Solopreneurs – October 16
AI Agents Live + Labs Paris – October 16
Devfest Nantes 2025 – October 16-17
Microbiology 2.0 – October 30
AI x Oncology & Gene Editing – October 30
The European AI Championship 2025 Launch Party – November 5
Interesting Jobs 👩💻
What Else I’m Reading 📚
France’s Revolving Door Prime Ministers Leave Zucman Wealth Tax in Limbo (IMI Daily)
French Companies Struggle with Cybersecurity Reality Check (French Tech Journal)
Silicon Valley stands alone, even in the US (Peter Walker)
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Quiz Answer: A.) 0.12%
Yes, you read that correctly. This amount is even more shocking when benchmarked against the US, which sees pension funds regularly allocate 10% of AUM to PE and VC investors and 29.7% of capital across all alternative strategies.