This week was marked by Verkor’s fundraising in the energy sector, with a spectacular raise of €850 million and €1.2 billion in loans for its design and manufacture of low-carbon-emission batteries. This was made possible with support from entities such as Macquarie Asset Management, European Investment Bank, and Renault Group. A financing round symbolic of reindustrialization, which Emmanuel Macron did not fail to acknowledge.
In second place, Accenta in GreenTech secured €108 million for its innovative solution for the decarbonization of buildings, with the backing of Eren Group and Siloé Infrastructures.
These two companies are more industrial than tech, and their fundraising rounds are tailored to their development needs. Alongside them, several tech-focused startups have struggled to secure their financing. In the FinTech sector, Swan and Fipto raised €37 million and €15 million respectively for the rapid deployment of banking products and services and a blockchain-based payment solution.
This decline in funding is recognized by FRANCE DIGITALE, the association representing most tech investment funds and the startups in which they have invested. According to a barometer carried out by EY on behalf of FRANCE DIGITALE, French start-ups raised €4.2 billion in the first half of 2023, which is half of what was raised a year earlier during the same period. On the startup side, 50% of those that managed to raise funds reported facing difficulties convincing investors and did not hesitate to explore other financing methods.
| COMPANY | SECTOR | DESCRIPTION | FUNDS RAISED (IN EUROS) | INVESTORS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VERKOR | Energy | Design and manufacture of low-carbon-emission batteries | €850M | MACQUARIE ASSET MANAGEMENT, EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK, MERIDIAM, RENAULT GROUP, EQT VENTURES, EIT INNOENERGY, SIBANYE-STILLWATER, BPIFRANCE, CRÉDIT AGRICOLE ASSURANCES, FSP, PULSE, AIRBRIDGE INVESTMENTS |
| ACCENTA | GreenTech | Solution for decarbonizing buildings | €108M | EREN GROUPE, SILOÉ INFRASTRUCTURES |
| SWAN | FinTech | Enables companies to rapidly deploy banking products and services | €37M | LAKESTAR |
| TOOPI ORGANICS | Agritech | Provides urine collection services and produces fertilizer based on human urine for agriculture | €16M | VISVIRES NEW PROTEIN, ADEME, BPIFRANCE |
| FIPTO | Fintech | Blockchain-based payment solution and treasury management | €15M | MOTIER VENTURES, SERENA |
| HYPPO | PropTech | Website offering mortgage loans to private owners | €3M | OTIUM CAPITAL |
| REEV | MedTech | Develops a robotic orthosis to assist individuals with neurological walking disorders | €3M | POLYTECHNIQUE VENTURES, IRDI CAPITAL INVESTMENT, NEWFUND, BUSINESS ANGELS |
| FLAGCAT | Gaming | Studio | €2M | MOTIER VENTURES, SEEDCAMP, PURPLE, RESONANCE, KIMA VENTURES, SUPER CAPITAL |
| LYA PROTECT | AssurTech | Platform to simplify the dialogue between brokers and entrepreneurs | €2M | KREAXI, BUSINESS ANGELS |
| FREEMIUMPLAY | eCommerce / Entertainment | Gift card for payment of dematerialized services | €2M | ELEVATION CAPITAL PARTNERS |
| KHEOOS | Smart Industry | Marketplace for industrial maintenance parts | €2M | INDUSTRYA, IRON HANDS CAPITAL |
| VALUE GAMES | HR / Management | Management solution for motivation seminars in companies | €100K | – |
| MIMBI | Retail | Helps brands and agencies to more effectively measure the efficiency and incrementality of retail media | €1.5M | BUSINESS ANGELS, KIMA VENTURES, BETTER ANGELS |
| EYE2SCAN | LegalTech | Digitalization and automation of the internal audit and control platform | €1.4M | BUSINESS ANGELS |
| FEVE | PropTech | FEVE assists farmers in setting up through a solidarity land company model that acquires farms to lease them, with a purchase option | €1M | BANQUE DES TERRITOIRES, CRÉDIT MUTUEL ASSET MANAGEMENT |
| THINKEO | Martech | Enterprise content management platform | €1M | SUPERCAPITAL, SIDEANGELS, APOK INVEST, POLYMATTER VENTURES |
| COLIBRITD | Quantum | Solution to democratize quantum computing | €1M | EARLYBIRD VENTURE CAPITAL, BUSINESS ANGELS |
| FRINGUANT | E-commerce | Size detection tool in ready-to-wear | €500K | RÉGION ÎLE DE FRANCE, WILCO, BPIFRANCE, BUSINESS ANGELS |
| ALLOCCASIONS | Services | Vehicle inspection tracking tool | €500K | SKYDECK, BPIFRANCE |
