All the roads in France lead to Paris! As we all know, Paris is home to some of the cutting edge startups, especially in artificial intelligence. In the way of acknowledging it, tech giants like Facebook and Google have opened research centers devoted primarily to artificial intelligence.Â
As per the latest report, the number of AI startups in France continues to soar from 312 last year to 432 this 2019. This report was produced by Roland Berger, a global consulting firm in collaboration with France Digitale, an association that represents venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
According to the report, France is now competing against traditional European AI hubs, including the UK and Israel. Interestingly, French AI startups have raised $1.268 billion between 2014 to 2019, compared to $1.241 billion for the UK. In this regard, let’s take a look at the ten most-funded French AI startups, according to Dealroom.
Meero (Paris)
Founders: Guillaume Lestrade, Thomas Rebaud
Funding: €269M
Started in 2016, this French company aims to simplify the work of the photographer. From providing revenues and market research to invoicing, post-production, and delivery, Meero takes care of all the complicated, time-consuming tasks which plague the industry. As of now, the company collaborates with over 58K photographers, providing them with the opportunities to create images for more than 31K brands worldwide.Â
ManoMano (Paris)
Founders: Christian Raisson, Philippe de Chanville
Funding: €185M
 ManoMano is a platform for Home and DIY Lovers allowing them to exchange tips and advice on their DIY or gardening projects. It is the leading platform in DIY and gardening distribution on the Internet, present in 6 countries including France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, UK, and Germany.
Contentsquare (Paris)
Founders: Jonathan Cherki
Funding: €111M
This artificial intelligence-powered platform intends to help businesses get to know how and why users interact with websites and apps. With the use of big data, artificial intelligence, and behavioral data, this startup offers recommendations.Â
Shift Technology (Paris)
Founders: David Durrleman, Eric Sibony, Jeremy Jawish
Funding: €89.2M
Shift Technology is a Paris-based startup providing AI-based fraud detection for the global insurance industry. It harnesses the best of data science to detect networks of fraudsters in insurance automatically. The company offers a solution called FORCE, which is used by insurers all over the world.Â
Navya (Villeurbanne)
Founders: Christophe Sapet
Funding: €64.1M
NAVYA is one of the leading brands in the autonomous vehicle market. This company develops, manufactures, and commercialises autonomous, driverless, and electric vehicles that combine robotic, digital and driving technologies at the highest level. The company has two autonomous vehicles – the AUTONOM SHUTTLE and AUTONOM CAB.
Drivy (Getaround) (Bayeux)
Founders: Nicolas Mondollot, Paulin Dementhon
Funding: €48.9M
Based out of Paris, Drivy allows its users to rent people’s cars, be it a weekend party or business meeting. The car-sharing app works with an app that lets drivers find a nearby car, open it with a smartphone, and drive it away. Drivy allows owners to reduce the overall cost of owning a vehicle and help fleet owners maximise their investment. In Paris, Drivy has 154 designated on-street parking spaces that will highlight Drivy’s fleet around the city and make it easy for drivers to find parking space.
Dental Monitoring (Paris)
Founders: Philippe Salah
Funding: €50M
Founded in 2015, Dental Monitoring is the world’s first web and mobile application designed for self-monitoring dental treatment. The startup lets you remotely control your procedure and warns your orthodontist of the changing conditions.
Owkin (Paris)
Founders: Gilles Wainrib, Thomas Clozel
Funding: €29.1M
OWKIN is an AI startup that uses machine learning to augment medical and biology research. The Paris-headquartered startup uses ‘OWKIN Socrates,’ a proprietary platform that uses machine learning technology to integrate biomedical images, genomics, and clinical data to discover biomarkers and mechanisms associated with diseases and treatment outcomes.
Prophesee (Paris)
Founders: Bernard Gilly, Christoph Posch, Luca Verre, Ryad Benosman
Funding: €34M
Formerly known as Chronocam, Prophesee‘s patented technology used by the company introduces a new computer vision paradigm based on how the brain and eye work to improve the intelligence and efficiency of video processing.Â
The sensors and camera systems from the company find use in areas such as industrial automation, autonomous vehicles, IoT, AR/VR, and security and surveillance.
Another Brain (Paris)
Founders: Bruno Maisonnier
Funding: €31.5M
Inspired by the way the cerebral cortex functions, this artificial intelligence startup develops AI-enabled chips for autonomous learning. Called as Organic AI, it is self-learning, does not require significant data for training and, therefore, genuinely human-friendly.
Main Image credit: Getaround
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