Red River Insights - France's top10
AI takes the spotlight, but there’s so much more!
Red River Insights - December 2024
Dear Friends,
As the holiday season and year’s end draw near, you’re probably used to us focusing on specific technologies or themes in our newsletters. This time, we’re doing something different: highlighting what’s at the core of Red River West—a team of passionate tech investors, shaped by our French roots and driven by a distinct prism through which we view the huge potential of the U.S market.
With such an extraordinary year for innovation across France, we thought it was only fitting to spotlight the startups with the highest momentum at the end of 2024.
For this edition, we asked RAMP, our proprietary algorithmic platform, to identify the French companies with the strongest momentum. The result? A top 10 list showcasing the best in AI, deeptech, cybersecurity, consumer and beyond. Each startup represents the cutting edge of their field, and we’re proud to have worked with or spoken to many of them (and if we haven’t yet—our inboxes are always open).
There’s been a lot of noise about Generative AI in France, and rightly so—it’s an exciting space with remarkable companies. But what makes France truly special is that the innovation doesn’t stop there. Diving into a broader dataset than usual (our analysis spanned the top 50 startups), we uncovered fascinating trends across multiple sectors that underscore the breadth and depth of the French ecosystem.
This issue dives into these sectors to underline why France remains at the forefront of global innovation—and why we’re excited about what’s ahead. We’re also thrilled to just have signed an exciting new deal in France—stay tuned for details in our next newsletter!
Scroll down for our top10 French tech startups with the highest momentum (reminder: this is an algorithmic scoring, not a random human judgment)
From all of us at Red River West, we wish you a joyful holiday season, a wonderful Christmas, and an inspiring start to 2025. We’ve got exciting projects in the works, and we can’t wait to share more with you soon!
ps: it’s a top11, too many cool companies we wanted to talk about!
If you'd like to share your thoughts on this email, simply hit reply, I’ll get your message and we’ll reply 😊
RAMP's French tech top10
We hope this sparks interesting conversations. If you have any comments or would like to suggest a startup that should be included, feel free to reach out to us. Abel, Chloé, Joseph and Olivier will be delighted to discuss these trends and rankings.
(Ranking established on 3/12/2024)
We've highlighted 6 key trends illustrated by these companies:
France leading the way in Aerospace & Space Exploration
The aerospace sector in Europe is witnessing a resurgence, emphasizing technological independence and sustainability. Companies like The Exploration Company and Beyond Aero, both led by women CEOs and ranking among the top three, are spearheading this movement. The Exploration Company is developing modular and reusable spaceships named Nyx, aiming to democratize access to space and strengthen European autonomy in space exploration. (It might appear that we're a bit partial, given our investments in The Exploration Company at both the Series A and B stages. However, rest assured, this scoring is entirely objective and driven by our algorithmic tool, if you're curious to learn more about the investment, check out this article we wrote.)
Beyond Aero is building the first electric business aircraft powered by hydrogen propulsion, combining zero-emission technology with exceptional range and performance. In February 2024, they achieved France's first manned fully hydrogen-electric flight, marking a significant milestone in sustainable aviation. By October 2024, Beyond Aero had secured $914 million in letters of intent for 108 aircraft, underscoring strong market interest. These accomplishments not only push the boundaries of sustainable aviation but also reinforce Europe's leadership in cutting-edge aerospace innovation.
Aerospace startups are taking off: Approximately 8% of the top 50 operate in space and aerospace, signalling heightened French ambition in orbital innovation and sovereignty.
Advanced AI Infrastructure: The Pickaxe Sellers of the Tech Gold Rush
Artificial intelligence is catalyzing innovation, and the current landscape mirrors a modern-day gold rush—not everyone is searching for gold, but those selling the pickaxes are thriving. FlexAI is at the forefront, redefining machine intelligence by creating a universal AI compute platform that’s as simple as spinning up an EC2 instance for general cloud tasks. Their revolutionary approach abstracts the complexities of AI infrastructure, allowing developers to focus solely on innovation, not hardware headaches. With partnerships spanning Nvidia, Intel, and AMD, and a vision for multicloud AI compute, FlexAI is fast-tracking the democratization of AI development. This isn’t just a company solving problems; it’s laying the groundwork for the next era of technological breakthroughs—bringing the extraordinary within reach of every developer.
AI-Powered Applications in Specialized Domains
Beyond infrastructure, AI is making significant inroads through application-specific solutions. Companies like Gladia.io and 73 Strings are harnessing AI to deliver advanced capabilities in their respective fields. Gladia assists businesses in extracting valuable insights from audio data using cutting-edge AI, enhancing speech recognition and audio analysis. 73 Strings offers AI-powered platforms for the valuation and analysis of illiquid assets, streamlining processes in the financial sector. By focusing on specialized applications of AI, these companies drive innovation and efficiency within their industries.
AI truly dominates: Over half (54%) of the top 50 French startups leverage AI either as their core product or as a feature that explicitly mentions AI. Their average US potential score (~3.1) outpaces non-AI startups (around 1.8)
Cutting-Edge Cybersecurity Solutions and Open-Source Innovation
In an era where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated, companies like Filigran and BforeAI are pioneering advanced cybersecurity solutions. Filigran delivers top-notch open-source software to cybersecurity and crisis management teams, focusing on extended threat management, including cyber threat intelligence and adversary simulation. The open-source aspect of Filigran is particularly exciting for us, as we've launched our own initiative and are obsessed with the potential of RAMP for leading the data-driven VC revolution in open source (reach out if you want to see it in action!). This commitment to open-source development not only fosters innovation but also promotes collaboration across the industry. BforeAI utilizes behavioral AI to transform cyber defense from reactive to proactive, offering the industry's swiftest automated defense against online fraud. These companies underscore the critical importance of advanced cybersecurity measures in protecting organizations worldwide.
Cybersecurity and AI excel in US Expansion: Within AI-driven sectors, cybersecurity and healthcare AI lead the transatlantic charge. with scores often exceed an average US potential of 5, significantly above the 2.5 overall mean. Three standouts—Vibe (AdTech), Riot (Cyber), and Nabla (Healthcare AI)—earned perfect 10/10 U.S. potential scores.
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Infrastructure Development
Blockchain and cryptocurrency are maturing, with companies like Kiln enhancing the necessary infrastructure to support this growth. Kiln provides an enterprise-level staking platform and one-click pledge services for encrypted assets, enabling digital assets to be staked wherever they are held. By developing validator-independent APIs and services, Kiln facilitates multi-provider staking and acts as an aggregator to accelerate industry evolution. As decentralized finance and blockchain technologies become increasingly integral to the global financial system, Kiln's solutions are vital in supporting and expanding this ecosystem.
Advancements in Low-Code Development
Addressing the growing demand for rapid and efficient application deployment, WeWeb provides a low-code front-end builder that helps companies ship web applications faster. WeWeb empowers developers to integrate data from their own systems, use their existing authentication, and connect to various services like CRMs and ATS platforms. This accelerates development processes and reduces time to market, highlighting the trend toward low-code and no-code solutions that democratize software development.
A few other trends and exception Ramp brought up:
Ad tech toping the ranking: It's somewhat counterintuitive to see an adtech company focusing on TV topping the list, but Vibe is a truly unique and growing fast. Vibe offers a streaming TV advertising platform for small and medium-sized businesses, allowing advertisers to target specific audiences and optimize spending based on performance metrics.
The best go west: It's noteworthy that the U.S. score averages 4, nearly four times higher than the average for the top 200 French startups. This asymmetrical US potential for leading companies aligns with our thesis that the best go west.
Regulated Sectors Lag in the US: FinTech and InsurTech startups average US potential is slightly lower than average, when focusing on locally regulated fintechs, the difference is strong: with an average 0.5 US potential vs the 2.5 overall mean.
Kima Ventures leads the way: Kima is invested in 16% of the top 50, unsurprisingly demonstrating its omnipresence in France’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Paris as the Epicenter: Over two thirds of these top startups are based in Paris, cementing the capital’s status as France’s primary tech hub. This follows the distribution of startups in France, could we conclude from this that being based in Paris might not bring a strong edge?
Climate and Sustainability in Focus: About 10–15% of these startups address energy, ESG, or mobility solutions (e.g., Jimmy’s nuclear micro-reactor, Apiday’s ESG platform), highlighting a pivot toward sustainable growth areas likely to attract increasing global attention.
More on RAMP's scoring method
The ranking of these startups is based on the estimated momentum of the company but the algorithm does not assess the quality or reliability of the products/solutions developed by these companies! Our definition of what constitutes a French company includes if the whole founding team is French and/or the principal place of business is French.
Find out about the algorithm behind this ranking and the way scores are calculated here: Cheat sheet on RAMP
In case you missed them, our latest top 10s are here:
- November 24: E-Commerce
- October24: Global Defence
- September 24: Supply chain
- July 24: Travel Tech
- June 24: Developper tools
- May 24: Robotics
All the previous Top 10 are here.
Portfolio news:
The Exploration Company is launching its "Mission Possible Customer Spotlight Series" to showcase payloads on its 2025 mission for orbit, return, and retrieval. The first featured customer, Genesis Sustainable Future (SFL), will send MayaSat-1 with hundreds of biological samples to study the impact of space travel on biology and sustainability. (More here)
Robovision and QING are strengthening their strategic partnership to expand global ambitions in food automation. Their upcoming pipeline includes a peach sorting project, marking the beginning of an innovative collaboration reshaping agri-food possibilities worldwide. (More here)
WeMaintain has been referenced by Astore Procurement, enabling the startup to provide its cutting-edge maintenance services to Accor hotels and brands. This partnership underscores Accor’s trust in WeMaintain’s expertise to deliver innovative, efficient, and sustainable building maintenance solutions. (More here)
Brut. has surpassed 9 million followers on TikTok, reinforcing its position as the leading news media on the platform in France. The milestone, achieved just one month after reaching 8 million, coincides with a record-breaking 695 million video views in November, exemplifying Brut’s rapid audience growth and engagement.(More here)
iObeya has earned new Fall G2 badges, including High Performer and Easiest to Use, reflecting the platform’s ongoing commitment to delighting customers. Users are invited to share their experiences and reviews, continuing to shape the future of iObeya’s collaborative solutions. (More here)
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