Over the past few years, France has significantly strengthened its position as one of the most dynamic technology hubs worldwide, with artificial intelligence emerging as a particular area of momentum. The country has seen a wave of large-scale AI funding rounds, including landmark raises by companies such as Mistral AI, which have helped position France not only as a European leader but as a visible player on the global innovation map. Strong public support, world-class research institutions and a deep pool of technical talent continue to fuel this growth.
This week, in our country-by-country series highlighting some of the most promising startups across Europe, we turn our focus to the French startup ecosystem! All founded between 2024 and 2025, these 10 startups reflect the pace, ambition and depth of innovation currently shaping France’s next generation of startups, from AI and deeptech to defence, materials and applied science.
Founded in 2024, altrove AI develops new inorganic materials designed to replace critical components that face supply chain, regulatory and sustainability risks. The company uses a combination of physics-based AI and lab automation to screen, synthesise and scale alternative materials much faster than traditional research and development processes. Its work focuses on areas such as magnets, piezoelectric materials, thermoelectrics and insulating materials used across energy, automotive, electronics, aerospace and robotics industries.
Altrove AI helps industrial companies reduce dependency on scarce or problematic materials by offering substitutes built from abundant and globally available resources. Its approach prioritises predictable costs, regulatory compliance and non-toxic alternatives, while maintaining or improving performance for specific industrial applications. The company works directly with large industrial partners to deliver end-to-end material substitution, from early screening to scalable manufacturing, and has raised €12 million to advance its platform and commercial partnerships.
Founded in 2024, Bioptimus develops a universal AI foundation model designed to bring together biological data that is typically fragmented across formats and scales. Its core platform integrates multi-modal biological information, ranging from molecular data to tissue and organism-level signals, into a single model that can be used across research, clinical trials and biomedical analysis. The company’s flagship models, including H-Optimus for histology and M-Optimus for broader biological modelling, are designed to support tasks such as pathology analysis, data interpretation and predictive research.
Bioptimus’ technology is already widely adopted within the scientific community, with its models approaching one million downloads and being referenced in around 100 scientific publications each year. The platform has been trained on billions of biological images and supported by data contributions from thousands of clinical practices. Bioptimus has secured €65.3 million to date to further develop its foundation models, expand research partnerships and support applications across biomedical and environmental sciences.
Founded in 2024, Biolevate develops an AI-powered knowledge platform designed to support professionals working across the life sciences sector. The platform helps teams manage and use complex scientific information more efficiently by automating tasks such as literature retrieval, document screening and evidence synthesis. It is used across research and development, regulatory affairs, industry and post-market activities, allowing organisations to handle large volumes of scientific data in a more structured way.
Biolevate’s technology focuses on making AI usable and governable within organisations, turning scattered documents and data into an evolving system of actionable knowledge. Its platform supports workflows such as systematic literature reviews and assisted content generation, helping teams accelerate decision-making while maintaining transparency and control. To date, they have landed €6 million in funding to continue developing their platform and support life sciences organisations looking to bring treatments to patients more efficiently.
Founded in 2024, CrunchDAO is a research community that brings together data scientists and machine learning engineers to build and test predictive models. The platform organises structured competitions where participants develop models to solve specific problems, such as forecasting or pattern detection, using shared datasets and clear evaluation rules. These competitions allow organisations to access a wide range of ideas and approaches without relying on a single in-house team.
CrunchDAO operates as a decentralised network, with thousands of contributors taking part in its research challenges and being rewarded when their models perform well. This setup allows skilled researchers to monetise their work while companies benefit from a broader pool of expertise. CrunchDAO has raised €9.1 million to support the growth of its platform, expand its research community and improve the tools used to run and evaluate its modelling competitions.
Founded in 2024, Entalpic develops an AI-driven materials discovery platform focused on industrial chemistry and sustainability. The company applies predictive and generative AI models to design new catalysts and chemical processes that improve efficiency in carbon-intensive industries. Its platform combines scientific literature, simulations and experimental data to help research teams identify new materials and optimise chemical reactions.
A core goal of Entalpic is to support the energy transition and contribute to Net Zero by enabling cleaner and more efficient industrial processes. The company works on areas such as energy storage, carbon capture, hydrogen and ammonia production, and the optimisation of critical materials. To date, they have secured €8.5 millionin funding to further develop its platform, expand its research team and support industrial collaborations focused on sustainability.
Founded in 2024, Genesis AI is a physical AI lab and full-stack robotics company focused on building general-purpose robots. The company develops systems that combine robotics hardware, software and artificial intelligence to enable machines to perform a wide range of physical tasks in real-world environments. Its work brings together robot control, simulation and data-driven learning to train models that can operate across different robots and use cases.
Genesis AI aims to make robots more adaptable and reliable by training them using a mix of real-world interaction data and high-quality simulations. Alongside its research, the company also contributes to open-source tools and simulation infrastructure used in robotics development. Genesis AI has secured over €90 million to support its research, expand its engineering team and advance the development and deployment of its robotics systems.
Founded in 2024, Gradium develops audio AI models and infrastructure designed to support real-time voice applications. The company provides tools for speech-to-text, text-to-speech and voice-based interactions that can be integrated into products such as voice assistants, customer support systems and other conversational interfaces. Its models are built to work with low latency and support multiple languages, allowing developers to create natural voice experiences across different use cases.
Gradium focuses on making voice technology reliable and practical at scale, with features such as expressive speech output, accurate transcription and real-time streaming. The company’s work is based on long-standing research in audio and speech modelling, translated into systems that are ready for production use. Gradium has raised €60.2 million in funding to further develop its voice models, expand language support and strengthen its infrastructure for enterprise and developer adoption.
Founded in 2024, Harmattan AI develops autonomous defence systems that combine artificial intelligence with real-time intelligence and unmanned technologies. The company focuses on building affordable and modular unmanned aerial systems designed for tasks such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Its systems are designed to be adaptable, repairable and suitable for deployment in complex operational environments.
Harmattan AI’s goal is to support armed forces by improving operational readiness through autonomous and AI-enabled capabilities. The company works on integrating autonomy, sensor payloads and counter-UAS solutions while maintaining scalability and manufacturing efficiency. Harmattan AI has raised over €200 million to date, including a large Series B round, to accelerate product development, expand production and support deployments with defence partners.
Founded in 2024, Kolet provides an eSIM-based mobile connectivity service designed for travellers who want internet access abroad without dealing with roaming fees or physical SIM cards. They offer a single eSIM that can be used across more than 190 destinations, allowing users to connect to local networks as soon as they land. Plans can be purchased and activated through the Kolet app, with data starting only once the user arrives at their destination.
They aim to make mobile internet access simple and predictable for frequent and occasional travellers alike. Users can track data usage, top up when needed and reuse unused data on future trips, reducing waste and unexpected costs. The service is designed to work quickly without a complex setup, supported by customer assistance when needed. To date, they have landed €15 million in funding to expand their coverage, improve their app experience and grow their international user base.
Founded in 2025, Orasio is a video AI company that helps organisations turn live and recorded video feeds into actionable information. Its technology analyses video streams to detect events, behaviours or anomalies in real time, supporting faster decision-making in situations related to public safety, security and critical infrastructure. The platform can also be used after an incident, allowing users to search and review hours of footage quickly using structured filters or natural language queries.
They place a strong emphasis on sovereignty, privacy and regulatory compliance. Its technology is designed to meet GDPR and AI Act requirements and can be deployed in different environments, including cloud, on-premise or directly on devices, depending on operational needs. They have raised €16 million to further develop their platform and expand its use across security and urban environments.
By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/01/10-french-startups-to-keep-an-eye-on-in-2026-and-beyond/
