Diving into France’s 2019 Venture Capital landscape
In this edition of our report on the French start-up ecosystem, we would like to update you on a number of datapoints and continue to share our enthusiasm on the French Tech and Venture Capital ecosystem.
- Paris is the largest tech hub in continental Europe and the second largest in Europe behind London with $1.7bn raised in 2018.
- The French tech ecosystem is getting ripe, with an increasing share of fundraising rounds in Series A and B compared to Seed rounds: 43% in Series A and B and 53% in Seed in 2018 compared to 33% in Series A and B and 63% in Seed in 2016. The number of growth rounds (above $70m) has also rocketed: from two in 2015 to close to a dozen in 2019. This proves the attractiveness of the French ecosystem to both domestic and international growth funds.
- France is reaffirming its ambition: the average deal value is increasing, especially in the later rounds (+13% CAGR in Series B from 2016 to 2018), supported by French as well as international funds.
Since the first publication of this report, the White Star Capital Paris office has been extremely proud to contribute to fuel this exponential growth. In addition to participating in the $230m round of Meero, the largest Series C round in the history of the French Tech, we welcomed two rising stars in our portfolio: Mindsay, a conversational A.I. engine for companies operating in the Travel, Tourism and Mobility services (read full post here) and Tier Mobility, the fastest growing e-scooter company in Europe that recently launched its operations in France (read full posts on their Series A here and Series B here). Three talents also joined us to strengthen our team in Paris that has now grown to five people.
We hope you enjoy the read, and please feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss any part of it!
About White Star Capital
White Star Capital is a global multi-stage technology investment platform that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs building ambitious, international businesses. Operating out of New York, London, Paris, Montreal, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, our presence, perspective, and people enable us to partner closely with our Founders to help them scale internationally from Series A onwards.
Learn more at www.whitestarcapital.com
