Well-known for its wine, fashion, and rich culture, France is also becoming a popular hub of tech start-ups that are gaining national and international attention.
Here are five of the hottest start-ups in France:
1. Gameloft
Paris-based video game developer Gameloft currently has over 100 available iPhone games. Founded by Michel Guillemot, the company has 6000 employees working in 21 studios all over the world.
“All Gameloft games are developed in-house. We have the largest development and creation team in the digital games industry: 5,000 developers work in our production studios, allowing us to tackle the formidable task of creating games compatible with devices all over the world. This includes over 7,000 different smartphone/tablet models, iOS and Android devices, and 350 feature phone models. Our 21 studios throughout America, Europe and Asia allow us to combine global vision with local approach. By taking advantage of this unparalleled cultural and linguistic diversity, we adapt our games to each market,” according to Gameloft’s official blog.
Gaming since 2000, the French company’s sales went up reaching $258 million in 2015 while 2.8 million new Gameloft games are downloaded every day. Among platforms where games are downloaded are iPhone, Android, iPad, Mobile games, Android tablet, Mac, Nokia HD, Xbox, and BlackBerry PlayBook.
2. BlaBlaCar
Placed in the ninth position on startup ranking’s regional rank, BlaBlaCar is the world's largest long-distance ridesharing community. “BlaBlaCar is a trusted community marketplace that connects drivers with empty seats to co-travellers looking for a ride. Over 10 million people use BlaBlaCar every quarter creating an entirely new, people powered, transport network. With a dedicated customer service, a state of the art web and mobile platform, and a fast-growing community of users, BlaBlaCar is making travel social, money-saving and more efficient for millions of members,” according to the company’s official site.
With over 30 million members in 22 countries, BlaBlaCar has managed to reach over 4 million Facebook fans and over 15 million app downloads on iPhone and Android.
Based on your current mood, you can choose among Bla, BlaBla, and BlaBlaBla options which indicate how much you are willing to have a chat with the driver. The company has gained an additional popularity for offering users the chance to earn money from their co-travellers.
Founded by Nicolas Brusson, Francis Nappez, and Frédéric Mazzella in 2006, the startup raised $100 million in 2014.
3. Pearltrees
Placed in the third position on startup ranking’s regional rank with a SR score of 86,426 French startup Pearltrees helps its users organize all their interests such as web pages, photos, files, and many more.
“The technical term for an organised collection of everything you like is "interest graph." Facebook has a similar functions called Facebook Graph, but Pearltrees is trying to use that technology to connect you with what you like in a smarter way. It can sort your favourite music and films, suggesting new interests,” according to Business Insider UK.
This quick and free app was founded by Nicolas Cynober, Alain Cohen, Francois Rocaboy, and Patrice Lamothe. It launched back in 2009 after raising €10.4 million in funding.
“Pearltrees is a place for your interests with nearly 2 million contributors, over 3 million monthly active users and more than 60 million items. In 2012, the company launched a 1.0 version and introduced their freemium business model that already generates significant revenue. Pearltrees has been featured multiple times by Apple, Google and Mozilla. Pearltrees apps on iOS and Android are consistently rated 5 stars and have been downloaded more than 1.5 million times. Pearltrees has raised 8 million EUR / 11.5 million USD from a group of international entrepreneurs and angel investors,” according to a recent press release by Pearltrees.
4. Dailymotion
Similar to YouTube, Dailymotion has become one of the most popular video-sharing websites nowadays. “The French government invested in Dailymotion back in October 2009, and Orange completed an acquisition of the company in 2013. Since then. Dailymotion has expanded to offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo as well as its head office in Paris.
It was reported in 2014 that Microsoft was interested in Dailymotion, potentially even acquiring a minority stake in the company. That came after the French government blocked an attempt by Yahoo to buy a majority stake in the company,” according to Business Insider UK.
Founded by Olivier Poitrey and Benjamin Bejbaum in March 2005, Dailymotion is available in 35 Countries and 18 languages. “We believe that video is the best way to capture and share life’s incredible variety. This is why at Dailymotion we aim to offer the best video experience:
A place where you can discover content you love from around the world, live or on demand: sports competitions, music festivals, comedy skits, political debates, fashion shows, gaming live-streams… Our viewers can follow, watch and share the events and the ideas that keep the world surprising and diverse as they happen. [...] Dailymotion attracts 300 million users from around the world, who watch 3.5 billion videos on its player each month,” according to Dailymotion official website.
5. Withings
Placed in the sixth position on startup ranking’s regional rank http://www.startupranking.com/top/france with a SR score of 85,824 French startup Withings was founded by Cédric Hutchings and Eric Carreel and launched in 2009.
“Making the most of innovation, technology and design, Withings invents smart products and apps that fit into any lifestyle that lets you track what matters so you can improve you everyday well-being and aim for better long term health.
Our ecosystem empowers you to shape every aspect of your health and achieve your personal idea of a balanced lifestyle. Withingers are not superheroes. Only some of us run marathons. Withingers are real people who want to take care of themselves without stop eating their favorite food. Our mission is simple: For individuals and families to benefit from the connected health revolution,” according to the official website of Withings.
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