Five flourishing French scaleups have made it intoTECH5 the Champions League of Technology.
The quintet will now compete for the title of top scaleup in Europe.
But first, the contenders have to win a regional crown.
For the French challengers, thats no easy task.
The countrys tech sector has been going through a historic boom.
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One of the largest recent funding rounds went to French AI darling Mistral.
In June 2024, the Paris-based companyraised 468mnand became Europes most valuable AI startup.
This has laid the foundation for an impressive flock of scaleups.
Yet only five of them could enter the TECH5 finals.
Our judges selected them based on an analysis of their growth, impact, and future potential.
Their evaluation led us to the following high-flying scaleups, listed in random order:
1.
Kinetix
A frontrunner in thethriving AI sceneof Paris,Kinetixspecialises in 3D character animation for games.
Using GenAI tools, the company transforms camera footage and text prompts into precise animations.
AI filters can then add extensive customisations to the visuals.
The platform makes 3D content creation accessible to anyone.
At Kinetix, we believe character motion is at the heart of storytelling, the scaleup told TNW.
Its a concept that has attracted booming demand.
Fortnite alone has over 1,000 emotes.
By 2030, the digital human avatar market isforecastto reach over 450bn.
Kovalee
Kovaleehas developed a powerful publishing platform for non-gaming apps.
Several have become category leaders in the App Store, from stretching platform Bend to motivational companion Peptalk.
The model has fostered a rapid rise for Kovalee, which was founded in 2020.
Last year, the company toppedSifteds listof Frances fastest-growing startups after an eye-catching 626% two-year revenue growth.
Swan
One of Europes premier fintechs,Swanprovides a straightforward route to embedding banking features.
Swan was founded in 2019 by three fintech veterans and seasoned entrepreneurs.
They launched Swan to offer an alternative.
Investors have been impressed by the plans.
In January, Swan announced it had raised 42mn, bringing the scaleups total funding to an estimated 100mn.
Qovoltis
Qovoltishas created an innovative all-in-one EV charging solution.
It also won the Made in France Innovation Grand Prix 2024.
The milestone year culminated in a 45mn Series A funding round.
Dalma
Dalmahas pioneered a new approach to pet insurance.
The companys insurance reimburses all veterinary expenses within 48 hours with no excess or hidden fees.
Investors have identified Dalma as one of the industrys front runners.
Whats next for the French scaleups?
The fabulous French five will compete for the TECH5 title with contenders from six other regions.
At TNW Conference in June, the grand champion will be crowned Europes hottest scaleup.
The challengers from France, Benelux, the Nordics, and DACH have now all been chosen.
Next week, we reveal the finalists from another region in the tournament: Southern Europe.
TECH5 is part of a packed programme forTNW Conference, which takes place on June 19-20 in Amsterdam.
Tickets for theeventarenow on sale.
Use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the check-out to get 30% off the price tag.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
