• OLALA!

  Led · Seed · May 2022

  SEAFOOD REBOOT is a Paris-based foodtech startup developing next-generation plant-based seafood products using seaweed and algae ingredients. The company was founded less than six months before this round and leverages the team’s extensive expertise in algae to create alternatives that prioritise taste, texture, and nutrition. CEO Simon Ferniot emphasises urgency to shift global diets toward more plant-based food in light of climate and marine-life concerns. The team recently appointed Isabelle Chambaud, PhD (formerly with Danone for over 20 years), as Innovation Director. The €3.2M pre-seed will fund finalisation of R&D, preparation of first-generation alt-seafood products for market, and construction of a pilot production facility. That pilot facility is scheduled to be operational in H1 2023.

• Outsight

  Led · Seed · Dec 2019

  Outsight builds real-time 3D LiDAR perception software that ingests data from any LiDAR vendor to enable situational awareness for Smart Cities, Aviation, Robotics, Industry and Logistics. Its core product addresses vendor heterogeneity and massive raw-data challenges by providing Edge processing and a new Cloud-based pipeline capable of handling tens of petabytes for dynamic scenes. Outsight’s solutions have been deployed across Europe, the United States, Asia and the Middle East and include the largest airport LiDAR deployment tested at Paris-Charles de Gaulle (Groupe ADP). The company emphasizes plug-and-play integration so application developers and integrators can harness LiDAR without deep 3D expertise. Outsight plans to push an ambitious product roadmap — notably Edge and Cloud processing, Digital Twin use cases, and automatic 3D data annotation. The company announced a $22 million fundraising to support expansion and accelerate its product and go-to-market plans. Outsight builds a 3D Semantic Camera — an all-in-one 3D sensing device that both perceives and understands the environment and can identify object material composition. The company offers two product families: a 3D Smart Monitoring solution for wide-area premises (airports, malls, venues) and a vehicle-specific version for cars and off-road mobile robots. The sensor is designed for mass production and was launched in September at AutoSens. Outsight positions the technology to improve safety and reliability for manned machines (Level 1–3 ADAS) and to enable fully automated machines including Level 4–5 self-driving cars, robots, drones, and autonomous flying taxis. Founded in 2019, the team is based in Paris with offices in Helsinki and San Francisco. Financially, Outsight completed a $20 million seed round in 2019, one of the largest European seed rounds that year.

• Microphyt

  Participated · Equity · Jul 2019

  Microphyt develops microalgae-based natural active ingredients for nutrition and well-being using a proprietary, patented production technology. Since 2009 the company has operated an industrial production platform based on 5,000-litre tubular photobioreactors to access diverse microalgae species with high control and standardization. Its pipeline includes a portfolio of 10 nutritional active ingredients and 20 cosmetic active and functional ingredients, and the company has already established several commercial partnerships. Microphyt plans to accelerate product development, expand its global sales network, strengthen its team, and significantly increase ingredient production capacity over the next 18 months. The company emphasizes sustainable, standardized production to meet growing consumer demand for natural solutions in nutrition and wellbeing.

• Aledia

  Participated · Series B · Jun 2015

  Aledia is pioneering a nanowire/nanocrystal microLED technology spun out of CEA-Leti in 2012, developing LED chips for laptops, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, augmented-reality glasses and large TVs. The company uses very large-size silicon wafers (200–300mm) and microelectronics processes rather than conventional planar 2D LEDs on smaller sapphire substrates, and its technology is protected by 197 patent families. Aledia closed an €80M first tranche of a planned €120M D-round and will use the proceeds to complete product development and build a first-of-its-kind high-volume 3D microLED manufacturing facility in the Grenoble area. The planned facility has an estimated capex of €40 million (excluding equipment), and the company expects to invest over €200 million in equipment over the next five years. Aledia plans to grow to approximately 500 employees as it scales manufacturing. Strategic partners and investors, including Intel Capital and a range of technology and investment funds, are reinvesting to support commercialization. Aledia develops and manufactures next-generation 3D LEDs based on a gallium-nitride-nanowires-on-silicon platform. Its LEDs are produced on large-diameter silicon wafers (200mm, scalable to 300mm) and designed for mobile and other display applications. The company is pursuing both large/existing displays (smartphones, laptops, tablets) and smaller, emerging displays for VR/AR/MR and smartwatches using megapixel integrated silicon chips. Aledia is working with several large industrial partners to develop next-generation displays. It intends to use recently raised funds to accelerate technology development and acquire critical equipment. The company is led by CEO, chairman and co-founder Giorgio Anania and has subsidiaries in the US, Taiwan and Malaysia. Aledia develops and manufactures next‑generation 3D LEDs using a Gallium‑Nitride‑on‑Silicon (nanowire) platform. Its LEDs are produced on large‑diameter silicon wafers (200mm/8-inch) and are designed to be significantly less expensive than traditional 2D LEDs. The technology allows integration of electronics into the LED and the company is also working on next‑generation displays. Aledia has been advancing development and customer traction, signing development and supply contracts with major LED buyers. The company highlights automotive as a key market opportunity and cites a recently completed oversubscribed financing to accelerate development. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. Aledia develops and manufactures innovative LEDs based on a 3D architecture using gallium-nitride (GaN) microwires grown on silicon. Its GaN-on-silicon microwire technology is produced on standard 8-inch (200 mm) silicon wafers using existing CMOS wafer-fabrication processes and tools. This approach enables LED chip production at a cost four times less than traditional planar (2D) LEDs. The technology was developed over six years at LETI-CEA in Grenoble, and as part of the spin-out Aledia received exclusive worldwide rights to current and future CEA patents on microwire lighting technology. The company was co-founded in 2011 by Giorgio Anania (President & CEO), Xavier Hugon (COO) and Philippe Gilet (CTO), and is based in Grenoble, France. Aledia completed its first financing, raising €10m from Sofinnova Partners, Braemar Energy Ventures, Demeter Partners and CEA Investissement; the article does not disclose operating metrics or planned use of proceeds.

• Ynsect

  Participated · Equity · Jan 2015

  Ÿnsect produces natural insect protein and is shifting its commercial focus from primarily animal feed to pet foods and food ingredients. The company says the new capital will support that pivot toward higher-margin markets. Ÿnsect cited soaring costs—energy, raw materials and the cost of capital and debt—as a driver for refocusing its operations. As part of the refocus it will close a Dutch production plant acquired via Protifarm about two years ago. The shutdown triggers 35 immediate job cuts and a further 38 positions slated to go, from a workforce of 360 (a 20.27% reduction). Management says the move responds to market dynamics where animal feed is less remunerative than pet-food and food-ingredient markets. The company declined to disclose investors for the newest raise and said a second tranche is in discussion. Ÿnsect farms mealworms that produce protein ingredients for animal feed and fertilisers and is constructing a large insect farm in Amiens, north France. The company says it will complete construction in 2022 and produce 100,000 tons of insect products annually. Ÿnsect plans to use the new funding to finance expansion into the US. Management frames the technology as a more sustainable way to produce food inputs amid climate change and growing populations. The company reported that Covid-19 had little impact on its workflow this year. Its total funding to date now stands at $425 million. Ÿnsect produces insect-derived protein at scale using mealworms and automated, sensor-driven cultivation technologies. The company applies automation and sensing technologies from industries like automotive and data centers, holds 25 patents, and uses an AI-enabled, fully automated production process. Its products are sold into pet food, plant food and aquaculture animal feed markets, with particular emphasis on fish and shellfish farming. Ÿnsect is expanding globally and plans to build what it calls the world’s biggest insect farm in Amiens Métropole in northern France, while beginning expansion into the North American market. The company is on track to book more than $70 million in revenue this year. Management has signaled a goal of reaching unicorn status as it scales production and market reach. Ynsect is an innovation company that farms and transforms insects into high-quality natural diets for livestock and pet nutrition, and potentially human nutrition in the longer term. Its main product is TMP — Tenebrio molitor protein — a de-fatted protein meal made from farmed mealworm larvae. The company has designed proprietary technology to farm mealworm larvae, using automation and machine-learning software connected to sensors to ensure insect welfare, promote growth, and safeguard operators' health. Ynsect intends to increase capacity at Ynsite, its pilot centre in Jura, France, and to begin preparatory engineering for a large insect unit targeted to produce at least 20,000 metric tons of insect protein per year. The company closed a $15.2M Series B, bringing cumulative private and public funding to $37M over the prior three years. Founded in 2011 and based in Evry, France, Ynsect focuses on scaling mass-breeding and processing of mealworms for the animal feed market. Ynsect is a French insect biotechnology company founded in 2011 that has developed Entoraffinerie© for the nutritional and green chemistry markets. The company has run major R&D programs with academic and research institutions across France and Europe, including CEA, INRA, CNRS, IFREMER, AgroParisTech, IRSTEA and Wageningen University. Ynsect raised €5.5m in funding from New Protein Capital alongside existing investors Emertec Gestion and Demeter Partners. The company intends to use the funds to advance its solution, accelerate R&D in a new 1,700 m² facility at Genopole in Évry, and begin industrializing its processes. Ynsect also plans to strengthen its international position, particularly in Asia, and continue developing partnerships with manufacturing companies abroad. It is supported by Bpifrance and the Île-de-France Region.

No current team members are available.