French Tech Wins Big at Web Summit 17

by Startacus Admin

La French Tech went to Web Summit 2017 with high expectations & the three day event further shone a light on the growing reputation of the French tech scene.

In our first feature on the French tech scene, Startacus took an in-depth look at the growing reputation of La French Tech, a fab movement committed to the growth of French startups and France’s international influence within the tech startup scene. Not only that, we previewed in some detail La French Tech's participation at this year's Web Summit in Lisbon (more on that in a bit).

Fast forward a couple of weeks and with Web Summit 17 now just finished, we took a look back at some of the key French tech focused headlines that made the news during the 3 day, 4 night event.

But first a few standout stats on Web Summit 2017...

Nearly 60,000 people from 170 countries attended Web Summit this year. The Web Summit’s continued commitment to increasing female attendance, driven by their Women in Tech initiative meant that the female to male ratio of attendees was 42% to 58%.

Of the 60k odd attendees, there were 2,600 of the world’s leading media in attendance - that’s a lot of journalists! Oh, and over 205,000 recyclable paper cups used throughout the event - perhaps enough cups stacked on top of each other to reach the moon (we’re not sure!).

Now back to La French Tech... 

La French Tech set out for Web Summit with great expectations.With a tech scene of growing international stature, La French Tech monopolises on events like Web Summit to showcase the very best of their current startup and scaleup talents. 

Some 150 disruptive French startups pitched and showcased their innovative technologies in the areas of FinTech, MedTech, HR & Recruitment, LegalTech, eCommerce, hardware, software, Big Data, IoT as well as music, sport, travel, recreation & wellness, philanthropy & social good to international investors and visitors. 52 renowned French speakers from diverse spheres, took to the stage and shared their insights about the future of web world. 

So it is of no surprise to Startacus that this level of event commitment resulted in a degree of French dominance at the event. 

Talking of dominance, how’s this for a stat? 5 French startups, namely Deepomatic, Recast AI, CosmoTech, Tellmeplus, and Finalcad were listed in the top 10 of the most solicited by international investors - nice. With 2,100 odd startups present at the summit, that’s a pretty awesome result for La French Tech. It is also notable that 4 of the 5 said startups were in AI - reflecting the growing strength of French AI expertise. 

Further demonstrating this strength in expertise, French startup Snips, one of the fastest growing startups in the world, pitched on the Growth Summit stage. Startacus loves the look (and sound) of their AI-powered voice assistant you can add to your own products.                 

Perhaps the most notable French Tech headline went to Lifeina - a French MedTech startup who took the Web Summit PITCH 2017 title.

The MedTech startup has designed the world’s smallest fridge - a portable fridge used for the transportation and daily use of essential medication. A breakthrough solution for people suffering from chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and many others. A great concept and a startup we will aim to cover in more detail at a later date. 

To top off a pretty good few days all round, the European Commission announced at the Summit that the 2017 European Capital of Innovation prize of €1m had been awarded to Paris. The award, granted under the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, recognised Paris for its inclusive innovation strategy. Congrats Paris!  

The success of Web Summit is often not just about the standout headlines and trophies awarded, but the behind-closed-doors and over coffee chats and meetings that take place between the startups, investors and corporates. But that said, with much of the acclaim going in La French Tech’s direction, this is another indicator that the French startup and tech ecosystem continues to gain momentum. 

We look forward to hearing about what other French focused success comes from the 3 days and 4 nights event over the coming weeks and months. 

Sponsored. This article has been written with the support of La French Tech, but remains editorially unbiased.

 

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Published on: 17th November 2017