In 2013, billionaire Xavier Niel decided he was going to repurpose an abandoned, broken-down rail depot in Paris’ 13th district into the largest startup campus in the world. Four years later Station F was born, boasting 366,000 square feet of airy lights, art installations and chessboards. And today, 1,000 startups call the space home. The country’s tech flagship has attracted global attention, hosting high-profile visits from the likes of Sheryl Sandberg to the president of Argentina and incubator programs from big-name companies like Microsoft and Facebook.
In many ways, the arrival of Station F is representative of the larger evolution of the venture landscape in France under President Emmanuel Macron. Since his election in 2017, Macron has been on a mission to build the next Silicon Valley on the Seine, redesigning the French economy by cutting the corporate tax rate to 25%, removing the nation’s notoriously complex labor laws and even tapping into the nation’s coffers to pour funding into a new economic doctrine—startup nation.
And it’s working. France’s once stagnant and outdated economy has seen an impressive revival, housing a growing and thriving VC scene. Last year, VC investors poured a record €10.7 billion into French startups. With few local pension funds and cash-rich investors, Macron has successfully attracted billions of Euros in foreign investments. Google, Facebook and Salesforce have all increased their French presence, and with the continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit, it’s likely foreign investors will continue to back French startups.
The venture landscape in France is booming and the spotlight is on software
In 2021, venture capital in France experienced record growth, and in 2022, French startups are off to a strong start, securing more funding than their German counterparts. One sector that’s seen notable growth is software. Since the start of 2022, there has been over €3.25 billion in VC funding to software companies spread across 179 deals.
While the number of software deals per year has steadily decreased since 2017, the amount of capital invested has been growing. The total capital raised in software deals in 2021 almost outperformed the deals in 2019 and 2020 combined. And 2022 is on pace to see a similar trend. This increase in capital spread across fewer total deals has resulted in significantly larger deal sizes and higher post-valuations, and in turn, a growing unicorn count.
Here we examine the five largest VC deals involving French software companies since 2021.
*According to PitchBook data as of April 19, 2022. This list only includes companies tagged with Software as their primary industry in the PB platform.
Sorare
Lead investor: Softbank Latin America Fund
Deal size: €576.42M
Verticals: blockchain, crypto
Founded in 2018, Sorare is a French fantasy football platform that allows users to create digital football teams and provides an NFT marketplace for collecting cards of football players and clubs on the Ethereum blockchain. The startup is distinguished by the fact that they buy exclusive rights from soccer clubs—180 to date—including big name leagues like La Liga and Real Madrid.
In July 2021, Sorare received €576.42M in Series B funding led by the Softbank Latin America Fund placing their post-money valuation at €3.65B. The round marks one of the largest deals by an NFT startup to date and broke the record for the largest fundraising round in France.
Mirakl
Lead investor: Silver Lake
Deal size: €470.41M
Verticals: SaaS, TMT
Founded in 2011, Mirakl is the developer of a marketplace platform designed to plug directly into e-commerce tech ecosystems. Their flexible APIs integrate with e-commerce website properties, enabling organizations to manage their product offerings and facilitate business growth. In September 2021, they received €470.41M in Series E funding in a deal led by Silver Lake placing their post-money valuation at €2.97B.
Contentsquare
Lead investor: Softbank Group
Deal size: €411.84M
Verticals: AI, machine learning
Founded in 2012, Contentsquare is the developer of a digital experience insights optimization platform designed to help businesses understand user engagement. Their platform leverages behavioral data, artificial intelligence and big data to measure content performance, determine visitor intentions and explain consumer decisions when they do or do not make a purchase.
In May 2021, Contentsquare received €411.84 million of Series E funding in a deal led by Softbank Group. BlackRock Private Equity Partners, Bpifrance and Highland Europe also participated in the round, placing their post-money valuation at €2.3B. The funding will be used to further develop the company’s AI technology and support its expansion and growth.
Voodoo
Lead investor: Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
Deal size: €266M
Verticals: Gaming, mobile, TMT
Founded in 2013, Voodoo is an entertainment company, specializing in developing and publishing mobile games. Through their open source knowledge base, coaching, and data-driven testing, the company helps studios build chart-topping games. In July 2021, Voodoo received €266M of venture funding from Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, placing their post-money valuation at €1.70B.
PayFit
Lead investor: General Atlantic
Deal size: €254M
Verticals: fintech, HR tech, SaaS
PayFit is the developer of payroll software designed to automate payroll and human resource management tasks. The company’s platform offers features, such as automated payroll, a flexible system for tracking and managing work time, expense reporting and onboarding processes. In January 2022, PayFit received €254M in Series E funding in a deal led by General Atlantic, placing their post-money valuation at €1.82B.
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