A round-up of recent highlights from the world of ESSEC entrepreneurship

Rankings

7 ESSEC start-ups feature among the 125 nuggets of French Tech 2030 (in French), the programme which brings together the aims of the France 2030 plan, the support of the French Tech task force and the expertise of Bpifrance, to offer solutions for environmental transition and France’s industrial and technological sovereignty.

Co-founded by Nicolas Heitz (M13), Exotrail designs propulsion solutions for small satellites in the aim of limiting space pollution. The start-up raised $58M early this year to develop new products and bolster its presence in the American and Asian markets.  

Launched by Harold Guillemin (M19), FinX develops biomimetic nautical propulsion systems which could revolutionise maritime transport. ‘We replace propellers with a membrane which undulates like a sea animal, and saves 20% to 30% energy compared to standard propeller systems, in addition to being quieter and safer.’ The start-up recently raised €6M and entered Challenges’ Top 100 ranking of start-ups to invest in in 2023.
Read the article (in French).

Co-founded by Arnaud Delubac (M20), Greenly rolls out solutions for the automated monitoring of individual and corporate carbon footprints. The start-up has already raised €25M and entered Challenges’ Top 100 ranking of start-ups to invest in in 2023.

Co-founded by Alexandre Guenoun (E16), Kiro operates a visual, interactive digital platform which improves the transmission of medical biology reports between laboratories, healthcare professionals and patients. Already a winner of the i-Lab competition and the Deeptech North America (NETVA) programme, the start-up recently raised almost €14M. 

Co-founded by Miroslav Sviezeny (E98), Qarnot Computing offers ‘high-performance and low-carbon’ computing for all IT activities. ‘Our servers are located in buildings in France where the waste heat from computers can be recovered for housing, offices, schools or logistic warehouses, etc. This reduces the carbon footprint of AI, data or 3D by an average of 80%!’ 

Co-founded by Tristan Maurel (E20) and Benjamin Presset (E22), Umiami produces a ‘plant-based meat’ which offers the same taste and nutritional qualities as animal meat but emits significantly fewer greenhouse gases. Incubated by ESSEC Ventures and the 2021 winner of the ESSEC Founders Day competition, the start-up aims to become the world leader in its market. 

Co-founded by Alexis Angot (E08), Ÿnsect has become the world leader in the farming and transformation of insects into premium ingredients for animal and plant health and nutrition. The B-Corp-certified company has raised more than $435M, filed 240 patents in 40 countries and secured $105M in orders to date.   

Capital raising

Founded by Philippe Notton (EXEC MBA 08), SiPearl raised €90M in Series A to sell its product Rhea from 2024. Rhea is the world’s first microprocessor to combine low energy-use and accounting with any third-party accelerator (GPU, AI, quantum) for high-performance computing. The aim is to equip future European supercomputers and thus ensure the EU’s technological sovereignty while limiting its environmental impact.
Find out more. 

Founded by Julien Bonneville (E06), TheGuarantors raised $35M, bringing its total capitalisation to $110M. The fintech rolls out smart finance and insurance solutions for property owners and tenants, and since its launch, turnover has seen an annual growth rate of 95%.
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Co-founded by David Benhaïm (E18), WeTheNew raised €20M to become Europe’s leading destination for the sale and resale of sneakers and streetwear. ‘This round marks a turning point in our history, but above all highlights the work, commitment and ambition of the 120-person team that built a French leader in 5 years.’ 
Find out more (in French).

Co-founded by Léo Dubert (E12), MentorShow raised €15M in Series A for its online learning and training platform which offers video tutorials created and led by recognised experts in their field: entrepreneurship (Frédéric Mazzella), neuropsychiatry (Boris Cyrulnik), cooking (Cyril Lignac, Pierre Hermé), literature (Marc Levy), etc. The platform has already attracted more than 500,000 people in France and Spain.
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Co-founded by Alexis Bidinot (M11), Qiara raised €14M to equip 500,000 homes with its smart alarms by 2025. A certain Xavier Niel is among the investors…
Find out more (in French). 

Co-founded by Jean-Gabriel Niel (E12), Graneet raised €8M for its worksite management and monitoring solution for SMEs in the building sector. The aim of the second round is to bolster its presence in France, offer additional services and launch its European expansion.
Find out more.

Co-founded by Simon Bestel (EXEC PROG 04), Fermes En ViE (FEVE) raised €1.7M to help agro-ecology project owners to set up and grow thanks to an inclusive citizen savings solution. ‘Since we began, 7 farms have been created and 500 hectares of land have been converted. We hope to reach a target of 200 farms per year, or 12,000 hectares, a surface equivalent to Toulouse or Paris!’
Find out more (in French).
Read our article (in French).

Crowdfunding 

Co-founded by Florian Blanc (E08), GEEV launched a crowdfunding campaign on Tudigo for its application to donate objects between individuals. The application already boasts 4.5 million users, and 10 days before the end of the campaign, almost €1.5M had been raised, smashing the initial target by some 300%. You have until 2 July to contribute online (in French). 

Co-founded by Martin Pellet (E10), Marc Charpentier (E12) and Youssef Chraibi (E18), La Brasserie Fondamentale (L.B.F.) also launched a crowdfunding campaign on Tudigo for its range of non-filtered, non-pasteurised French craft beers, which are brewed responsibly from local malt. Some fifty investors have already contributed almost €100K. You can also contribute online (in French). 

Founded by Kamel Naït-Outaleb (EXEC PROG 15), the fintech OnlyOne launched a crowdfunding campaign on Sowefund for its positive-impact bank account which ensures that your savings serve only to fund inclusive and eco-friendly projects. The target: €1M You can also contribute online (in French).  

Co-founded by Jean-Baptiste Lenoir (EXEC MBA 12), Qotto is also leading a crowdfunding campaign on Sowefund for its solar kit enabling rural African populations to access electricity and thus internet, which in turn will enable their financial independence and economic growth via services such as microlending and insurance. The target: €500K, as part of a wider capital raising of €3.5M. You can also contribute online (in French).
Read the article (in French).

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