Alan
Paris, France · StartupModern health insurance platform streamlining getting care for European employees.
StartupGrowthHealthSoftware
Incubator
Agoranov
Agoranov is a Paris-based public incubator founded in 2000 by a consortium of universities and research institutions. It supports science- and technology-intensive startups, often spun out of academic labs, and has backed 400+ startups that raised €1.5B+ and created 10,000+ jobs.
Program: office space in central Paris, a 6-month renewable incubation program with tailored mentorship, research access, grant support, and investor introductions. As a public-interest incubator, Agoranov is equity-free and funded by French public institutions and the City of Paris. Unicorn alumni: - Doctolib - Alan - Criteo
FranceParisDeep TechHealthGreenTechDigital
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Matched by sector and location overlapBetterMe
Kyiv, Ukraine · StartupOverview: BetterMe is a health and wellness tech company that offers a suite of mobile apps focused on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being. It provides users with personalized workout plans, meal plans, and lifestyle advice to help them lose weight, get fit, or improve their overall health. BetterMe's flagship app, often just called "BetterMe: Health Coaching," includes features such as short video workouts, diet tracking, and educational content. The company also launched a BetterMe: Mental Health app for meditation and stress reduction, reflecting a holistic approach to wellness. Uniquely, BetterMe tailors its programs to individuals using quizzes and data, making the experience feel custom - for example, a user can indicate their goals and preferences and receive a workout routine and diet plan suited to them. The apps are gamified and use a lot of motivational psychology (for instance, sending encouraging notifications, or featuring success stories) to keep users engaged. BetterMe operates on a freemium model: users can access some content for free but need a subscription to unlock full personalized plans and coaching. With an affordable subscription, it undercuts many traditional weight loss programs, contributing to its massive global user adoption. Founding Story (2016/2017): BetterMe was founded in 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine by Viktoria Repa, a young woman from a family that struggled with obesity. Viktoria's personal journey - she managed to lose weight despite being told it was hopeless - inspired her to help others do the same using smartphone technology. She joined Genesis, a Ukrainian tech incubator, where she developed the idea for BetterMe. With an initial $5 million support from Genesis Investments to kickstart the project, BetterMe launched its first product focusing on exercise plans. Early traction came via viral content on social media; Viktoria's team leveraged platforms like Facebook and Instagram to attract users with catchy fitness challenges and transformation stories. By late 2017, BetterMe's app reached the top charts in the Health and Fitness category on the App Store in multiple countries. The company smartly expanded into adjacent categories: adding a meal planning app, then merging them into one comprehensive platform. Repa, as a first-time founder, was notable for bootstrapping growth (outside of the initial Genesis funding) - she reinvested revenue from the app back into marketing rather than seeking huge VC rounds. This lean approach allowed BetterMe to scale rapidly without dilution or external pressure, and by focusing on revenue early, it achieved profitability within a couple of years. Product and Target Market: BetterMe's target market is primarily women aged 25-45 worldwide looking to improve fitness or lose weight, though it has users of all genders and ages. The app's content covers home workouts (no equipment needed routines, HIIT, yoga, etc.), diet (with thousands of recipes and even grocery lists), and mental health (meditation, self-love coaching). By bundling these, BetterMe positions itself as an all-in-one "personal coach in your pocket." The product stands out for localization - it offers content in multiple languages and adapts to cultural preferences (for example, meal plans will consider local cuisines). The company also sells BetterMe-branded sportswear and merchandise, tapping into the aspirational lifestyle brand angle. One of BetterMe's innovations was leveraging viral marketing: its social media team produced simple before-and-after animations and relatable memes that drew tens of millions of views. This organic reach translated into app installs at low cost. The app itself capitalized on trends like short 7-minute workouts and challenges (e.g., 28-day weight loss challenge), which kept users engaged daily. With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, BetterMe saw a surge as people turned to home fitness solutions, and the company responded by launching live workout sessions and more mental health resources. Traction and Users: BetterMe's growth has been explosive. As of 2022, BetterMe had over 110 million users worldwide - an astonishing figure that outpaced many competitors like Strava or Headspace in raw user count. The app consistently ranks among the top health and fitness apps in the U.S., Europe, and developing markets. The company achieved $80 million in annual revenue by 2022, all while remaining profitable. This revenue is largely subscription-driven, demonstrating a strong conversion of free users to paid plans. BetterMe's user base is global: major markets include the U.S. (which often accounts for 30-40% of revenue), Europe, Latin America, and also parts of Asia where affordable fitness coaching is in demand. The app has high ratings on app stores and has been downloaded well over 150 million times cumulatively. BetterMe's team grew to around 200 people by 2022, scaling to support content creation (new exercises, recipes, etc.), customer support, and continuous app development. An important aspect of BetterMe's traction is retention - many users report that the combination of physical and mental health guidance in one place keeps them using it long-term, as opposed to fad diet apps that get uninstalled. Funding and Business Model: Interestingly, BetterMe has been largely bootstrapped after the initial funding. Founder Viktoria Repa raised about $5M from Genesis (which is more of an internal investment from the incubator) and did not seek major external VC rounds afterwards. She cited the relatively underdeveloped VC landscape in Ukraine as one reason, but also the fact that BetterMe was generating enough cash to fuel its growth organically. By avoiding dilution, Repa retained control and the company focused on sustainable growth. The business model is straightforward: subscription revenue from the apps (monthly or annual plans) and some e-commerce sales of merchandise. With tens of millions of users, even a small percentage subscribing translated to substantial income. By 2023, the company was reportedly exploring opportunities for external funding or strategic partnerships to develop new products (like potentially telehealth or personalized coaching services). If it were to raise funds, given its scale and profitability, BetterMe could likely command a very high valuation (some industry observers speculated it could be Ukraine's next unicorn). Achievements and Recognition: BetterMe's success has brought significant recognition. Viktoria Repa, as a young female CEO, was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe in 2019. Sifted.eu (FT's tech publication) ran a story on how she built a global health app from Ukraine with $80M revenue in 5 years. BetterMe's apps frequently top the "most downloaded" charts, and in 2021 Apple highlighted BetterMe in its App Store success stories. Another achievement: during the war in Ukraine, BetterMe made its apps free for all Ukrainian users to help people cope with stress and stay healthy at home. The company donated a portion of its profits to the Ukrainian army and charities, and even released Ukraine flag-themed workout gear to raise funds. This stance boosted its image as a socially responsible brand. BetterMe also claims that it has helped millions of people collectively lose over 1,000,000 kilograms of weight (per internal metrics), showcasing real-world impact. User testimonials often mention life-changing health improvements, which BetterMe uses (with permission) in its marketing. The company's next milestones include expanding into more holistic healthcare - possibly adding features like consultations with trainers or nutritionists, and integrating wearable data for more personalization. Overall, BetterMe illustrates how a Ukrainian startup identified a massive global need - accessible health improvement - and executed with digital savvy to become one of the world's most popular wellness platforms. It stands as a symbol of Ukraine's emerging strength in consumer tech and the power of combining tech with personal passion to solve widespread problems. Sources: sifted.eu.
StartupGrowthHealthWellnessMobileSubscription
Bioptimus
Paris, France · StartupBioptimus is the self-proclaimed "Mistral of Biology," spun out in early 2024 by a team of alumni from Google DeepMind and Owkin, including CEO Jean-Philippe Vert. The company is building what it calls the first universal foundation model for biology. Where large language models were trained on text to learn human language, Bioptimus trains on biological data—DNA sequences, protein structures, cellular imagery, and clinical phenotypes—to infer the underlying rules of life. The ambition is not just better predictions but a unified biological reasoning layer that can simulate outcomes before expensive lab work happens. By 2026, Bioptimus has moved from a research thesis to early commercial traction. After a $41M Series A in 2025, the company released its first commercial model that can predict how a specific molecule will interact with a human cell with unusually high accuracy. This enables in-silico screening that reduces wet-lab costs and improves hit rates for drug discovery. French pharma leaders such as Sanofi have begun using these models to prioritize compounds and compress early-stage discovery timelines. The product value is immediate: fewer failed experiments, faster candidate selection, and deeper mechanistic insight. Bioptimus' roadmap focuses on "multi-scale biology," connecting the micro level (genomics and proteomics) to the macro level (patient outcomes and clinical data). Rather than being limited to protein folding, the models aim to bridge across data modalities so a genetic mutation can be linked to disease pathways, tissue behavior, and potential therapeutic interventions. This requires data breadth and regulatory trust, and Bioptimus is building a defensive moat through European data sovereignty. It leverages partnerships with European research hospitals and biobanks to access high-quality patient data that is difficult for US competitors to acquire under GDPR constraints. That compliance burden becomes a competitive advantage: safer access, better provenance, and stronger alignment with European health data governance. The company remains deeply embedded in the Paris ecosystem. It was incubated inside Owkin before spinning out, maintains a presence around Station F, and benefits from the cross-pollination between French AI and biotech communities. Its investor base reflects that positioning: Sofinnova Partners, Bpifrance, Cathay Innovation, Xavier Niel, and Frst provide a blend of life-science expertise, sovereign capital, and deep-tech conviction. In 2026, Bioptimus is the clearest European bet that foundation models can unlock biology at scale—and a contender to become the default AI layer for drug discovery in Europe.
StartupGrowthBiotechAIHealthcare
BlaBlaCar
Paris, France · StartupBlaBlaCar is the world’s leading long-distance carpooling platform, often hailed as France’s flagship startup success. Founded in 2006 by Frédéric Mazzella (along with Francis Nappez and Nicolas Brusson), BlaBlaCar was born from Mazzella’s realization that countless car journeys had empty seats. The platform (named after users’ self-described chattyness level – “Bla”, “BlaBla”, or “BlaBlaBla”) connects drivers with spare seats to passengers traveling the same way, so they can share the ride and costs. Today, BlaBlaCar has a 100 million-member community across 22+ countries, serving over 25 million travelers per quarter pre-pandemic. It operates in most of Europe and parts of Latin America and Asia, having successfully localized carpooling in markets like Germany, Russia, Brazil, and Turkey. The company also branched into bus travel: in 2018, BlaBlaCar acquired Ouibus from SNCF, rebranding it BlaBlaBus, to offer intercity bus routes alongside carpool rides. BlaBlaCar’s business model charges a roughly 10–20% booking fee from passengers in mature markets, though in new markets it often launches free to build liquidity. Known for its strong community culture, BlaBlaCar emphasizes trust – it introduced verified profiles, ratings, and even an optional “Ladies Only” carpool option. The company achieved unicorn status in 2015 when it raised $200 million at a $1.6 billion valuation and later was valued around $2 billion. Despite the pandemic’s impact on travel, BlaBlaCar rebounded by 2022, even reporting profitability. In 2023, it raised €100 million in financing to fuel growth. BlaBlaCar is often cited in case studies (Harvard, etc.) as a pioneer of the sharing economy in Europe, proving that a people-powered platform can transform intercity transport. By bringing cost-effective travel to millions and fostering new friendships on the road, BlaBlaCar has truly brought “ridesharing” into the mainstream – and stands as one of Europe’s few consumer-tech unicorns with global reach.
StartupGrowthMobilityMarketplace
Brevo
Paris, France · StartupMarketing automation and CRM platform (formerly Sendinblue) with a large London presence and strong SMB community ties.
StartupGrowthMarketingSaaSSMB
DeepDrive
Munich, Germany · StartupDeepDrive is the Munich startup that convinced major automakers to rethink the electric motor itself. Its core innovation is a patented dual-rotor motor architecture. In a traditional motor, a single rotor spins inside a fixed stator. DeepDrive's design spins both the internal and external rotor simultaneously, delivering higher torque density and substantially better efficiency. The practical outcome is compelling: EVs can achieve roughly 20% more range with 50% less motor weight, while reducing bill-of-materials costs. By 2026, DeepDrive has moved beyond impressive prototypes to industrialization. The company has reportedly secured series nominations with eight of the top ten global automakers for platform launches in 2028–2029. That level of OEM validation is rare at this stage and signals confidence in both the performance and manufacturability of the design. The company is now focused on building automated production lines in northern Munich to scale output for fleet testing and pre-series runs. A particularly strategic application is the in-wheel motor. Because the dual-rotor unit is compact and lightweight, it can fit inside the wheel hub, freeing up interior volume and enabling fully flat skateboard platforms. That creates new possibilities for autonomous shuttles and urban delivery vehicles where maximizing passenger or cargo space is paramount. It also allows for advanced vehicle dynamics such as torque vectoring without complex drivetrain components, improving both safety and handling. DeepDrive is a classic spin-out from the UnternehmerTUM ecosystem at TU Munich, with early validation support from the XPRENEURS incubator. Its investor base blends strategic automotive capital with deep-tech venture funding: Leitmotif led the Series B, BMW i Ventures provides rare early-stage OEM participation, Continental's corporate VC is a strategic partner for braking and chassis integration, and UVC Partners and Bayern Kapital anchor local support. In 2026, DeepDrive is one of Europe’s most promising hardware deep-tech bets: a motor breakthrough with clear OEM pull, manufacturability momentum, and the potential to reshape EV platform design.
StartupSeries BAutomotiveDeep TechHardware
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