Archive for February 2013
French President François Hollande announces ambitious plans for the Digital Economy
Speaking yesterday in Clermont-Ferrand, President Hollande sought to infuse a little optimism in what has otherwise been a disappointing week for both his administration and France. After conceding his initial 2013 growth projections were in essence a pipe dream, President Hollande chose to pivot to a more positive topic…Namely, laying out his vision on how […]
What ISAI, the French entrepreneur’s fund, is saying about French entrepreneurs with their latest investments
ISAI recently announced an investment in Hospimedia, a health & medical professional’s media company. The 2 million euro investment is the first in their most latest fund – ISAI Expansion – which is meant to help companies that already have significant traction and are perhaps event profitable, but still need a capital injection to grow. […]
Here’s why Qwant is not the Google-Killer that France wanted it to be.
Early this month, out of thin air came Qwant, a new startup that proposed a new way to do search – it was social, it had “Qnowledge,” and most importantly, it wasn’t Google. Last week, it launched, and Le Figaro, like many tech blogs and mainstream media, loved it. They praised its ability to attract […]
Remixjobs now has a mobile app that’s actually WORSE than the web interface.
Whenever I’m asked where one should go to find startups who are hiring, I always reluctantly point to Remixjobs. It’s not that I don’t like the site, or founder ‘Manu’ Dorne, AKA Korben, one of France’s most well-known independent bloggers, it’s just that the site lacks so much of what I would want in it. […]
Enterprise 2.0 ‘Enabling the Social Enterprise (R)evolution’ on March 20 – 21
For the second year in a row, the Enterprise 2.0 Summit, one of the leading events tackling the challenge and solutions in mastering social networking within the enterprise world, comes back to Paris. This year’s edition will take place on March 20 – 21st at the Cercle National Des Armées. Unlike social media in the […]
Microsoft contests 52 Million euro back-taxes in France
French tax authorities are asking for 52 Million euros from Microsoft for what it refers to as ‘redressement social,’ essentially undeclared taxes that it declared via its Dublin-based European HQ between 2007 and 2009. Microsoft, who has already announced it will contest the claim, says that it legally registered all sales in Ireland, and delivered […]
After MIDEM, MIPCube has 3 startup competitions that you can’t miss out on!
Most of you are probably familiar with MIDEM, the leading global conference focusing on the music industry (see our article on the last edition here). But you may not know that the same organizers also host the leading and longest-running conference focusing on the global TV and, now, online content ecosystem called MIPTV. This year’s conference will […]
London Web Summit details announced: Why (and how) you should cross the channel and go March 1st.
With just 10 days until the London Web Summit, almost all of the surprises are out of the bag about the event. Speakers have been announced, startups have been chosen for the startup competition, and tickets are almost at full price (normal price until Friday). The event, which takes place in The Brewery, as it […]
France is the #1 earlier adopter of Kimdotcom’s Mega
Kimdotcom’s new free storage upload service has grabbed a lot of attention since its launch earlier this year, but, according to the man himself, more Mega Premium Account holders come from France than anywhere else. This weekend Kimdotcom tweeted the top 5 countries in terms of premium accounts: France, Spain, Belgium, US, Germany. Wow. That’s […]
Rude VC: The Valley of Heart’s Delight
Spot quiz: What region is formerly known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight ? Here’s a hint: it’s not Blackstone Valley in Massachusetts, nor is it Berlin, East London, and especially not Saclay, France. A swathe of apple orchards and orange groves spanning Santa Clara County in Northern California is what gave Silicon Valley this […]