Archive for December 2014
SaaS Academy to help French software publishers transition to the cloud
Before the last Finance minister Arnaud Montebourg abruptly resigned (or, arguably, was asked to resign), he advocated for several measures aimed at helping bridge the gap between traditional software publishers and cloud providers. One of the measures, which was proposed by Atos and OVH, was to create a SaaS Academy which would offer coaching […]
Ifeelgoods launches the first rewards fulfillment API enabling on-demand e-gifting
The leader in digital distribution of branded rewards, Ifeelgoods, has just launched a new rewards fulfillment API which is the first to automate and streamline the process of e-gifting. From now, brands can drive acquisition, engagement a and retention through seamlessly deliver users on-demand their choice of rewards from Ifeelgoods’ catalog of 100,000+ downloadable gifts covering a wide-range of categories, […]
Dear LaFrenchTech: Let’s never stop learning
Arguably at one point the hottest tech conference on the European continent and still undisputably one of the top tier events, LeWeb took place last week and brought leading international entrepreneurs and investors like Phil Libin, Hiroshi Mikitani, Kevin Rose, Yossi Vardi, Tony Conrad, David Hornik, Jeff Clavier, and Fred Wilson to Paris. The conference […]
Drivy founder Paulin Dementhon: “Berlin is quite unique worldwide”
Last week French peer-to-peer car sharing platform Drivy launches its service in Germany. I met Drivy founder Paulin Dementhon and German Country Manager Gero Graf for an interview on Drivy’s plans for the future, Berlin’s advantages and the share economy. Tobias Schwarz: What is Drivy? How does it work? Paulin Dementhon: Drivy is a peer-to-peer […]
French government vows to enforce ‘anti-UberPOP’ law to quell latest taxi uprising
Another day, another French taxi strike. This time, the taxis were protesting against a ruling this past Friday that UberPOP could continue to operate in Paris. The only drawback to the ruling for Uber was that the court, in response to a deceptive advertising infraction in October, banned them from advertising certain services which would result […]
Blablacar-competitor carpooling partners with Uber and launches in the US
European ridesharing service carpooling is launching across the US today, announcing an integration with Uber that will allow users to get door-to-door intercity travel all in one booking. Germany-based carpooling, which competes with Blablacar in Europe, raised $10 Million in 2012 in order to launch in the US and, after a bit of a delay, will be available […]
With 10 million subscribers, 4G starts to win over France
After a healthy start 18 months ago, 4G has begun to seduce the French public, with 10 million users now signed-up. The uptake of 4G was historically fast, with users taking to 4G 10 times faster than they did with 3G. Although Europe clearly trailed the US the roll-out of 4G, clearly things are […]
Capitaine Train: living proof that better products always win
This month Capitaine Train announced they’d raised another $6.3 Million (this on top of the €2.5 Million and €1.4 Million they raised prior) for their European train ticketing service. While they face competition from Berlin’s GoEuro, which raised $27 Million earlier this year, Capitaine Train’s design-centric startup has captured the attention of the European startup scene, with its […]
The Sad Story of Softbank’s Aldebaran Robotics and its Emotionally Intelligent Robot
The following article contains information obtained with the authorization by current and former employees of Aldebaran Robotics, who wished to remain anonymous due to the nature of their employment contract and its non-disparagement clause; however, all sources were vetted thoroughly). It’s been a good year to be working in robotics & artificial intelligence. While technology leaders […]
Adobe acquisitions in France total $1.4 Billion in last 18 Months
With the announcement of its acquisition of stock image site Fotolia last week for $800 Million, Adobe is looking to take its Creative Cloud product, which now counts nearly 3.5 Million subscribers, to the forefront of its business. Adobe’s been moving aggressively to a cloud-based business, weaning itself off of its legacy desktop software business, which […]