Liam Boogar
The #1 German industrial employer in France, Bosch 2014 results show €2.21 Billion in sales in France
Photo © BOSCH / Nils Krüger Out of its total annual revenue of nearly €50 Billion, Bosch saw €2.21 Billion in sales in France, where it counts 7,700 employees (out of its total workforce of 360,000). The German group is hot off a series of acquisitions – most notably, it acquired Siemens’ stake in the Bosch-Siemens […]
The Rebirth of French Venture Capital
Change is an important part of any ecosystem. A forest fire may seem like a natural disaster that only causes destruction; however, it is the disappearance of older, larger trees that allows for younger ones to receive sunlight, and for seeds to sprout up from the ashes. Such is the Venture Capital ecosystem, and in France, the […]
Cyborg Plants & Fabric Sensors – here are the 7 Startup #ConnectedContest winners!
After 4 weeks of submissions, we’ve selected our winners for the #ConnectedContest – 7 amazing products (and the videos they submitted) which cover many of the themes we’ll be covering this year. We’ve got refrigerator magnets, plant cyborgs, sensors made from fabric, and a connected bike. We were very excited by the projects we received, and I’d […]
IDInvest's got a new €140 Million fund, so why are team members leaving?
IDInvest announced the closing of their latest fund, €140 Million, on the back of a very successful previous fund. IDInvest has invested in Deezer, Dailymotion, Meetic & Criteo, as well as SIGFOX and Syntehsio (which haven’t exited yet, but look promising). IDInvest’s investors include their historic partner, Allianz France (which recently opened up an accelerator in the […]
Twitter Meets Craigslist: Stootie raises €1.2 Million, boasts 170,000 users
Stootie has raised €1.2 Million from Cap Decisif to grow their peer-to-peer marketplace, the startup reported this week. Stootie, which boasts 170,000 users (50,000 active users), has been pushing its marketplace since 2011, hoping to create a marketplace where anyone who needed a hand could ask for it, and anyone who wanted to help could propose […]
Does the world really need a "Tinder for Jobs" ?
It’s not uncommon for startups to describe themselves as “N[Something you know] for X[a new space].” ‘Airbnb for X’ has become shorthand for ‘a peer-to-peer marketplace for X,’ while ‘Uber for X’ has become shorthand for ‘a marketplace of freelancers grouped around a certain common occupation.’ There are varying opinions on the practice of creating […]
Post-Charlie Hebdo France votes through Internet surveillance law, relinquishes liberté
A photo from the May 4th protest aginst the Loi sur Renseignement France’s national assembly has voted in favor of the Projet de Loi sur Renseignement, the controversial bill which creates a legal framework around illicit tapping into meta data communications from internet-enabled devices – the law passed 438-86. Highly regarded as the French equivalent of the US Patriot […]
Carmat's second patient dies 9 months after receiving an Artificial Heart implant
Nine months after Carmat implanted their artificial heart in a second patient, the Nanted-based 69 year-old passed away this past weekend, the company revealed this week. The news caused Carmat’s stock to be frozen on the Euronext stock market today, pending more information about the cause of death and the implications. Carmat’s current authorization allows them to […]
¡Quiero hacer autostop! Blablacar now available in Mexico
European ridesharing platform Blablacar is now available in its 19th market, Mexico, the company announced today. Its first American market, Mexico is the platform’s latest venture into emerging markets, after having successfuly spread its French-native platform across Europe over the last few years. As the startup mentioned during their $100 Million fundraising last year, launching in Russia & […]
In France, La Poste is a bank, an MVNO, a delivery service (by drone) & an IoT Network
Whenever I speak with someone about mail, the post office (in France or around the world), or delivery in general, I like to point out that the Stamp, the main revenue source for most national Post Offices (USPS, La Poste, Deutsche Post, etc.) was invented in the 19th century, and that it likely won’t exist by […]