France has entrepreneurs and startup companies equal in quality and leadership to any we see in Boston, New York, or Silicon Valley. This week we were in Paris meeting with VCs and startups looking to build partner relationships with Microsoft. Special thanks to Julien Codorniou for organizing the trip. Here is a sample of what we saw.
Kayentis - digital pens and handwriting recognition software applications for doctors, nurses, manufacturing, field service, etc. Take any paper form printed on special paper and use a digital pen to fill out the form and take notes.The pen writes on the paper just like any ink pen but also captures everything digitally. The pen keeps track of where you are on the form and records all writing, check marks, notations, etc. Later upload the data to your PC onto a template digital form.
Vision Objects - Handwriting recognition software integrated with digital pens. They supply the handwriting recognition software to Kayentis and other application companies. Vision Objects has spent 8 years developing very sophisticated handwriting recognition software and integration with digital pens. Vision Objects core product MyScript is the basis for LeapFrog's popular FlyPen.
Sinequa - Enterprise multilingual search for all data sources including documents, email, databases, and other applications. Sinequa's Intuition product handles natural language queries in multiple languages. It ranks the results based on corporate relevance, categorizes results by entity/person/project, and clusters results with similar meanings. Search results are filtered based on users access rights so that confidential information is not disclosed. Sinequa Intuition integrates seamlessly with Sharepoint, Outlook, Active Directory, and other Microsoft infrastructure.
RVR Systems - SOX compliance methodology and software. RVR Systems was founded by a former PWC auditor. The systems includes a comprehensive Internal Control methodology to ensure a complete solution. The software automates many of the control processes and provides management reporting.
Advestigo - digital asset protection - digital fingerprinting can detect copies, partial copies, or altered copies of files anywhere on the web. Advestigo can also be used to monitor outgoing email messages to protect against leakage of confidential information. Advestigo can monitor the web, P2P networks, email, and other applications for transmission of any confidential files or data.
Aliantiz - real time web site usage statistics package similar to WebTrends and NetTracker, with more detailed functionality and easier to use. They have pre-built web parts optimized for Sharepoint. They display most viewed items, most popular search results, most clicked on items, etc. Web site visitors benefit by seeing summaries of the most popular content. Site owners get detailed reports and analysis on usage so they can optimize their site.
Vpod.tv - video creation tools, hosting, sharing community, and CDN (Content Distribution Network) Think YouTube functionality for web site owners. Vpod.tv is still in alpha/beta but already has several web sites using the technology. Founder, Rodrigo Sepulveda Schulz, has a great site that demonstrates how easy it is to use.
I also met with several French VC firms including Xange and iSource. Venture capital is relatively new in France. There are some very large and successful firms like Soffinova but the VC industry really started to take off in 1999. These firms are just now seeing the results of their early investments and the future looks promising. Xange invested in both Kayentis and Vision Objects. iSource has seen several of their companies go public or be acquired in the past year.
France has more than just great wine and cheese. They now have a growing VC industry and some innovative startups. Expect to see American VCs visiting Paris this summer.
"Expect to see American VCs visiting Paris this summer."
-On Vacation
Posted by: Mathew | March 10, 2006 at 02:41 PM