External newsletter March 2024 - N° 156

EDITO

Back to our roots

Dear Business Angels friends, dear readers,

After sharing the key figures for 2023 with you in January, along with some initial comments, we now have the necessary hindsight to carry out a more in-depth analysis of the indicators.By interpreting the figures and trends, we can learn from the highlights of the past year.

Highlights of the national seed capital market include: a ^35%¹ rise in investment, increased demand for refinancing, a significantly higher start-up failure rate, the return of capital to the healthcare sector, and a decline in the digital sector.

At BADGE, we have also seen an increase in investments by our members from €3.8m to €4.5m, with the number of companies refinancing rising sharply from 10 to 16. The effect of the gradual rise in interest rates that began in the second half of 2022 was felt last year. The high cost of money reduced the ability of investment funds to intervene, and Series A bonds were harder to obtain. Start-ups turned once again to their traditional investors, the Business Angels, who responded positively. In our network, we note that the increase in refinancing capital has not been at the expense of investment in new projects: it is indeed the first rounds that make up the majority of the amounts contributed to the start-ups in our portfolio. At the same time, our members have supported our portfolio companies and encouraged new innovation initiatives.

The analysis of failures observed over the past year merits in-depth study. At this stage, I would say that the succession of crises in 2020 and 2021 linked to COVID, and in 2022 and 2023 linked to the war in Ukraine and the sudden return of inflation, has led to a restructuring of our equity portfolios. This should prove beneficial, as time will tell.

Digital once again attracts the largest number of seed capital investments, followed by the Healthcare sector, which has made remarkable progress². BADGE's findings are more nuanced: in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the Healthcare sector occupied first place on the podium. While it also moved up to second place in 2022, behind digital, its weight remained virtually unchanged in 2023. Our investments in industry took the lead with 32% of capital mobilized (+6%), whereas in 2020 and 2021 they represented less than 10% of the total. In this way, our members are actively participating in the major France 2030 investment plan, motivated by a policy of reindustrializing the country and creating real jobs. A return to the roots of industry?

Catherine Delcroix's article below sheds further light.

Best regards,

Paul Leondaridis,

Chairman of Business Angels des Grandes Écoles.

¹ Bilan annuel 2023 des levées French Tech par In Extenso Innovation Croissance, ESSEC Business School et France Angels.
² Statistics 2023 France Angels. They will be detailed and commented at the Spring University on April 9 and 10 at Bpifrance 8 Bd Haussmann 75009 Paris, see below in this newsletter.

Diversification of a Business Angels portfolio is a fundamental principle, and an indispensable asset for spreading risk. The selection of projects financed by the Business Angels of the Grandes Écoles naturally reflects this investment strategy, by focusing on innovative solutions in all key sectors of the economy, with a predilection for solutions that reveal their full societal utility.

An analysis of our portfolio, summarized in the graphs below, shows a fairly balanced distribution by major sector, with a high percentage of companies with an industrial component (41%). As e-services companies by their very nature have no industrial facilities, this percentage rises to 51% for all sectors that may have a production unit.

A significant proportion of our technology-intensive investments, whether in the strategic fields of ecological transition, securing raw materials, healthcare, telecommunications or even space, have a manufacturing component, and are part of the France 2030 program, either directly or via the French Tech Seed fund. As a reminder, France 2030 aims to accelerate the transformation of key sectors of our economy through technological innovation and industrialization, and in particular supports industrial "deeptech" that contributes to sovereignty and reindustrialization, and replaces imports. These innovative companies will need to be scaled up to industrial scale in order to build the industry of tomorrow, in line with the expected decarbonization objectives. These developments will take a long time, from the design phase, when Business Angels invest in the first round, to the industrialization phase. Subcontracting, which is often used at the outset, is not always the right answer, because of quality, precision and protection of industrial property: the development of an industrial tool is essential.

In the early years, financing these companies is of course essential, but so is support in the strategic and technical reflection phases to accelerate their growth. The industrial and managerial skills of our network's partners, as well as their specific knowledge of these sectors, enable them to play an indispensable support role in these phases.

In conclusion, our portfolio, built around the expectations of our investor members, meets the need for diversification while carrying two fundamental dimensions: a strong impact and a significant industrial component.

UPCOMING EVENTS

>>> PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

Monthly meetings with presentations of innovative fund-raising projects led by Philippe Pernot, Vice-Chairman in charge of project appraisal.

Members only.
Non-members, ask for your invitation.

News from our funded startups

Le Point 2024 inventors' prize list: three founders

start-up Cardiawave winners in the MedTech category

Le Point" magazine has entrusted an exceptional jury with the task of selecting 100 cutting-edge teams whose research promises to transform our daily lives. The Cardiawave start-up has been singled out, with three of its founders - Mickaël Tanter, Mathieu Pernot and Emmanuel Messas - among the winners of Le Point 's Palmarès des Inventeurs 2024 in the Medtech category. Cardiawave is a French start-up that has been supported by BADGE for several years, developing a highly innovative medical device in the field of ultrasound therapy.

Oncodiag start-up welcomes the Normandy Region

and the media at its Miserey site

Jean-Pierre Roperch (Scientific Director) and Claude Hennion (President of OncoDiag) present their UroDiag test for monitoring bladder cancer © Radio France - Laurent Philippot

At the initiative of Corinne Buquet of the Normandy Region, the OncoDiag start-up welcomed a delegation from the Region, accompanied by numerous journalists, to its Miserey site. Media present included La Revue de la Région Normandie, France 3, Ouest France, La Dépêche, France Bleue, Les Echos and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The visit gave the company the opportunity to present Urodiag, its innovative, non-invasive test, recently launched on the market at the end of 2023. This test can detect recurrences of bladder cancer, a disease for which more than 14,000 cases have been recorded in France in 2023. This non-invasive test offers hope to many patients.

Our startups are recruiting

Great projects to invest in within our network

Omini offers a portable device for bedside blood testing. Its patented sensor-based technology enables near-patient testing and self-testing, while keeping providers informed every step of the way. Combining multi-sensor blood test strips, a portable connected reader and a clinical and biological data transmission application, this unique technology represents a giant step forward for precision medicine and a powerful catalyst in the transition to preventive care.

SpaceDreams is the architect of spaceports. The company develops ground facilities for launchers. Today, each launcher develops its own resources. A launcher for a launch pad and a launch pad for a launcher, as if each aircraft had its own airport. Start-up is developing the NuPad, the first interoperable, modular and mobile launch pad, and its digital twin, the TwinPad. It cuts the captive link between launchers and launch pads. It cuts investment and operating costs in half, and consolidates customer business.

VitiVisio designs and develops innovative solutions for precision viticulture, combining sensors and AI to enable winegrowers to accelerate the transition to more efficient and environmentally-friendly viticulture. VitiVisio develops Decision Support Tools (DST) based on the analysis of data collected in the vineyard down to the very last foot, using cutting-edge optical sensors and a SaaS interface. In this way, the company meets the needs of winegrowers to optimize harvesting, improve productivity and reduce pesticide use. Today, VitiVisio places its technological expertise at the service of vineyards the world over to accelerate the ecological transition and combat the effects of climate change.

Rheonova markets viscosity measurement services and instruments. The company's flagship product, Rheomuco, is a medical diagnostic device used to quantify the viscosity of bronchial mucus for patients suffering from chronic muco-obstructive respiratory diseases: chronic bronchitis (COPD), severe asthma, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis.

Emoface is an EdTech/MedTech startup, founded in 2020 in Grenoble, France. The startup is the result of an R&D project with Grenoble Alpes University and INRIA and is developing a new digital therapy based on 3D avatars that mimic emotions in real time. EMOFACE provides a digital therapy solution for the treatment of social interaction difficulties for populations with learning disabilities, such as autism. The solution involves a new learning methodology based on interaction with data-driven emotional 3D avatars.

Art Consortium provides a new financing solution for museums and galleries by pooling the ownership of works. While collectors share ownership, the management and conservation of works are guaranteed by museums and galleries. Thecompany's decentralized ecosystem of marketplaces and virtual galleries reduces the barriers to purchasing, collecting and presenting works of art.

OSCO re-enchants the world of non-alcoholic aperitifs with winegrowing know-how that breathes new life into winegrowing. OSCO creations have succeeded in sharing the full experience of an aperitif with a healthy composition: 0.0% alcohol, minimal sugar and, above all, completely natural! With growth of over 85% since the start of the year, prizes at the biggest international competitions, listings in France's finest establishments and numerous export opportunities, OSCO is doing well in this competitive market, thanks to its recipes developed with bartenders and its strong roots in the French terroir.

Wattpark is France's leading manufacturer of electric vehicle charging stations. Wattpark offers an entire ecosystem, with an application that lets you reserve a charging station at your destination in advance, or manage charging stations for a pool of company vehicles. Thanks to an agreement with Mutares, industrial production of the charging stations began in mid-November 2023 at the former Ford factory in Bordeaux.

Would you like to find out more?

NETWORK AND PARTNERS

Invitation to the Spring University

We hope to see many of you, network managers, permanent staff, Business Angels and those who wish to become Business Angels, at our annual Spring University. Rendezvous on Tuesday April 09 from 2pm to Wednesday April 10 at 2pm at Bpifrance, 8 Bd Haussmann 75009 Paris.

A time for exchanging, sharing and gaining insight from outside personalities!

DAY 1 - SPRING UNIVERSITY

from 2pm to 7pm

PART 2 - SPRING UNIVERSITY

9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

PROGRAM

>>> EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Paul Leondaridis, President / Yannis Sahraoui, Managing Director
Dimitri Lionel A.Omgba, Communications Manager [Send your subject to the editor]

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