Record fundraising, IPO, acquisition: 4 major successes for PSL University deeptech start-up
Four deeptech start-up emerging from PSL laboratories have recently achieved remarkable successes. Alice & Bob secured €100M in funding, Aqemia raised €38M, LightOn went public, and SaberBio was acquired by a major player in microfluidics, marking the first exit from PSL's portfolio.
These successes highlight the research valorization model developed by the University, with a strong focus on breakthrough innovation and business creation from the outset of the PSL Valorisation service. Through the implementation of this model, supported by the PIA and France 2030, the University now boasts a growing portfolio of investments, reflecting the impact of its research and contributing to the economic model of its transfer and innovation activities. With the creation of the Pôle PSL Innovation, this momentum is further strengthened, amplifying PSL University's ability to transform scientific innovation into economic success and major societal impacts.
Alice & Bob closes a €100M Series B funding round
Alice & Bob, a global leader in the race for quantum computing, announced on January 28th that it has raised €100M in funding. The round was led by Future French Champions (FFC), AVP (AXA Venture Partners), and Bpifrance.
Alice & Bob was co-founded in 2020 by Théau Peronnin and Raphaël Lescanne. The first prototype of their qubit (the core of a quantum computer) was developed from research conducted at the physics laboratory of ENS - PSL, and enriched by contributions from researchers at Mines Paris - PSL, INRIA, and ENS – Lyon, with support from CNRS Innovation and PSL Valorisation.
"After setting performance records with our cat qubits, Alice & Bob is entering a new phase focused on building a quantum computer capable of delivering concrete and valuable results," says Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob.
The funds raised will be used to build a new laboratory and state-of-the-art production facility, as well as to expand the team, which has already doubled over the past year.
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A major fundraising and international expansion for Aqemia
In December, Aqemia announced a new funding round of €38M, bringing its total funding to €100 million. This round marks the beginning of its international expansion, with the opening of an office in London.
Aqemia was founded in 2019 by Maximilien Levesque, a former researcher at ENS - PSL, and Emmanuelle Martiano, and has been supported by PSL Valorisation since its inception. It is revolutionizing pharmaceutical research with its cutting-edge technology, combining fundamental physics with generative AI. With unmatched speed and precision in certain critical calculations, the company has become one of the global leaders in drug discovery and drug design, embodying academic excellence in service of innovation and society.
"More than our technology, it’s our unique scientific approach, born from research conducted at ENS-PSL, that sets us apart and enables us to rethink how new drugs are discovered. Aqemia illustrates how a scientific breakthrough developed within a university ecosystem can become a major innovation driver, redefining industry standards in service of the greater good."
Maximilien Levesque, Co-founder and CEO of Aqemia.
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LightOn, the first generative AI company to go public
On November 26th, LightOn, a spin-off from PSL University’s research laboratories, achieved a major milestone by successfully listing on Euronext Growth in Paris. Enthusiastically received by investors, the IPO raised €13 million, with a 9% increase in share price on the first day.
Founded in 2016 by Igor Carron, Laurent Daudet, Sylvain Gigan, and Florent Krzakala from PSL University’s research laboratories—Institut Langevin (ESPCI Paris - PSL - CNRS) and Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel (ENS - PSL - CNRS)—LightOn has benefited from PSL Valorisation’s support since its inception. The company initially developed and commercialized photonic coprocessors for large-scale Artificial Intelligence. It continues to expand its focus on producing Large Language Models (LLMs) on supercomputers and their commercial applications. After reaching profitability in 2023, LightOn decided to go public to accelerate the commercialization of Paradigm, a secure-by-design generative AI platform for businesses.
"For LightOn, the campus of Montagne Sainte Geneviève had a similar effect to Stanford for Silicon Valley: it provided a talent pool and research excellence that enabled us to be pioneers in the most complex topics, like generative AI. Our ambition to execute on these rapidly evolving subjects and help our clients become the best requires rare and highly skilled profiles, often coming from the research excellence at PSL," says Igor Carron, CEO of LightOn.
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Acquisition of Saber Bio
The startup Saber Bio, a spin-off from the CBI laboratory at ESPCI Paris - PSL, is another great example of the success of PSL University’s startup policy. This company, co-founded by researchers from the laboratory, has benefited from the wealth of the PSL ecosystem since its creation in 2021, along with exclusive licenses on patents managed by PSL Valorisation.
Saber Bio develops disruptive solutions based on microfluidics for high-throughput analysis of single cells, with a potential major impact on biomedical research, drug discovery, and diagnostics. The project is at the heart of an area of excellence within the PSL community—applying physics, chemistry, and engineering to life sciences and medicine.
Within the deeptech dynamic of the PSL ecosystem, Saber Bio has distinguished itself through the exceptional speed of its development, thanks to the aforementioned environment, as well as synergies with other startups from the ecosystem and early support from a major player in microfluidics. It was this same player who recently exercised their purchase option to acquire Saber Bio, following the success of its development.
This operation marks the first full exit of one of the PSL Foundation's investments, and the financial return obtained will also benefit ESPCI-PSL, CNRS, and other co-owners of the patents in use. This transaction will enable PSL Valorisation to support new projects, thus validating the benefits of its startup policy for the economic sustainability of its activities.
These few examples brilliantly illustrate the success of the startup policy at PSL University. Despite the relatively recent creation of PSL Valorisation, compared to the time required for the maturation of a university ecosystem, the startup portfolio, mostly consisting of still young projects, already demonstrates its exceptional potential. Its economic and societal impact will continue to grow in the coming years, notably with the deployment of the Pôle PSL Innovation, and the financial returns generated for the University and its constituent institutions will ensure the sustainability of the system created and support its ongoing development.