🌍 Newsletter - May 2024
Welcome to the 6th edition of the AFI Ventures’ newsletter.
As a reminder, AFI Ventures (a fund managed by Ventech) is an impact VC fund that invests in pre-seed/seed startups with a strong environmental and social ambition & producing a systemic change. We invest once a month in France & Europe tickets ranging from €250K to €500K.
Each month in this newsletter, you'll find a summary of 2 articles on the impact ecosystem that have caught our attention, fundraisings realised by impact start-ups in France, and news from our portfolio. 💚
👀 What Caught our eye
What’s next for offshore wind
by Casey Crownhart
Current Turbulence in Offshore Wind Power Industry:
Recent months marked by project delays and cancellations globally.
Factors contributing to setbacks include rising costs and supply chain disruptions.
40% of the global population lives within 100km of the ocean. In that context, offshore wind farms can be a major driver to decarbonize the electricity supply around the world.
Specific Project Setbacks:
Ørsted's cancellation of Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects due to financial and supply chain issues. It would have supplied enough energy to power over a million homes on the New Jersey grid.
Over 12 gigawatts' worth of contracts in the US were either canceled or up for renegotiation in 2023.
Contracts to sell the electricity generated by the turbines are usually set up years before the project is finished. But a lot has changed in 5 years, increased prices for steel, inflation and higher interest rates causes the projects to be non viable anymore.
Growing Pains in US Market:
Limited availability of ships for turbine installation.
US regulations mandating the use of domestically operated ships add to construction delays.
Technological Advancements:
Trend towards larger, more efficient turbines, 10 years ago turbines produced an output of around 4 megawatts, in 2022 that number was just under 8MW and new models are being designed in 15 the MW range.
Development of floating offshore wind turbines to overcome limitations of seabed anchoring. Various designs in platforms are being tested globally, the article mentions that standardization will help bring prices down.
5 actual use cases of AI in Education
By Alberto Arenza
The article explores the current state of AI use in education, emphasizing practical applications beyond theoretical benefits. It reflects on the evolution of AI in education, from predictive analytics to direct instruction, leading to the emergence of the "AI Augmentation era." This era focuses on AI complementing human efforts rather than replacing them. The author identifies five significant use cases of AI in education, highlighting their alignment with the principle of augmentation.
AI Copilot for educators, managers, and leaders:
AI acts as a supportive assistant, providing suggestions and best practices to aid decision-making processes.
Initially, there was excitement around general copilots covering various decision-making areas, but as the market became saturated, startups began to specialize in specific personas and processes.
K-12: Magic School (teacher copilot), School AI (teacher copilot), Diffit (leveled resources) Brisk (teacher copilot), AI for Education (AI Training for schools)
Managers & corporate: Waggle (manager copilot), Sparkplan (Sparkplan), Bunch.ai (managers)
Flipped Classrooms Chatbots:
Rather than simply providing answers, AI chatbots engage students with questions tailored to their comprehension level.
This approach aligns with the concept of "flipping the classroom," where learning starts at home and is reinforced through active discussions and activities in class.
AI to assess complex answers:
AI enables the analysis of extensive datasets to extract insights and provide feedback on complex answers or projects.
This approach leverages AI's ability to process large volumes of data efficiently, uncovering valuable learning insights.
AI as a language learning tool:
AI enhances language learning by improving translation accuracy, providing explanations, and facilitating conversational interactions.
It enables learners to engage in interactive language learning experiences, leading to more effective skill acquisition.
Speak, ELSA, Linguistic, Voys, Speechy
AI to brainstorm ideas:
AI serves as a creative aid, assisting individuals in generating ideas and facilitating brainstorming sessions.
It can help users explore new concepts, develop outlines, and refine their creative output.
Diffit (for teaching resources), Hyperwrite (writing assistant), Taskade Brainstorm (brainstorming feature).
🤘 Recent News from our portfolio
Apryl shared a new partnership with Clue, a leading period tracking app - link
Captain Cause announced its new partnership with Wonder-ecard de Wonderbox - link
ERS - Ecosystem Restoration Standard and Restor announced a collaboration to enable ecosystem restoration projects to access funding on the carbon market - link
MORFO joined a new restoration project supervised by the Secretary of State for the Environment and Sustainability in Pará - link
Sirona Technologies joined the Association Française pour les Emissions Négatives (AFEN) to support the build out of carbon removal in France & Europe - link
💰 Early-stage impact rounds in France
Seederal Technologies (€11M / Supernova Invest, Ankaa Ventures, Kima Ventures & others) is an agricultural machinery manufacturing company that produces electric tractors
Iceberg Data Lab (€9.2M / Beringea, MAIF Avenir, AXA Investment Managers) offers financial companies with environmental data solutions to report and manage environmental impact
Weenat (€8.5M / Pymwymic, European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, Liberset, and others) develops agriculture platform that provides farmers with mobile and connected solutions
Blackleaf (€7M / Bpifrance, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, CIC Capital) offers eco-friendly graphene production processes and innovative graphene-based coatings for various applications, enhancing material performance with a lower environmental footprint
BoydSense (€7M / Swiss Diabetes Venture Fund, Bioserenity, the EIC Fund, & others) is medical device company developing a platform that makes health monitoring simple and pain free, powered by breath
lolvaltech (€6.8M / State, région Centre-Val de Loire, Da Vinci Labs, BAs) is a mucosal platform that will revolutionize vaccination
Velyvelo (€6M / NCI, CDG Invest, Mouvement & Finance) is an e-bike provider for last mile delivery players
Dark Space (€5.6M / Eurazeo, Frst, Long Journey Ventures, Kima Ventures) develops tactical space platforms for collision avoidance and satellite neutralization
Orixha (€4M / the EIC Fund, BPI France) develops technology for ultra-fast cooling of patients after cardiac arrest
HyLight (€3.7M / Kima Ventures, Y Combinator, Ring Capital, & others) inspects energy infrastructures and provides solutions that makes societies resilient to the effects of climate change
Tchaomégot (€3.6M / Rives Croissance) recycles the fiber from cigarette butts
Mon Petit Placement (€3M / raised via Sowefund) offers exclusive access for everyone to the best investment products from world class asset managers
Pixacare (€3M€ / Techmind, Elaia, BPI France, 50 Partners) offers digital wound care management
Merci Julie (€2.3M / BNP Paribas, La Banque des Territoires, Esfin Gestion) offers an innovative solution covering the entire home adaptation value chain for the autonomy of their beneficiaries
Purenat (€1.5M / Bpifrance, CIC Sud Ouest, France Active) provides technologies for air purification and environmentally friendly ways to reduce air pollution
Reverto (€1.2M / Humans Matter, BAs) develops virtual reality training platform designed for organizations to improve their workers mental health
Edonia (€2M / Bank of the Philippine Islands, Asterion Ventures) offers plant-based protein food production with low processed & micro-algae based ingredients.
Paradigme (€1.2M / Showroom privée, Hartwood, NEO Founders, & others) develops a second-hand fashion platform dedicated to fine brands
feel (€1M / BAs) develops a self-therapy app to support people suffering from depression
Terrio (€1M / Icade, Spurgin) manufactures prefabricated adobe elements for emblematic, sustainable buildings
Terriflux (€600K / CoopVenture, BPI France, Banque Postale, BNP Paribas) offers online software and services to visualize, diagnose, and model data flows, helping industries to understand and manage their value chains
Amaya AG (€550K / BAs) agritech company that focuses on transforming agriculture through artificial intelligence
Mayam (€400K / BNP Paribas, France Active, Credit Agricole, & others) specializes in zero-waste retail solutions, focusing on bulk product management and container reuse within the retail sector
🤝 Our Team
Charles Fourault - Partner - charles@afi.ventures
Mamadou Dembele - Senior Associate - mamadou@afi.ventures
Constantin de Chaudenay - Associate - constantin@afi.ventures
Kim Godson - Analyst - kim@afi.ventures
Don't hesitate to reach out if you're an impact entrepreneur or just interested in any of these topics. 🍃