The CEA, Supernova Invest, and Technofounders are creating the first venture builder dedicated to supporting high-potential startups based on strategic technologies developed by the research organization. This new initiative complements the range of tools already made available by the CEA to support startup creation.
On the occasion of the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit, the CEA—the world’s most innovative research organization (Clarivate 2024) and one of Europe’s top patent filers (EPO 2024)—has joined forces with Supernova Invest, the leading deeptech investment management firm, and Technofounders, a venture builder specializing in industrial deeptech startups with positive societal and environmental impact, to launch a new initiative aimed at fostering the emergence of high-potential startups.
The CEA Venture Builder’s objective is to promote disruptive technologies identified as strategic through the creation of startups. In preparation for several months, the initiative aims to launch startup projects by the end of the year, using microelectronics technologies to address markets in the fields of healthcare and predictive maintenance.
The CEA has chosen to partner with Technofounders for their recognized expertise as a deeptech venture builder, and with Supernova Invest, a historic investor in the ecosystem, with proven experience in early-stage deeptech investing, particularly in microelectronics.
Startups integrated into this program will benefit from optimal conditions to emerge and accelerate, thanks to a strong co-creation effort between the CEA teams—bringing scientific, technical, and industrial transfer expertise—, the Technofounders teams—responsible for market identification and startup management—, and Supernova Invest—guiding the roadmap and long-term financing strategy.
The Venture Builder benefits from the financing capacities of all three partners, essential to mature the technologies, quickly test initial use cases, and access early markets in the deeptech sector. This original co-creation model will initially focus on microelectronics, a flagship area of expertise for the CEA, with a strong track record in startup creation and high-potential technologies.
“After expanding our investment capacity into late-stage opportunities with the Ambition Industrie fund, Supernova Invest is delighted to strengthen its early-stage support by partnering with this initiative,” declared Régis Saleur, Managing Partner at Supernova Invest.
Since 2019, the CEA has undertaken major efforts to revitalize startup creation by renewing its support programs. The Magellan program, designed to help CEA employees launch their own ventures, was introduced in 2020. Support mechanisms for external startups leveraging CEA technologies have also been restructured. The Venture Builder complements this strategy, with the goal of supporting the creation of companies based on the organization’s high-potential technologies.
“This strategy is already paying off, as the CEA doubled the number of startups created fromCEA technologies in 2023,” said Laurence Petit, Deputy Director for Innovation, Startups, and Equity Investments at the CEA.
“We are very pleased with this collaboration, which will enable the CEA teams to complement the existing spin-off support programs and foster the emergence of new high-potential startups, particularly in microelectronics for application sectors already well established within Technofounders,” said Pierre Le Blainvaux, President of Technofounders.
