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This article was taken from the November 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
For the third year, WIRED's editors have visited the continent's startup hubs to identify the ten tech cities you need to know about. Our conclusion: Europe is on a roll. Here are the 100 companies causing the greatest buzz, according to the local commentators, investors and entrepreneurs we surveyed.
PARIS
One of the heroes of the Paris tech community is the billionaire Xavier Niel. Niel, 46, made a career championing a digital economy that has created internet giants such as Vente-privee.com and Criteo. Niel's VC firm, Kima Ventures, invests in two startups every week.
Last March, he announced the creation of 42, a Paris-based free-tuition academy for coders and entrepreneurs. The school, opening in early November, will take more than 1,000 students who will be taught through a project-based system. "The French education system isn't working," Niel announced. "Each year, 200,000 youths leave French schools without diplomas. They could be the talents of the future and a part of innovative companies."
This wasn't the only good news for French entrepreneurs: in the same month, president François Hollande announced a series of measures including a startup visa for talented developers who want to work in France. These measures are an indication that attitudes may be changing in France -- after all, entrepreneurs know that embracing failure is usually a prerequisite for success.
1. Leetchi
7 rue Commines
Céline Lazorthes got the idea for her startup when she was trying to collect contributions for a university party. "It was a nightmare. People were lazy, they had no cash. I had to pay out of my own pocket," says Lazorthes, 30. In 2009, she founded Leetchi, a social-payments platform that allows people to collect money online and make group purchases. With 600,000 users, it collected over ¤40 million in 2012. Since its inclusion on last year's wired startup list, it's become an official electronic-money institution and released its API, MangoPay, as a separate app, allowing third parties to make bank transfers and offer e-wallets and one-click payments. "The next step is internationalisation," says Lazorthes, who raised $8 million (£5 million) from VC fund 360 Capital Partners, Oleg Tscheltzoff and Jeremie Berrebi of Kima Ventures. "Already 20 per cent of our revenue comes from abroad."
2. Blablacar
33 rue de Chazelles
If you need a car ride, BlaBlaCar is the digital alternative to raising a thumb in the air. The Parisian startup is responsible for moving more than 600,000 people across Europe every month. "By the end of the year, we'll be transporting more people than Eurostar, which transports around 850,000 people a month," says BlaBlaCar's COO, Nicolas Brusson. "Today you can build something with a hundredth of their capital and transport more people." BlaBlaCar was founded in 2007 by Brusson, Frédéric Mazzella, 37, and Francis Nappez, 34. "Fred couldn't find train to go back home for Christmas one year," says Brusson, 36. "He thought there might be a website where you could find drivers going from Paris to the west of France. There was nothing." The founders came up with the idea of building a travel network based on car pooling. Today, BlaBlaCar has three million members and its average trip is 320km. Passengers use an online booking system to book their seat, with BlaBlaCar taking a commission. "More than a third of people using BlaBlaCar wouldn't have travelled otherwise," Brusson says. "I always thought most European companies tend to expand late," he says. "We want to be a European leader as opposed to a French company."
3. Melty
18 rue Pasteur
Melty is an online media platform for teenagers, which comprises 12 specialised channels covering subjects from food to fashion. The startup, which has a presence in both France and Italy, was founded in 2008 by Alexandre Malsch and Jeremy Nicolas, has 11 million unique monthly visitors and had a turnover of €3 million (£2.5 million) in 2012. It recently closed a funding round of €3.6 million (£3 million) led by Serena Capital, and including investors Marc Simoncini and Pierre Chappaz.
Ones to watch
4. AppsFire
23 rue du Départ
AppsFire recommends apps.
Cofounded by Ouriel Ohayon and Yann Lechelle, the service
is used by 1.5 million people a day. Features include an App Score metric that scores apps based on criteria such as consistent presence in the rankings, the reputation of the developer and external mentions on social media.
5. Viadeo
30 rue de la Victoire
With over 50 million users, Viadeo is the second-largest professional social network, after LinkedIn. Its Chinese arm, Tianji, has over 14 million members. Last year Viadeo received investment of $32 million -- taking the total to $50.2 million (£30 million) -- from a group of investors including Idinvest, Ventech, Allianz and Jefferies.
6. Captain Dash
86 rue de la Fontaine au Roi
Captain Dash enables users -- marketers in particular -- to visualise their social media and digital data in one app. Founded in 2012 by Gilles Babinet and Bruno Walther, former CEO of OgilvyOne Worldwide, it synchronises data from many sources, including Twitter and Google Analytics.
7. Capitainetrain
9 rue Ambroise Thomas
This search engine allows users to buy tickets for major European train lines --
Eurostar, SNCF, Thalys and Deutsche Bahn -- in 30 seconds. Founded in 2009 by Valentin Surrel, 30, Martin Ottenwaelter, 28, and Jean-Daniel Guyot, 30, it sold more than 400,000 tickets last year.
8. Withings
20 rue Rouget de L'Isle
At the LeWeb conference last year, Cédric Hutchings, CEO of Withings, announced the Withings Health Companion, an app to track weight, activity and blood pressure. The latest product, the Smart Body Analyzer, launched in March 2013, costs £130 and monitors users' weight, body fat and blood pressure.
9. Deezer
12 rue d'Athènes
Deezer competes in the crowded music-streaming market. It has 26 million customers -- four million are paying subscribers -- in 182 countries and it received $130 million (£80 million) last year from Access Industries. "We want to build an immersive and entertaining experience," says CEO Axel Dauchez.
10. Devialet
126 rue Réaumur
Devialet makes high-end amplifiers. Its latest product, the Devialet 240, is a hi-fi system that uses an analogue-digital technology that, it claims, ensures superb audio fidelity. Founded in 2007, production is based in Normandy. It raised ¤19 million from investors such as Xavier Niel, and Jacques-Antoine Granjon.
EUROPES OTHER HOTTEST STARTUP CAPITALSLondon
PREVIOUS YEARS
WIRED's 2012 European startup guide
WIRED's 2011 European startup guide
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
