Red Rooster Dispatch #17
Major funding news from Poland and France & February at Venture Café Warsaw
Hi friends!!
This edition of Red Rooster Dispatch brings together the signals that already define the start of 2026: fresh capital moving across Poland and France, stronger European cooperation, new opportunities for founders & teams and a packed agenda for the weeks ahead.
Inside you’ll find dates of upcoming meetups at Venture Café Warsaw, major funding news from both sides of the border, resources worth revisiting, and a look at how French and Polish tech ecosystems continue to grow closer. Let’s get into it together!
💬 Community speaks!
Sometimes the best way to explain what we do is to let others speak. Our partners and community members share their experience of working with La French Tech Warsaw: from major ecosystem events to more intimate business breakfasts and long term collaborations.
As Robert Paszkiewicz, former VP CEE at OVHcloud, put it after one of our events:
I would like to say a big thank you to the whole La French Tech team for your support and organization of this so nice La French Tech Business Breakfast. Our deputy CEO and CMO were really impressed by what you have prepared. Merci!“
Short, honest and it says a lot: you can find more voices on our website.
🔎What’s coming up at Venture Café Warsaw?
Thursday Gathering #251 NAVIGATING THE NEW FRONTIER
🗓 26 February 2026
🕒 18:00-21:00
📍 CIC, Varso Place, Warsaw
An evening focused on exploring what is shifting in tech, business and innovation. For founders, researchers, operators and investors who want to better understand where the new frontier really is and how to move through it with clarity.
Thursday Gathering #252 ZEN MIND, STARTUP HUSTLE
🗓 12 March 2026
🕒 18:00-21:00
📍 CIC, Varso Place, Warsaw
This one is about balance. The pressure of building and scaling meets a calmer, more intentional approach to leadership and growth. Expect practical insights, honest conversations and the kind of networking that actually leads somewhere.
🚀 French startups to watch in 2026
France continues to demonstrate the depth and diversity of its tech ecosystem. According to EU-Startups, several young French companies are among the most promising in Europe this year. What stands out is not a single dominant sector, but a broad spectrum of innovation:
Altrove develops new materials using physics and AI to reduce supply chain dependency on rare resources.
Bioptimus builds large AI models to accelerate biological research.
Biolevate helps scientists navigate vast life sciences knowledge bases.
CrunchDAO creates a global community for data scientists to collaborate and compete.
Entalpic applies AI to discover materials needed for clean energy.
Genesis AI works on robots capable of operating in real-world environments.
Gradium develops scalable, real-time voice and audio AI.
Harmattan AI builds autonomous systems and drones for complex conditions.
Kolet offers seamless connectivity abroad through digital SIM solutions.
Orasio helps teams interpret live video by detecting unusual activity.
💰 Fundraising momentum in French Tech
January brought significant funding announcements across the ecosystem.
Harmattan AI secured a $200 million Series B round led by Dassault Aviation, strengthening its position in AI-driven aerospace and defense technologies.
Pennylane, one of the flagship startups of French Tech, raised €175 million to expand its accounting and finance platform across Europe, reinforcing France’s presence in fintech.
Other notable rounds include investments in cleantech, medtech, cybersecurity and biotech. The scale and variety of these deals underline sustained investor confidence in the French market.
🇫🇷 🇵🇱 A strategic step forward: the Nancy Treaty
On January 22 France and Poland officially ratified the Nancy Treaty on Enhanced Cooperation and Friendship. Signed on Europe Day in May 2025, the treaty establishes a new framework for collaboration between the two countries. It strengthens security cooperation, deepens industrial and technological partnerships and expands academic and cultural exchanges.
Energy and decarbonisation projects, joint innovation initiatives and structured annual summits are part of this new chapter. Beyond diplomacy, the agreement creates long-term conditions for stronger economic and technological ties between the two ecosystems.
💸 Future Tech Poland – closing the financing gap
Poland is strengthening its tech financing landscape with the launch of Future Tech Poland, a PLN 5 billion fund created by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and the European Investment Fund.
The initiative aims to support between 150 and 200 tech companies across seed, startup and growth stages, helping address the venture capital gap in Central and Eastern Europe. The programme is part of the broader Innovate Poland framework and is expected to run through 2027. For founders and investors alike, this marks an important structural step in scaling innovation across the region. 🚀
📍 Polish startups gaining momentum
The Polish tech ecosystem continues to build steady momentum, with several Warsaw-based startups closing new funding rounds in January. 💡 These investments confirm a clear trend: applied AI and robotics are becoming core drivers of innovation in the region.
ElevenLabs raised $500 million in a Series D round just recently - in February 2026, boosting its valuation to around $11 billion. 🎤 Known for its cutting-edge AI voice and text-to-speech technology, the company plans to use the funds to accelerate R&D, expand enterprise offerings, and scale globally. As voice-based AI adoption surges, ElevenLabs positions Europe as a key hub for innovative audio AI solutions.
Nomagic raised €8.4 million to scale its smart pick-and-place robotic solutions designed for warehouse and order fulfilment operations. 🤖 As e-commerce logistics becomes increasingly automated, companies like Nomagic position Poland as a serious player in industrial AI and robotics across Europe.
Rainbow Weather secured €4.6 million to advance AI-powered weather forecasting models. 🌦️ Accurate, real-time forecasting has growing importance for agriculture, energy, logistics and climate resilience. The company’s approach reflects how AI is moving beyond experimentation into high-impact, real-world applications.
Mos Health, operating between Poland and the United States, raised €920k to develop an AI-driven personalised health platform. 🧬 The startup combines tailored health protocols with matched supplementation, illustrating how digital health and preventive care are evolving through data-based solutions.
For the Franco-Polish ecosystem, this creates space for deeper cross-border collaboration in applied AI, industrial automation and health technologies.