Fairmat and the rise of deep tech in France

TOUR DE France

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Editor’s note: The launch of this new column, “Startups and Investors,” will function as a space to explore how these important ecosystems are changing the composites industry. Read the introductory article here.

“A deep tech startup is a company where the technology itself represents a huge part of your investment.”

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These words from Benjamin Saada, founder and CEO of Fairmat (Paris, France), might give some investors pause — but they also reveal a powerful truth: Once the technology is proven, it becomes the company’s greatest moat — and even, potentially, its sustainable competitive advantage.

And Fairmat is demonstrating just that. Far from deterring investors, the startup announced a €51 million Series B funding round in April 2025, bringing total capital raised to nearly €95 million. It’s a remarkable achievement — and, to me, confirmation of two key dynamics:

First, that France is asserting itself as a serious hub for both deep tech and composites innovation.

Second, that founder experience matters. Saada is a serial entrepreneur with a proven track record and solid network — and that plays a crucial role in investor confidence. According to a Harvard Business School study (Gompers et al.), founders with a successful startup behind them have a 30% likelihood of success in their new venture, compared to just 18% for first-time entrepreneurs.

Before launching Fairmat in 2020, Saada spent over a decade building Expliseat — a company that made headlines in 2014 for developing the world’s lightest airplane seat, earning the JEC Europe Innovation Award thanks to its pioneering use of composites and titanium.

Now at Fairmat, he’s taking on one of the industry’s most urgent challenges: Large-scale recycling of carbon fiber prepreg waste. The company’s “FairFactories” — already operating in both France and the U.S. — blend robotics, AI and machine learning to deliver a fully autonomous, intelligent recycling process. The result? A more efficient, scalable and sustainable approach to carbon fiber recovery.

“Disrupting this space means having massive impact — for both the planet and the consumer,” Saada says. “With this fundraising, we now have everything we need to execute our vision: to scale delivery, expand globally and build the world’s first circular supply chain.”

But Fairmat isn’t a one-off. It’s part of a larger movement — one where French startups, backed by public institutions, private capital and a strong research culture, are reimagining what’s possible in advanced materials.

Source (All Images) | Yannick Willemin

Deep tech meets circular economy

To me, Fairmat represents a full-stack mindset I keep seeing in the French deep tech scene. These startups aren’t just building individual products — they’re creating tightly integrated systems that combine hardware, software and automation. Their goal — to make sustainable materials faster, cheaper and better than legacy ones — is clear.

“The composites sector is of growing interest to a fund like Asterion, particularly due to its position at the intersection of industrial innovation and transition-related challenges,” says Alexandra Duquenoy, analyst at Asterion Ventures. Asterion Ventures focuses on supporting impact-driven startups across Europe, particularly in sectors such as climate technology, sustainable innovation, and automation. Although Asterion has not yet invested in composites, the firm took part in the Investor Day at JEC World 2025. “Composite materials offer high technical performance — lightness, strength, durability — which addresses critical needs in sectors such as mobility, renewable energy and construction.”

Mapping the composite startup landscape in France

As I dug deeper, I realized how rich and diverse France’s composite startup ecosystem really is. Fairmat is just one piece of a broader puzzle — one that includes circular economy champions, bio-based material pioneers, automation experts and application-focused innovators.

French composite startup ecosystem clustered by topic.

Of course, none of this innovation happens without active support. France has a strong and well-aligned funding ecosystem. From public anchors like Bpifrance to corporate funds and venture capitalists (VCs), investors in this region bring more than just capital — but also provide vision, expertise, networks and a long-term mindset. This rare synergy cultivates players that are not just curious but actively willing to test, invest and scale new technologies.

Segmented view of the French investor landscape by type (partial list).

Importantly, this kind of structure gives startups the freedom to focus — whether it’s designing cellulose-based carbon fibers or automating composite layup with near-zero waste.

But there’s another layer I’ve come to appreciate more given French roots: the role of the French education system.

France’s Grandes Écoles and top-tier engineering universities don’t just shape technical talent — they cultivate long-lasting professional networks. These connections form what I see as the matrix (no pun intended) of the ecosystem, bonding together founders, fund managers, researchers and corporate leaders. It creates a common language — a shared culture — that enables ideas to flow faster and partnerships to form earlier.

In my view, this cultural and institutional continuity is what really powers execution in France. It’s not just about having a vision — it’s about having the infrastructure to deliver on it, from lab to market.

Still, I can’t help but question: Does this nationally coherent model scale as easily when startups begin expanding beyond France’s borders? The same tight-knit networks that support early growth might not translate as seamlessly across international ecosystems. That could be one of the challenges for France’s composite champions, although several have proven their international success.

This is exactly where the composites ecosystem builders — JEC Group, SAMPE, EuCIA, Composites United and more — have a role to play in order to maximize the positive impact on our industry and beyond, globally.

Closing thoughts: Global lessons from France

France is proving that composite innovation doesn’t have to come exclusively from legacy industrial giants — it can emerge from ambitious startups powered by cutting-edge science and backed by a country that understands how to turn research into scalable solutions.

“The secret sauce of the French composites ecosystem is like the French quality cuisine: Plenty of (good) choice materials, many chefs knowing a famous recipe and the most exigent customers!” – Alexandre Hamlin, founder of Artemis and co-founder of Coriolis Group.

Source | © Eloi Stichelbaut for polaRYSE and Team Malizia 

What stands out most to me is the strength of France’s network alignment. From founders and researchers to investors and corporate partners, there’s not only a shared language but a shared mission. These are not isolated actors working in silos — they operate as part of an interconnected system, often shaped by common educational backgrounds and reinforced through long-standing professional relationships. This human anchor accelerates trust, collaboration and execution.

Perhaps most importantly, many of these individuals are motivated by more than just financial return. Whether it’s reducing aviation’s environmental footprint, enabling circular manufacturing models or scaling bio-based materials, there is a clear and collective ambition to create technologies that deliver value while having a positive, lasting impact. It’s this combination of technical excellence, structural cohesion and purpose-driven innovation that gives the French model its distinct momentum.

As the Tour de Composites continues, I look forward to exploring how national and regional innovation frameworks shape their startup ecosystems, including discovering why and how the strong, cross-border ties within the global composites community often support smooth and strategic international growth.

About the Author

Yannick Willemin

Yannick Willemin has an engineering degree in materials and mechanics from École Polytechnique de l’Université d’Orléan in France. Over the course of 13 years, he has held multiple positions at SGL Carbon, gaining deep expertise in the composites industry. At the same time, he earned two EMBAs with a focus on finance and entrepreneurship. Afterward, he joined ETH Zurich spinoff 9T Labs as head of business development. Since January 2025, Willemin has been working independently, positioning himself at the intersection of startups, industrial players and investors to drive innovation across the composites landscape with the founding of Catalysium. yannick@catalysium.ch