France's domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI, is replacing its data analytics tools from US firm Palantir Technologies Inc. with a solution provided by the French startup ChapsVision. This decision is part of a broader French government initiative to foster sovereign technology solutions and reduce reliance on foreign tech companies. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu emphasized the importance of using proprietary AI models to avoid new strategic dependencies in the digital sphere, stating that France cannot rely on tools developed by foreign powers and must possess its own.
ChapsVision, a company founded in 2019, has been in the spotlight since securing the DGSI contract, which is reportedly worth around €10 million. While ChapsVision's annual revenues are approximately €200 million compared to Palantir's projected $7.6 billion for the current year, it is rapidly gaining ground. The company's managing director, Silvano Sansoni, stated that ChapsVision is a very different company from Palantir, working on different values and philosophies. ChapsVision's pitch emphasizes customer control over technology, addressing sovereignty demands, which is a key concern for the French government.
Beyond France, ChapsVision is actively engaging with other European governments, including those in Poland, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. Notably, the German intelligence services recently chose ChapsVision over US rivals. The transition for the DGSI from Palantir to ChapsVision is expected to be complex, potentially taking 12 to 18 months. Despite its relative youth, ChapsVision aims to IPO by 2030, targeting €1 billion in revenues, with 75% of this growth expected to come from acquisitions. The company has raised approximately €275 million to date, with funding from private equity firm Jolt Capital and French public investment bank Bpifrance, and plans for further funding rounds to finance future acquisitions. Currently, about 65% of ChapsVision's customers are French, 20% from the US, and the remainder spread across Europe, Japan, and Singapore, with 45% of revenues generated from government contracts.
