It’s official ! A new French Tech Hub has just been created in Los Angeles. France’s newest “excellence label” community in the field of technological innovation, was launched on April 20th, at the Consular Residence of France in Beverly Hills, in the presence of the French Ambassador to the United States, Gérard Araud, and the Consul General of France in Los Angeles, Christophe Lemoine.
The project was born thanks to a partnership between three key actors: the startup accelerator, French Accelerator, the French-American Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles and the French Consulate. “For more than a year, we have teamed up to map the French Tech ecosystem and offer to French startups, investors and service providers a unique way to meet and engage into business relationships” says Laurent Ruben, co-founder and CEO of French Accelerator. “With its large geography, it is challenging to create a community in the Los Angeles region. We wanted to enable entrepreneurs to connect and create a viable alternative for development.”
More and more French entrepreneurs are seduced by Los Angeles, especially because of the recent Silicon Valley boom. “French entrepreneurs now benefit from large resources to develop their activity” explains Samuel Loy, president of the FACC. With 357 French entrepreneurs and 20 000 French residents, “Los Angeles has had one the fastest growing French business communities across the US over the course of the past 3 years.”
In addition to the new Hub in Los Angeles, “there are now already three other French Tech Hubs” in the US: “San Francisco, Boston, and New York” said French Ambassador Gérard Araud, during his speech at the French Residence. “This is not a coincidence since France and the United States have always had a privileged economic relationship. (…) In 2015, 24% of American investments were in the French software and IT services sector”.
CREATION OF A WEB PORTAL AND A NETWORK OF MENTORS
In the upcoming months, the French Tech of Los Angeles will focus on three main objectives. Firstly, federate the French-speaking Tech communities in the region. Secondly, they wish to facilitate the development and establishment of French startups in LA. Finally, they will promote the French Tech among local actors (investors, companies, entrepreneurs, incubators and media) in order to help them seize the opportunities that France has to offer them.
A web portal will be online soon to enable the ecosystem to connect and a series of events will be organized by the various francophile partners (business matchmaking dinners, networking events, etc.). A network of French Tech ambassadors in Los Angeles, composed of entrepreneurs, high level Tech executives and investors, will also be created in order to support the French entrepreneurs who wish to establish themselves in LA. Finally, the French Tech plans to launch PR campaigns aimed at local influencers in order to help promote the activities of Los Angeles’ French Tech.
