Scaleway Replaces Microsoft: France Chooses Sovereign Cloud

Scaleway Takes Over from Microsoft for the Health Data Hub

The French Health Data Platform has decided to entrust the hosting of its infrastructure to Scaleway, marking a significant shift after years of reliance on Microsoft. This choice comes amid growing concerns related to the American Cloud Act, which allows U.S. authorities to access data stored by American companies, even if it is hosted abroad.

The selection process was rigorous, relying on over 350 technical criteria. This is the first time the French government has validated a European alternative on such a scale for managing critical health data, particularly that of the National Health Data System.

This decision goes beyond a simple change of provider: it establishes digital sovereignty as an essential criterion for sensitive public projects. The migration to Scaleway will serve as a test to evaluate the capacity of European players to compete with American cloud giants.

UNIVITY and 5G Space Connectivity

Meanwhile, UNIVITY, a space connectivity operator, has raised 27 million euros to develop an orbital telecom infrastructure. This funding, obtained from Blast, Expansion, and the Deeptech 2030 fund managed by Bpifrance, aims to accelerate the development of a very low Earth orbit (VLEO) architecture.

The goal is to offer high-speed, low-latency connectivity that is interoperable with existing terrestrial networks. The uniShape demonstrator, supported by CNES, aims to achieve a world first by ensuring 5G service continuity between space and Earth, including direct connectivity to smartphones.

Unlike integrated models like Starlink, UNIVITY adopts a "wholesale" approach, providing a neutral infrastructure that operators can leverage. This positioning aims to maintain their role in the value chain as the convergence of terrestrial and space becomes an industry standard. The fundraising is expected to enable commercial deployment starting in 2028, in a rapidly expanding hybrid connectivity market.

OUIDROP and the Industrialization of Autonomous Grocery Pickup

In another sector, OUIDROP has raised 7 million euros to industrialize its autonomous grocery pickup system, the Dropper. This robotic system, already used by retailers such as E.Leclerc and Intermarché, allows for grocery pickups 24/7. The Bordeaux-based startup plans 40 installations by the end of 2026 and aims for an annual production of 200 units by 2030.

Devendra Chaplot Joins xAI

Finally, Devendra Chaplot, a former member of the founding team of Mistral AI, has joined xAI to work on next-generation models. At Mistral, he contributed to the development of key models such as Mistral 7B and Mixtral 8x7B, and led multimodal research with projects like Pixtral 12B.