LightOn becomes Europe’s first genAI start-up to launch IPO

LightOn has announced the launch of its IPO on Euronext Growth Paris as it becomes Europe’s first publicly listed genAI start-up.

The French genAI startup said that the IPO will support the company’s growth trajectory, which is currently focused on expanding internationally with plans including opening a new office in the Middle East by the end of 2025.

Laurent Daudet, co-founder and chief executive of LightOn, confirmed the launch of the company’s IPO ahead of the listing of its shares on Friday during the Good Morning Business programme on French news channel BFM Business.

In a statement, the chief executive unveiled LightOn’s current targets, which include achieving €40 million in sales, an EBITDA margin of around 40 per cent of revenue, and annual recurring revenue (ARR) of c. €35m by 2027, with the IPO launch aiming to further support its development.

The firm also aims to deploy capital to further invest in tech innovation and company development through the recruitment of engineers, development of sales and marketing force.

In October, Daudet said: “Generative AI will radically transform how companies operate. The promise of this revolutionary technology is huge and the potential global market is gigantic.”

Earlier this year, the AI specialist managed to secure a number of strategic partnerships with well-known hardware players such as Orange Business and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, to boost sales effort through indirect channels in addition to its direct approach.

As part of the move, LightOn said it wants to gain market share at a quicker pace in order to position itself as a preferred AI focused partner for companies in Europe and beyond.

Talking about the company’s partnership with LightOn, Alexandre Bord, key account director at Orange Business, said: “We are extremely confident about the future of our relationship with LightOn. We have signed several orders worth multiple millions of euros since March.”

The business said that advanced discussions with other players across Infrastructure, Computer Hardware, Cloud, and IT Services sectors are ongoing and could lead to new agreements in the coming quarters.