Synthesia: AI-generated video adopted by 90% of the Fortune 100<\/p>\n
Valued at $4 billion following its January 2026 funding round, Synthesia has made AI-powered video creation its specialty. Its technology enables companies to rapidly produce video content for training, internal communications or marketing, without the need for traditional filming.<\/p>\n
Synthesia aims to surpass $200 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2026. Its platform, created in 2017, is already used by 90% of Fortune 100 companies. In France, the scale-up counts Decathlon among its clients, with a partnership announced at the UK-France Summit last July.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith clients like Decathlon, we typically start with very practical use cases such as training, onboarding and internal communications – areas where teams struggle to communicate using text alone, and where video makes a significant difference. These initial pilot projects are designed to integrate directly into existing processes,\u201d explains Daniela Chordia-Doll, Vice President Europe at Synthesia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith clients such as Decathlon, we start with very practical use cases such as training, onboarding and internal communications – areas where video makes a significant difference. These initial pilot projects are designed to integrate directly into existing processes,\u201d explains Daniela Chordia-Doll, Vice President Europe at Synthesia.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrance is a major part of our strategy and we want to be embedded in the French and European ecosystem, in addition to selling our solutions there,\u201d she adds. This approach is reflected in investments in local teams and a particular focus on European regulatory specificities.<\/p>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Synthesia-London-HQ-1-1-scaled.jpg\"\/)
Synthesia ‘s headquarters in London\u00a0<\/p>\n
Conversational agents for training<\/p>\n
Beyond simple video creation, Synthesia is now developing a new generation of products based on conversational agents. \u201cThese products allow teams to conduct role plays and conversational scenarios such as sales conversations, customer interactions and operational situations,\u201d explains Daniela Chordia-Doll.<\/p>\n
The objective? To enable employees to train, receive feedback and improve. \u201cThis benefits employees by helping them build confidence and skills without pressure, and it also benefits employers by allowing them to identify where teams are struggling so they can adapt training accordingly,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s first pilots demonstrate higher engagement and faster knowledge transfer than traditional training formats.<\/p>\n
`![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC04905-1.png\"\/)
Daniela Chordia-Doll, Vice President Europe at Synthesia<\/p>\n
ElevenLabs: the boom in voice synthesis<\/p>\n
Another \u201cmade in Britain\u201d success story, ElevenLabs closed a $500 million funding round in February 2026, bringing its valuation to $11 billion, more than triple its valuation a year earlier. The unicorn, which develops voice synthesis technology and conversational agents, now reports ARR of over $330 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a European AI champion, we are committed to making Europe competitive in the global AI race, while ensuring that AI adoption remains safe, secure and responsible,\u201d says Jonathan Chemouny, Go-To-Market Lead Europe at ElevenLabs.<\/p>\n
France is one of ElevenLabs\u2019 fastest-growing markets, where it has already attracted numerous clients: Alan in healthcare, Adecco in recruitment, OpenClassrooms in education, as well as M6 and TV5Monde in media.<\/p>\n
Voice agents for customer service<\/p>\n
The strongest opportunity identified by ElevenLabs in France ? Voice agents for customer service. \u201cWe recently announced a partnership with Revolut, and we are seeing rapid adoption in France,\u201d notes Jonathan Chemouny. \u201cWhat is interesting is the acceleration of adoption among more traditional large players across a wide range of industries: luxury, healthcare, travel. They are testing and finding that the agents are ready for large-scale production deployment.\u201d<\/p>\n
This momentum has been reinforced by a major platform update: ElevenLabs\u2019 voice agents now offer faster response times and improved expressiveness, while supporting more than 70 languages. \u201cThis allows European and French companies to scale easily, not only across Europe but also globally,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
The startup is also investing in local ecosystems in the countries where it operates: participation in events, sponsorships, press relations, as well as support for entrepreneurs through a grant programme offering three months of free credits to startups, and hackathons organised in 14 European cities.<\/p>\n
Luminance: AI serving legal and compliance functions<\/p>\n
Born out of research at the University of Cambridge, Luminance has established itself as a reference in AI applied to legal professions. With a $75 million funding round announced in February 2025, bringing total funds raised over 12 months to more than $115 million, the British scale-up now works with more than 1,000 organisations across over 70 countries.<\/p>\n
In this phase of hypergrowth, France is among Luminance\u2019s strategic priorities. \u201cAlongside Germany, France is one of our main European markets after the UK, and we see enormous growth potential there,\u201d explains Eleanor Lightbody, CEO of Luminance. Among the company\u2019s French partners are Dassault Syst\u00e8mes, Lactalis and Banijay.<\/p>\n
Eliminating \u2018corporate amnesia\u2019<\/p>\n
Luminance stands out in the AI market through its specialisation in high-level legal analysis. \u201cOur platform supports legal teams at every stage of the contract lifecycle, from drafting and negotiation to repository management and ongoing workflow automation,\u201d details Eleanor Lightbody.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur latest version eliminates \u2018corporate amnesia\u2019 by preserving institutional memory, ensuring that the context behind contracts is captured, not just the outcome,\u201d she explains. In practice, this means legal teams can identify risks earlier and unlock new business opportunities through AI-driven document analysis.<\/p>\n
France, and more broadly the European Union, with their complex regulatory environments, represent an ideal playing field for Luminance. \u201cCompanies must comply with both local legislation and European regulation, which increases demand for a legal AI solution capable of managing complexity. With the entry into force of the EU AI Act and increased scrutiny around compliance and risk management, organisations need AI systems they can deploy with confidence,\u201d the CEO emphasises.<\/p>\n
A call for stronger collaboration<\/p>\n
Beyond their commercial success, these three companies share a common vision : that of a Europe capable of competing with the United States and China in the AI race. To achieve this, collaboration between the UK and French ecosystems appears to be a key lever. \u201cThe UK has clearly stated its ambition to be an \u2018AI superpower\u2019 and France aims to be an \u2018AI power\u2019. There is already a shared ambition,\u201d says Eleanor Lightbody of Luminance.<\/p>\n
For Jonathan Chemouny of ElevenLabs, the two countries have complementary strengths: \u201cFrance has an exceptional talent pool and Paris is rapidly becoming one of the world\u2019s leading AI hubs, with Station F, Meta\u2019s FAIR, Mistral, Yann LeCun\u2019s AMI, etc. This shows that the UK and France can be competitive not only locally but also internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opportunities for collaboration between the two ecosystems are numerous, as Daniela Chordia-Doll from Synthesia explains, whose CEO Victor Riparbelli took part in the CEO roundtable at the UK-France Summit. She notably mentions \u201cmore cross-border programmes and networking through regular joint events such as UK-France tech weeks, joint summits and shared platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
The challenge, according to Eleanor Lightbody, is to \u201cenable companies to operate seamlessly across both markets. This involves reciprocal visa arrangements for technical talent, joint research initiatives that translate into commercial applications, and interoperable rather than divergent regulatory frameworks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The message from these three promising scale-ups is clear: if Europe wants globally competitive AI champions, it must build ecosystems that cooperate in a pragmatic and harmonious way.<\/p>\n