8 million of losses last year against 16

The stock exchange again attracts young shoots of electronics. Sequans Communications, Parisian manufacturer of microprocessors for the fourth generation (4 G) mobile phones, yesterday filed his final file to the New York Stock Exchange, hoping to lever in its introduction between 80 and 110 million dollars (or 56.3 to 68 million euros). Inside Secure, AIX (NFC) contactless microprocessors specialist, would be, according to well-informed sources, almost 100 million euros on Nyse Euronext in Paris.

If successful, two French start-ups would bring to their industry the first significant introductions on the market since 2004. At the time, the British designer of chip Bluetooth Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) had lifted approximately 79 million pounds sterling (118.4 million euros) on the London Stock Exchange.

To reach this stage, it took considerable investments: about 55 million euros since 2003 for Sequans and some 140 million euros in more than fifteen years for Inside Secure. This imposed financial constraints (see box opposite). And, just as the specialist of the mobile TV DVBH Dibcom (which received more than 60 million euros in venture capital), these start-up face steep technological change, requiring them to rotate very quickly on their strategic axis.

Sequans and designed all of its products, originally for the standard Wi - Max, the successor to Wi - Fi. Most of its turnover, $ 68.5 million (EUR 48.5 million) last year, comes from these chips and, in particular, of the phones and tablets Wi - Max of HTC (range Evo). The company is experiencing good growth (250 last year) and is close to the financial equilibrium: 2.5 million (EUR 1.8 million) of losses last year, against 16.9 million (EUR 12 million) in 2009. But the rival standard, LTE (Long Term Evolution), developed by Qualcomm, seems to be necessary for the 4 G Telecom. In this context, Sequans could not cover the award if its founder, Georges Karam, was able to ally with China Mobile, Alcatel-Lucent, Gemtek and Nokia Siemens Networks on this new standard.

Similarly, Inside Secure negotiated a major strategic shift last year, when he resumed the activity of microcontrollers secure of Atmel and lifted, to do this, 45 million additional euros, mainly with Sofinnova Partners, Gimv and the ISP. An acquisition that allowed him to double its workforce to more than 350 people and triple its turnover, 154 million in 2010. The operation was mainly by synergy with its historical activity, microprocessors that allow operations Contactless NFC (Near Field Communications).

Indeed, former Inside Contactless will thus offer components (chipsets) games complete, increasing his margin term. These NFC chips represent more that one-third of its turnover. But this segment growing - 50-100 million chips should be delivered this year - allows many applications, particularly in the payment. And it is precisely in the card payment, with and without contact, that is the core business of the former Department of Atmel, who also produced all kinds of digital security solutions. As Sequans, Inside Secure swings around to consolidate its future.

Italian Accent, repositionné on microprocessors for electric "intelligent networks", to the British Plastic Logic, including offering flexible screens and just receive an investment of 700 million dollars (494 million euros), the potential candidates for the award are in Europe.

Upstream, things are more difficult: since the financial crisis, the round table are rare. "Today, the needs are much better covered in boot in the following links in the chain of funding", notes and Régis Salter, who leads ECA investment. The chain remains well fed (see chart) and the pace of technological change slows not. The construction of chips in three dimensions to the "networks on chip" via magnetic memories and massively parallel processors, start-ups continue to propose radical innovations. But the evidence of the profitability of the model "fabless" for the European start-up has not yet been made. If the most mature of them finally do, money will return to the sector.