Sector
Deeptech startups
A deeptech startup has solved a hard scientific problem. What remains is turning that advantage into a product the market finances and adopts. Calsoï supports that transition.
What Calsoï brings to deeptech
Jean-Christophe Simon has worked with deeptech startups as operating partner, including in the field of applied AI (Ankar AI). He brings a dual background: 30 years of R&D leadership in major industrial groups, and direct involvement in the startup ecosystem. He speaks the language of founders as well as industrial investors.
Calsoï can help to:
- Structure R&D and define a roadmap credible to investors
- Prepare technical documentation for fundraising (TRL, patents, proof of concept)
- Drive R&D as fractional director or operating partner
- Support a transition toward a divestiture or an industrial partnership
The core challenge of deeptech
The main difficulty for deeptech is not technical — it is translation. Translating a scientific advance into value an investor can understand. Translating a TRL 4 into a credible industrial roadmap. Translating a patent portfolio into a defensible competitive advantage in an M&A conversation.
That translation requires someone who has done both: sustained R&D over time and negotiations with financial and industrial counterparts. That is what Jean-Christophe Simon brings.
Engagement formats
For deeptech startups, Calsoï works primarily as operating partner or fractional R&D director. A short strategy advisory engagement may precede a longer mission.