Sesame Summit 2026 – application open

What Is Deep Tech for Good ft. Hello Tomorrow and SOSV I Selected

That was the subject of a recent discussion at the French Tech edition of Sesamers On Tour. The featured speakers included Benjamin Joffe, a partner at SOSV, which is a global early-stage fund that is focused on deep tech; Alexandre Tisserant, CEO of Kineis, which is democratizing access to satellite connectivity to connects millions of objects simply and cheaply anywhere on the planet; and moderator Sarah Pedroza, COO of Hello Tomorrow, a global organization that is aiming at accelerating deep tech solutions that tackle worldwide issues.

Joffe explained that SOSV is a global fund that invests in France, the U.S. & Asia. It has about 1,000 companies in its portfolio and he estimated that about half fall into the deep tech category. A smaller subset of that group could be described as, “Deep Tech For Good,” he said.

SOSV runs accelerator programs as entry points where the firm supports startups at the very earliest stages in the hardware and biology spaces. Programs include Hacks for Hardware and Indiebio. “We help them do this very difficult step from going from the lab to prototype to market,” Joffe said.

The firm doesn’t attempt to cover the full spectrum of deep tech. Instead, it focuses on areas such as mobility, energy, and food. “There are some sectors in which we feel we don’t have enough knowledge or we don’t have enough capabilities to actually support the companies,” Joffe said.

Joffe said that most founders in deep tech come from a research or science background, and so their motivation tends to be with the technologies they have been researching for years. At some point, those founders have to choose what kind of impact they want to have with those technologies: positive, neutral, or negative.  

“I think these days it has become really difficult to finance negative things,” Joffe said. “But in terms of how positive things should be, the challenge is to figure out what should be the first applications. Generally, you have a lot of choices for technologies and what you can do with them. And sometimes the one that has the most long-term impact is not the easiest to start with.”

To overcome that hurdle, founders look for pragmatic ways to test their technology with markets that have early adopters who can finance the development until it’s ready to reach larger markets. The good news is that the markets do indeed seem to be expanding.

“What’s mattering a lot in deep tech, and in particular Deep Tech for Good, is the growing public interest,” Joffe said. “That public interest means that there are customers that are more ready to pay for novel solutions. There are corporates that feel that they have to incorporate those into their offering. And the limited partners that invest in VC funds like ours also feel that they have to be paying more attention to the impact of the innovations they finance indirectly. So those are all really good signs.”

But having a good mission is one thing. Scaling a Deep Tech For Good is another. Joffe said while he’s optimistic that barriers are falling for Deep Tech businesses to scale, this remains one of the most fundamental challenges.

Kineis Rising

Alexandre Tisserant, CEO of Kineis, said his space tech company is now confronting that scaling challenge.

Kineis was created in 2019 by CNES (the French Space Agency) and CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites) which specializes in processing satellite data. That data is used via the ARGOS System primarily for environmental monitoring and resource management.

Kineis inherited the ARGOS System, which means it had Deep Tech For Good baked into its DNA. The firm has raised €100 million from public and private investors to help expand its low-earth satellite network. The company has 20,000 devices connected to its satellites and plans to launch 25 new nano satellites.

“Our ambition is to be able to connect anything, anywhere on the globe with cheap, small autonomous devices,” Tisserant said.

Tisserant said the company is still tracking birds, polar bears, penguins, and other wild animals. This allows researchers to gather information on animal behavior as well as collect evidence of climate change. Kineis also tracks fishing boats to help institutions and governments to monitor the quantity of fish caught to ensure the resources in fish will be still enough in the coming years and decades.

But as it commercializes the service, Kineis must choose among different opportunities and weigh the impact of each one. And when speaking with potential commercial partners, Tisserant said it’s not always easy to understand the impact.

“It’s not an easy process because when you say, okay, no I will not accept revenues, it’s kind of hard to justify to your shareholders,” he said.

That’s why he believes the public sector has to continue playing an essential role in funding and encouraging the creation of Deep Tech For Good startups. Not only do public sector agencies have expertise that allows them to understand the potential for such technologies, but they don’t necessarily need immediate financial returns.

That said, Deep Tech For Good companies still must make those tough commercial choices in search of a sustainable model. Tisserant advised entrepreneurs in this sector to stay true to their mission. Don’t “forget what drove you in the first place to this project,” he said. “When entrepreneurs start companies and make them grow, they have something in the guts that pulls them and that gives them all that necessary energy to grow and to do the business. At some point, you will always have pressure on one side pressure or the other side to do the things that you don’t want to. You have to  resist the pressure, or at least play with it in a way that is good for you and that you are comfortable with.”

The Long Road Ahead

Joffe said another big challenge for these startups includes having a long, tough road, more so than most startups. They also must combine the skills of a lot of different people while trying to get a product to market.

“I think one of the challenges, in addition to finding financial capital, is also finding the intellectual capital very early on, that will help you identify markets that maybe you might not be familiar with, and also identify the right milestones. Sometimes the tendency for scientists and engineers is to pursue mostly technical milestones. But those are not necessarily the ones that are a good fit for the next funding round. So I’d say keep in mind that it’s not just capital. It’s really also about having a broad view of the sectors you could be playing in.”

To work through that, Joffe advises founders to surround themselves with people who will help them learn. One way to do that is to connect with other founders to exchange information and experiences.

“In some sectors, it’s actually not that easy to find people you can exchange information,” Joffe said. “Sometimes you can find them in France and sometimes you need to find them somewhere else. It’s always good to be inspired by public figures and heroes like Steve Jobs on Elon Musk. But the people who can actually give you advice that immediately is useful are generally people who have done what you’re trying to do.”

This article is part of a series produced in partnership with La French Tech & the French Tech Journal.


Cover Photo by NASA on Unsplash

NB: Check out the French Tech Journal for more information about France’s Deep Tech ambitions and Tech For Good initiatives.

you might also like

blank
Events 2 days ago

AI is reshaping how people discover information. Search traffic, once the lifeblood of websites, is plummeting as AI tools provide answers and context immediately, eliminating the need to browse to websites for answers at all.  Understandably, companies are responding by going down avenues they can control: newsletters, podcasts, memberships and events. This reality is true for startups as well. You simply can’t rely on Google traffic or algorithms to build trust anymore. You need direct channels, and there are few ways to build trust more powerful than  meeting people face-to-face. Welcome to the ‘post-click’ era Startups have long played by the ever-changing rules set by Google and social media platforms, which are more often than not prone to changing their algorithms and leaving everyone scrambling to adapt overnight.  AI is not only accelerating this instability, it’s almost making Google referral traffic obsolete. Companies need to adapt to this new reality with strategies that let them talk directly to their prospective customers. The media industry, one of the most vulnerable to the changes, is proving to be one of the quickest to adapt. Morning Brew, for example, blends its newsletters franchises with events. In a recent interview, Sam Jacobs, TIME’s editor-in-chief, highlighted how the company went from organizing two to three events per year, to holding the same number of events monthly. Even digital-first players are embracing events. Podcasts like Acquired and All-In now host live events to bring their listeners together. Finimize has built grassroots meetups around its newsletter. The new defense tech media title, Resilience Media, born on Substack, is planning events to connect experts in its niche. Alex Konrad’s new Upstarts ecosystem includes live interviews, an upcoming podcast and curated events. These aren’t just extensions of the content; they’re ways to nurture communities. Startups should copy this strategy. They must consider where their credibility and relationships will be built in this new landscape, especially as visibility is no longer about simply appearing on top of search results or burning money with ads; it’s about building lasting trust in the spaces that matter. Events are singularly effective at doing that. Lessons from after the pandemic If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that being present online is insufficient. Platforms like Hopin promised a future of global, scalable, online events. Even experiments in VR conferences were the subject of occasional hype.  All of that fell short, however. What founders, investors and marketers learned was simple: There is no substitute for shaking someone’s hand, catching their eye, and sharing time in the same space. When the pandemic ended, events came back with a bang. Companies large and small continue to invest in gatherings. Events still carry symbolic weight: just look at Apple’s meticulously choreographed product launches, or how scaleups like Helsing showcase new technologies.  For startups, events can also serve as tools for strengthening internal communications and bonds with their employees and their community. Here’s a great example: Italian travel scaleup WeRoad holds an annual, two-day global gathering of its travel coordinators and staff that strengthens culture and commitment in ways a Zoom call never could. Why startups need to show up Startups live and die on the strength of their relationships. Securing investors, signing first customers, and finding the right partners are all processes that depend completely on trust. These early relationships are crucial. In an AI-driven world where digital discovery is fragmented, saturated and noisy, events cut through the noise. They offer something AI and algorithms never will: human presence. Startups should think of events as essential investments in visibility and credibility. Whether it’s speaking on stage, hosting a breakfast or simply showing up to the right conference — being in the room matters. It’s OK to be selective. It’s OK to pass on events when priorities point elsewhere. And don’t take this to mean the digital realm and AI should be ignored. But in this era where we’re putting AI on a pedestal, founders should not underestimate the power of a physical meeting for establishing contact with investors, talent, or any other important stakeholder.

blank
New Materials 3 days ago

After a successful first edition, JEC Investor Day 2026 is now returning for its second year with expanded ambitions.

blank
Events 6 days ago

TechCrunch Disrupt? Overrated. Web Summit? A $4,700 mistake I’ll never make again. I’ve burned $18K learning which startup events actually matter for B2B SaaS founders trying to close deals—not just collect business cards. Here’s what nobody tells you: the biggest events aren’t where B2B deals happen. Why “Best Startup Event” Lists Are Useless for B2B Founders Every January, tech blogs publish the same recycled garbage: “50 Must-Attend Startup Events!” They rank by size and buzz. What they don’t rank by: where your buyers actually show up with budgets. I learned this after exhibiting at a 70,000-person mega-conference. Spent $4,700 on booth space, flights, and hotel. Had exactly zero conversations with our target market. The attendees? Mostly consumer startups and the press are looking for the next Uber. According to Cvent, 81% of trade show attendees have buying authority—but only at industry-specific events. Generic “startup” conferences are networking theater. If you’re serious about finding the right startup event strategy, you need to think differently. The 5 Best Startup Events Where I’ve Actually Closed B2B Deals SaaStr Annual – Where SaaS Deals Actually Happen 13,000 SaaS professionals in San Mateo every March. APIDays – The Technical Depth You Need If you’re building APIs, this is your room. 2,000-3,000 API architects who can actually read your docs. Paris is the flagship, but they run 10+ cities globally. What makes APIDays different: it’s deeply technical. No marketing fluff. €3,000 gets you in, and European buyers are way less saturated than US markets. Big Data & AI Paris – Enterprise Buyers With Actual Budgets 15,000 enterprise CTOs and data engineers. I closed two partnerships here worth €400K combined—with French banks and telecom companies that had active Q4 budgets. The French government subsidizes AI adoption, so budgets are real. But your networking tactics need to adapt. Less aggressive, more relationship-focused. €800 for a pass and 3,200€ to exhibit as a startup, totally worth it if you’re targeting European enterprises. Track it on Sesamers so you don’t miss early bird pricing. MicroConf – Where Bootstrapped Founders Share Real Numbers 200-300 attendees max. Everyone’s profitable or trying to be. Zero VC hypergrowth bullshit. I’ve learned more in hallway conversations here than at conferences 50x the size. The attendees are other founders who share actual numbers—not vanity metrics. Churn rates, CAC, payback periods. This is how you measure real ROI from events. Worth every cent if you’re bootstrapped. Industry-Specific Trade Shows – The Secret Weapon Here’s the move nobody talks about: skip tech conferences entirely. Go where your buyers congregate. Healthcare SaaS? Hit HIMSS. Fintech? Money20/20. HR tech? HR Tech Conference. I watched a founder close a $400K deal at a healthcare event while competitors were posting selfies at Web Summit. These cost $3,000 avg, but attendee quality is 100x better. According to Statista, B2B trade shows hit $15.78B in 2024. This strategy works because you’re fishing where the fish actually are. The 3-Filter System I Use to Pick Events Filter 1: Who’s actually attending? Can you name 20 people who match your ICP? If not, wrong event. Use Sesamers to check historical attendee data before buying tickets. Filter 2: What’s your actual goal? Raising money? Go to investor-heavy events. Closing customers? Industry trade shows. Different goals need different event selection criteria. Filter 3: What’s the all-in cost? Ticket + flights + hotel + meals. If it’s over $3K, you need $30K in pipeline to break even. Most events don’t hit that unless you’re strategic. Events I Skip (And Why You Should Too) Web Summit: 70,000 people is networking hell. Consumer-focused despite the B2B claims. Pass unless you need Series A+ PR. CES: Consumer electronics show. Your B2B SaaS buyers aren’t here. I see founders at CES every year wondering why they’re not closing deals. Now you know. TechCrunch Disrupt: Great for press and VCs. Terrible for enterprise buyers. Worth it for launch PR, not pipeline. How I Track Everything Without Losing My Mind I track every event in a spreadsheet: cost, conversations, pipeline generated, deals closed. After three years of data, the pattern is crystal clear. Niche beats broad. Quality beats quantity—industry-specific crushes general tech. The best startup events for B2B SaaS are never on TechCrunch’s homepage. For API companies: APIDays and API World are superior to generic conferences. For AI/ML: Big Data & AI Paris provides European enterprise access that’s nearly impossible to achieve otherwise. Geography matters—European buyers at European events are way less saturated than US markets. Stop Wasting Money on the Wrong Events You have limited time and budget. Most founders can hit 3-5 events per year max. Choose wrong and you’ve burned $15K and 15 days for zero ROI. Choose right and one event generates $500K+ in pipeline. Use Sesamers to find events filtered by your industry and target attendees. See which ones similar founders recommend. Track ROI data. Set reminders for early bird pricing. Never waste another $4K on an event where your buyers don’t show up. Because the smartest way to pick events is learning from founders who’ve already tested them—and can tell you which ones actually matter. Ready to find your next high-ROI event? Start tracking on Sesamers and build your calendar based on data, not FOMO.

Subscribe to
our Newsletter!

Stay at the forefront with our curated guide to the best upcoming Tech events.