TL;DR: Maddyness in one minute

Maddyness is the leading French media for startups and tech, founded in 2013 by Sébastien Ropars, Quentin Adam, and their team. The site daily covers fundraising, AI, cleantech, and public policies for an audience of founders, investors, and CMOs.

Key points
  • Launched in 2013, acquired by the Mark & Co group in 2018, primarily French and B2B audience.
  • Covers almost all Series A and B funding rounds announced in the French market (source: Maddyness).
  • Mixed economic model: advertorials, MaddyMoney/MaddyKeynote events, sponsored content, and partner studies.
  • Direct competitors: Frenchweb, Les Echos Entrepreneurs, BFM Business Tech, TechCrunch FR.
  • To get featured: pitch the editorial team via a dedicated form, press attaché, or exclusive angle (unpublished figures, European premiere).

What exactly is Maddyness?

Maddyness is a French online media specializing in the startup ecosystem, founded in 2013. According to Wikipedia, the site daily publishes news, analyses, and entrepreneur profiles. Its target audience is B2B: founders, investors, executives, and innovation professionals.

The name "Maddyness" comes from the English contraction of "madness" and "business," a nod to the passion that drives entrepreneurs. The media positions itself at the crossroads of economic information and startup culture, with a more accessible tone than Les Echos or Les Echos Entrepreneurs.

Who are the founders?

Maddyness was launched by Sébastien Ropars, accompanied by co-founders from consulting and digital publishing. The editorial team gradually expanded to a permanent staff of about twenty journalists and collaborators in 2024. In 2018, the media joined the Mark & Co group, owner of other B2B titles.

Who reads Maddyness?

The readership is mainly composed of executives, managers, startup founders, and investors. The secondary target includes business school students and local government stakeholders involved in innovation. It is a qualified audience, sought after by B2B advertisers and tech communication agencies.

How has Maddyness established itself since 2013?

In thirteen years, Maddyness has grown from a confidential blog to a structured media that covers, according to its own editorial data (Maddyness), the vast majority of funding rounds announced each month in France. This editorial regularity, combined with a calendar of physical events, has established its authority.

Several steps have accelerated this rise to power. The acquisition by Mark & Co in 2018 brought resources and commercial structuring. The launch of MaddyMoney, a monthly funding barometer, strengthened its numerical legitimacy. The creation of an event studio diversified revenues beyond display advertising.

A historical competitor, Frenchweb covers similar topics but with a more corporate and key account orientation. Maddyness maintains a more startup-focused, younger, founder-oriented signature. This differentiation is a lasting editorial asset.

What topics does Maddyness prioritize?

Maddyness covers five main verticals: fundraising, artificial intelligence, cleantech and impact, deeptech, and public policies related to innovation. According to the EY venture capital observatory relayed by Les Echos Entrepreneurs, the French venture market represents over 7 billion euros annually, which constantly feeds the editorial flow.

Fundraising and financing

This is the core of the editorial activity. Each significant funding round is the subject of an article: amount, investors, use of funds, competitive context. The format is short, factual, optimized for LinkedIn sharing. It is also the most read content by investors and corporate development targets.

AI, deeptech, and cleantech

With the explosion of AI funding in 2023-2025, Maddyness has strengthened its coverage of generative models, infrastructures, and vertical applications. Mistral AI, H Company, and Dust have been featured in several profiles. Cleantech benefits from increasing coverage linked to the France 2030 plan.

Public policies and ecosystem

BPI France, French Tech, Choose France: Maddyness closely follows public announcements that structure the ecosystem. This institutional coverage complements purely business topics well and differentiates the media from more American pure-players like TechCrunch FR.

How to get featured in Maddyness?

Three ways work to obtain editorial coverage: verifiable funding announcement, exclusivity with a new angle, or clearly identified sponsored content. According to a Journal du Net study on tech PR practices in France, over 70% of startups use a press attaché for their major announcements, which remains the royal road.

The direct pitch approach works if you have a strong angle: world premiere, exclusive figures, proprietary study, significant recruitment. Avoid generic press releases without an angle. The editorial team receives dozens of pitches per day; attention is earned by the uniqueness of the message.

Optimal timing

Announcing a funding round on Tuesday or Wednesday morning maximizes visibility. Fridays are media dead zones, Mondays are saturated with "weekend" announcements. Plan a 24 to 48-hour embargo to allow several media outlets to publish simultaneously.

Sponsored content

Maddyness offers sponsored formats: partner articles, co-branded studies, podcasts. These formats cost between a few thousand and several tens of thousands of euros depending on the scope. They are identified as such, in accordance with ARPP rules. For a broader media strategy, consult our growth marketing approach.

What is Maddyness's economic model?

The model is based on four pillars: advertorials and display, physical events, sponsored studies and barometers, and B2B services. According to Maddyness's public communications, events and brand content represent a major part of revenues, with traditional display weighing less than at launch.

MaddyMoney and MaddyKeynote

MaddyMoney is the monthly funding barometer, sponsored by law firms, investment banks, and funds. MaddyKeynote is the flagship annual event, bringing together hundreds of founders, investors, and corporates. These two brands generate recurring revenues, sponsorship, ticketing, and activations.

Partner content and studies

The Maddyness studio produces sectoral studies and white papers for clients (BPI France, banks, consulting firms). These deliverables combine data collection and dissemination via the subscriber base. For advertisers, it is a premium format with high engagement, more impactful than a banner.

Maddyness vs. its competitors: what's its positioning?

In the French tech media market, Maddyness occupies a specific niche: startup focus, founder audience, accessible tone. A Frenchweb study on French B2B media highlights that five titles share the ecosystem's attention: Maddyness, Frenchweb, Les Echos Entrepreneurs, BFM Business Tech, and the French version of TechCrunch.

Maddyness vs. Frenchweb

Frenchweb has a more business and key account orientation, with a developed video format. Maddyness focuses more on long-form writing and the early-stage ecosystem. The two media overlap on Series A to C funding rounds, but Frenchweb better captures large corporate digital transformation topics.

Maddyness vs. Les Echos Entrepreneurs

Les Echos Entrepreneurs provides the credibility of a leading economic press and a broader audience of mid-sized company executives. Maddyness remains more specialized in startup culture and the language of founders. The two are complementary in a PR strategy: Echos for credibility, Maddyness for the tech community.

Maddyness vs. TechCrunch FR

TechCrunch FR covers the French ecosystem but with a more international perspective and a shorter format. Maddyness is more locally rooted, more present on French and European regulatory issues. Startups aiming for US exposure prefer TechCrunch; those targeting the French ecosystem rely on Maddyness.

What influence does it have in the FrenchTech ecosystem?

Maddyness's influence is measured at several levels: prescription among fund LPs, agenda-setting among public authorities, and amplification effect for covered startups. According to Les Echos, the Maddyness funding barometer is regularly cited by institutional players as a reference for the French VC market.

For a founder, Maddyness coverage generates a double benefit: a signal of credibility with investors and potential recruits, and qualified traffic to the website. The direct ROI in the pipeline remains limited (audience not B2C buyers), but the impact on perception and recruitment is measurable.

For agencies and consultants, being cited or interviewed in Maddyness contributes to topical authority. It is one of the levers used in an expert inbound strategy for long-form content and blog studies that enrich the brand ecosystem.

Should you integrate Maddyness into your communication strategy?

Yes, if you operate in B2B tech, SaaS, or innovation with a French audience. According to an analysis by Journal du Net on startup press coverage, specialized media coverage generates on average 2 to 5 times more qualified engagement on LinkedIn than a mention in the general press.

Integrating it into the PR mix requires discipline: preparing a press kit, identifying the right journalists by vertical, delivering exclusive angles, and maintaining the relationship over time. Isolated coverage has little impact; regular presence gradually builds brand capital in the ecosystem.

To go further on combined acquisition levers (PR, SEO, paid, content), our agency approach details how to articulate these channels according to your startup's maturity.

FAQ

Who founded Maddyness and in what year?

Maddyness was founded in 2013 by Sébastien Ropars and his team. The media was acquired in 2018 by the Mark & Co group, which also owns other French B2B titles. The editorial team now includes a permanent staff of about twenty journalists and collaborators, with regular external contributors.

Is Maddyness paid?

No, access to articles is free, like most French tech media (Frenchweb, BFM Business). The model is based on advertising, sponsored content, events (MaddyKeynote, MaddyMoney), and partner studies. A premium newsletter and exclusive content have been tested, but most of the content remains freely accessible.

How to contact Maddyness's editorial team?

Three main ways: the contact form on maddyness.com, a direct email to a journalist identified in the relevant vertical, or via a press attaché. According to PR practices relayed by Les Echos Entrepreneurs, a personalized approach by journalist with a clear angle converts significantly better than grouped press releases.

Does Maddyness cover foreign startups?

Marginally. The editorial line is focused on France and, to a lesser extent, Europe. An American or Asian startup will be covered if it raises funds from French investors, opens an office in France, or is part of a structuring topic for the French ecosystem (AI regulation, sovereignty, etc.). Otherwise, targeting TechCrunch remains more relevant.

What is the difference between Maddyness and French Tech?

French Tech is a public label and a governmental mission that structures the French startup ecosystem (French Tech capitals, French Tech Visa, etc.). Maddyness is an independent media that covers this ecosystem. The two entities collaborate occasionally on content and events, but Maddyness maintains its editorial independence.