French NFC start-up Famoco raises €4M

Famoco, a France-based NFC specialist, raised €4 million ($4.4 million) from investment company Hi Inov, public investment bank Bpifrance and venture capital fund Aurinvest to push the next stage of its development.

The company has developed a dedicated Android-based NFC reader with a 3G module for the management of professional applications such as a mobile POS (point of sale) reader, ID reader, access control and attendance tracking. With the new funding, Famoco said it will now be able to expand its work force and develop its product further in order to fulfil its target of becoming the market leader in its sector.

Established in 2010, the company reported turnover of €1 million in 2014 with an international share of around 60 per cent. The company sold 10,000 of its NFC reader terminals to French and international companies last year and is targeting 50,000 units internationally by the end of 2016, according to Les Echos.

The company operates via offices in Paris, Brussels and Hong Kong and has so far sold its equipment to 200 companies including Orange, Google, Medisys and Payintech. It is present in 25 countries in total.

"The Famoco terminal is unique and is…adaptable to all types of industries and all types of trades. The rapid development of the company and the immediate adoption by many customers worldwide has convinced us of the strong growth potential of Famoco. We are pleased to participate today in the development of this technology company, especially internationally," said Jocelyne Cerasa, director of investments at Bpifrance for the 'Ambition Numérique' investment fund.

Lionel Baraban, co-founder and CEO of Famoco, noted that the latest investment round would enable the company to "respond positively" to the growing demands of its customers up to 2016.

Following its international expansion, the company plans to integrate business process management and is targeting the "thousands of professionals" in the fields of security, cleaning, logistics, maintenance and more.

For more:
- see this Bpifrance release (in French)
- see this Les Echos article (sub. req.)

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