(News Bulletin 247) – This company which develops turnkey solutions for companies based on generative artificial intelligence, plans to launch on the Euronext Growth stock market. Lighton plans to raise around 10 million euros to finance its growth and international expansion.

Artificial intelligence has sparked a real craze for listed companies developing this technology. Graphics processor specialist Nvidia is the perfect example with a stock that has soared 200% since the start of the year on Wall Street.

Closer to home, SAP has also taken the turn towards artificial intelligence (AI). A strategy that has paid off since the German publisher of management software for large accounts revealed quarterly activity higher than expectations on Tuesday, thanks to positive dynamics in cloud computing. A French group wants to be one of the listed companies operating in the booming field of generative artificial intelligence. Lighton announced this Tuesday morning the approval of its registration document by the Financial Markets Authority, the first step towards an introduction to the Paris Stock Exchange, more precisely in this case on Euronext Growth, the compartment reserved for small and mid-caps.

This operation will perhaps wake up a Parisian market for small and mid-cap IPOs that is completely at a standstill. The last operation in this area dates back to last December 2023 with the arrival of the industrial risk prevention specialist Stif on Euronext Growth

Solutions based on artificial intelligence

Founded in 2016, Lighton presents itself as a leading European player in generative artificial intelligence dedicated to businesses. Until 2020, the company says it has developed an optical processor intended to process data quickly in AI applications and with low energy consumption.

The company markets two software solutions. The first, called Forge, is technological support for tailor-made generative AI for companies and organizations that wish to develop their own language model, improve an existing language model, or even integrate new technological bricks.

Lighton indicates that its solution, marketed since 2022, has been deployed to several large organizations. The company cites the example of a “Silicon Valley company in the United States”, which developed a medical assistant AI based on Lighton’s tailor-made solution to build its first LLM prototype in four months. (large language model) allowing you to operate your virtual health agents.

The second software suite, Paradigm, released this year, is a turnkey generative AI platform, designed to meet all the needs of businesses and the public sector. Lighton explains that it leverages the power of generative AI to optimize and improve business productivity by automating various business processes. “This software platform is distinguished by its customization, its ease of use and its power, allowing rapid integration within organizations,” says the company.

Lighton indicates that this Paradigm solution has already been deployed by Safran, Groupama, the General Directorate of Public Finances, in a first phase of testing and evaluation (“proof of concept” or “POC”). The first production launches and large-scale deployments following certain POCs are planned by the end of 2024, the company says.

The company also claims to have signed two strategic partnerships with Orange Business and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, with a view to combining its generative AI software solution with their cloud offering (cloud computing) or their hardware equipment.

“Advanced discussions with other players in the areas of infrastructure, computer hardware, cloud or IT services are underway and could lead to the conclusion of new agreements in the coming quarters,” says Lighton.

An acceleration in turnover

The planned IPO will enable the group to accelerate its commercial conquest in the markets identified “as the most promising” by Lighton, namely banking and insurance, defense, health, industry and the public sector. Companies in these different sectors “process large volumes of data” and are subject to regulations and sector specificities which “require them to be more sensitive to issues related to the confidentiality of this data,” explains the company. The funds raised will also be dedicated to its international expansion, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, in order to “seize all the opportunities linked to the global excitement around generative AI”.

The company plans to raise an amount of around 10 million euros as part of the IPO – excluding extension and over-allotment clauses – to finance its growth trajectory.

In 2023, Lighton had achieved a turnover of 8 million euros and was “profitable”, before changing its sales model and the nature of its income in 2024. The company warns that this model transition will lead to a temporary decline in turnover over the financial year “while the recurring revenue base is built up”.

For the year 2025, Lighton intends to accelerate the growth of its turnover, without specifying the extent “with a strong contribution from Paradigm and a complementary contribution from Forge, allowing it to target an ARR (an annualized value of contracts) at the end of the financial year of around 6 million euros. The following year, therefore in 2026, the group hopes to generate gross operating income (EBITDA) and free cash flow. positive.

Then by 2027, the group plans to reach a turnover close to 40 million euros, an ARR of around 35 million euros at the end of the year, two thirds of which will be “generated by sales indirect benefits of Paradigm via strategic partners”. The EBITDA margin should amount to around 40% by this time horizon. All the objectives stated by Lighton are understood on a constant basis.