Paris, 14th June 2023. Aldebaran Capital Partners, an independent French investment company specialized in complex transformations of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and intermediate-sized enterprises (ETIs), announces the first investment of its Aldebaran Transformation Fund I, with the acquisition of a majority stake in NumWorks, the French champion that has revolutionized the graphing calculator industry.
Romain Goyet, founder of NumWorks, will retain an equity ownership and is handing over to his close-knit management team, which has been involved in the venture since its inception. The team includes Léo Solé, who will assume the position of CEO, Emilie Feral in charge of R&D and technical direction, and Clothilde Relin overseeing marketing and sales. Aldebaran's investment aims to support this management transition, with the recruitment of a CFO.
Through its "transformational" approach, Aldebaran brings financial, operational, and strategic resources to support NumWorks in its ambition to become a major international player in educational solutions for the learning of scientific subjects.
Amélie Brossier, President and Founder of Aldebaran, stated:
"We have been truly impressed by the success of NumWorks and the ability of its teams to reinvent products by combining hardware and software expertise, while involving stakeholders in the development of solutions. We are convinced that there is much to be done to create even more useful and user-friendly educational solutions, serving the learning of scientific subjects for the benefit of the many."
Founded in 2016 by Romain Goyet, a “serial entrepreneur”, NumWorks has created a calculator tailored to the needs of the new generation of teachers and students. With this innovative product, NumWorks has revolutionized the use of graphing calculators by providing user-friendliness and elegant design.
In less than 5 years, by leveraging the contribution of the teaching community, NumWorks has become the leader in France's “hard-to-disrupt” graphing calculator market, historically dominated by several international hegemonic players.
Based in Paris, NumWorks received early-stage support from Bpifrance's Digital Venture team (via its F3A fund sponsored by the Program of Investments for the Future). It has now become a French SME and has begun its international expansion in Europe (e.g. Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, England) and in the USA.
Romain Goyet, founder of NumWorks, commented:
"It was crucial for my team and me to find a partner that could enable us to embark on a new phase of our development, while understanding and respecting our DNA. We found in Aldebaran the ideal partner, a specialist in transformation and a promoter of the human factor in its approach and daily work."
Léo Solé, President of NumWorks, added:
"Our team is proud to contribute to the teaching and learning of scientific subjects by offering intuitive and accessible tools for all. We are at a turning point in our development. We are thrilled to have found in Aldebaran an ambitious partner who will help us tackle the numerous challenges ahead: accelerating our international expansion, developing our hardware and software offerings, and expanding our team."
The financing of this transaction was provided by a banking consortium composed of Banque Populaire Rives de Paris, Caisse d'Epargne et de Prévoyance Ile de France, and BNP Paribas for the senior debt, as well as Access Capital Partners for the mezzanine debt.
