MerciApp, the French startup which aims to allow French speakers around the world to communicate by writing more quickly and above all without fail, has just completed a fundraising of 7 million euros. We spoke with Arthur Ollier, co-founder and CEO of this startup. The latter enlightened us on the projects of his startup.
Everything you need to know about MerciApp
Who are you ?
I am Arthur Ollier, co-founder and CEO of MerciApp. Passionate about solving fundamental problems facing businesses through technology. I have naturally specialized in B2B SaaS since 2015 and the launch of Datananas. My journey is made up of encounters, as proof the first partners (Romain Simon and Romain Cornu) as well as the buyer of Datananas (Sarbacane via its CEO Mathieu Tarnus) are again in MerciApp.
Passionate about new technologies and all the opportunities they represent, my fiber for entrepreneurship led me to create 3 companies before the MerciApp adventure. The first quickly failed, the second and third were both bought out. Today I am co-founder and CEO of MerciApp. We have the ambition to create the essential writing assistance solution and the undisputed leader in the French-speaking sphere.
What does MerciApp do?
MerciApp is a French start-up created in 2020, with the aim of enabling the 300 million French speakers around the world to communicate better by writing faster, without mistakes and with more style, in French, initially, then in other languages (English, Spanish, etc.). MerciApp is the result of the meeting between the founders of Diagonal, a correction solution developed since the 1990s and adopted by thousands of professional editors (Le Monde, Académie française, Flammarion, etc.), and Arthur Ollier, an entrepreneur who has already founded and sold 2 companies. The solution provides 300 million French speakers with a correction engine previously used exclusively by writing professionals.
MerciApp markets a real-time correction solution in the form of a browser extension that fits anywhere you write online. A native application also allows you to receive support on your PC (notably on Word and Outlook). Today, the solution is used by more than 350,000 users. The main functionalities of the current product are as follows:
- Spelling, grammatical, typographical and context correction
- On-board explanations that allow you to understand your mistakes and progress
- Advanced customizations to adapt suggestions to your needs
- Detailed statistics to analyze the number of errors corrected, identify weaknesses, evaluate time saved and progress.
MerciApp’s fundraising
Why did you raise 7 million euros?
In October, MerciApp launched a new offer called “Assist”. The old offer, previously called “Pro”, will become “Correct”. In addition to all the “Correct” features, the MerciApp Assist offer will be enriched with features, notably autocorrection. No more clicking on mistakes to correct them. MerciApp autocorrects mistakes when it is certain of the correction, which saves even more time when writing. Well known on mobile, autocorrection on computer is a new feature that is not currently found in any competitor. After several months of testing and improvements, we are convinced that our self-correction product will be much more efficient than what we already know on mobile, the image of which leaves something to be desired.
Why did you choose to bring these investors into your capital?
MerciApp has chosen to bring ISAI, Educapital, Swen Capital Partners as well as business angels into its capital.
The launch of MerciApp Assist is part of MerciApp’s development plan, made possible by a fundraising of 7 million euros in Series A led by Educapital, alongside ISAI, historic investor, and Swen Capital Partners. This new fundraising is a continuation of the 2020 seed round of nearly one million euros to achieve our mission: to enable 350 million French speakers to communicate better, without mistakes, with more style and communication. ‘impact.
