U Change

What U Change does

U Change is a French technology company headquartered in Paris and Annecy that develops and operates Motherbase, an AI-powered SaaS platform dedicated to identifying and analyzing innovation ecosystems. The platform is built on proprietary AI developed internally by U Change's research team since 2018 and combines a database of 200,000 entities (startups, SMEs, incubators, and other innovation actors worldwide) with access to more than 15 million articles for innovation monitoring. Its algorithms continuously qualify and update each entity with information on sector, technologies, funding, and headcount evolution, enabling open-innovation workflows such as ecosystem detection, thematic or geographic innovation monitoring, and startup sourcing.

The company targets large public, private, and associative organizations across more than 2,500 monitored ecosystems and distributes the platform in three modes: pure SaaS (self-serve), SaaS + Service (with accompaniment), and custom Web Portals. Pricing is quote-based on annual contracts, and the go-to-market combines content marketing, LinkedIn presence, and a demo-request-driven sales-assisted motion, supplemented by a UGAP public procurement listing that opens French government buyers. The firm operates with 1–10 employees, is privately held with no disclosed external funding, and counts Denis Dubois as a co-founder.

Commercially, U Change generated no disclosed revenue or funding and appears to be bootstrapped. The 2024 rebranding to Motherbase, the 15M+ article monitoring extension, the UGAP listing, and memberships in NumEum, French Tech Alpes, and Bpifrance's Coq Vert community are the most significant recent commercial and positioning moves. Customer concentration risk is high in the absence of disclosed logos, segment splits, or ARR, and the company's AI capability is differentiated by domain specialization and proprietary data assets rather than by published research or third-party-validated model performance.

Name

U Change

Legal name

U Change

Website

https://uchange.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

U Change operates Motherbase, an AI-powered SaaS platform that identifies and analyzes innovation ecosystems for large public, private, and associative organizations, covering 200,000 entities and 2,500+ organizations worldwide via SaaS, SaaS+Service, and Web Portal deployments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Intelligence Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Change Management & Transformation Consulting (BPAHAGAC)

Keywords

• Innovation ecosystem analysis
• Open innovation intelligence
• Startup ecosystem mapping
• Innovation monitoring platform
• Ecosystem intelligence software

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscription: Motherbase is offered as a SaaS platform with three usage modes: pure SaaS, SaaS + Service (with accompaniment), and Web Portals. The subscription model provides access to the innovation ecosystem identification and analysis platform, entity database, and news monitoring capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

U Change develops and sells Motherbase, an AI-powered SaaS platform dedicated to identifying and analyzing innovation ecosystems. The platform analyzes ecosystems of more than 2,500 large organizations worldwide, using a database of 200,000 entities (startups, SMEs, incubators) and 15+ million articles for innovation monitoring. It is offered in three deployment modes: pure SaaS, SaaS + Service with accompaniment, and custom Web Portals.

Product overview

U Change offers a single unified product platform called Motherbase. This AI-powered SaaS platform is the first dedicated solution for identifying and analyzing innovation ecosystems, serving public, private, and associative actors. Motherbase is available in three delivery modes: standalone SaaS, SaaS + Service (with accompanying support), and Web Portals. The platform consolidates U Change's activity around ecosystem intelligence, with capabilities spanning entity identification, technology analysis, funding tracking, and news/monitoring functions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Motherbase: AI-powered SaaS platform dedicated to identifying and analyzing innovation ecosystems. The platform analyzes ecosystems of over 2,500 large organizations, maintains a database of 200,000 entities (startups, SMEs, incubators), and provides access to over 15 million articles for innovation monitoring.

Products and services

• Motherbase AI-powered SaaS platform that identifies and analyzes innovation ecosystems of 2,500+ large organizations worldwide. Uses a database of 200,000 entities (startups, SMEs, incubators) and 15+ million articles to continuously qualify and update entity information (sector, technologies, funding, headcount evolution). Available as self-serve SaaS, SaaS with accompaniment services, or custom Web Portals, for public, private, and associative organizations running open innovation projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Analyzes innovation ecosystems of 2,500+ large organizations
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UGAPcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMotherbase is listed on the UGAP public procurement marketplace (u-sas-motherbase-f31592), enabling French public sector organizations to procure the Motherbase innovation ecosystem platform through official government procurement channels.
• NumEumminorOthersProud member of NumEum, the French digital industry association representing companies in the digital ecosystem.
• French Tech AlpesminorOthersMember of French Tech Alpes, the local French Tech community in the Alps region, supporting the French tech ecosystem.
• Coq Vert (Bpifrance)minorOthersMember of Coq Vert community by Bpifrance, supporting green and sustainable business initiatives in France.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dealroom.co: Amsterdam-based startup and innovation ecosystem intelligence platform providing structured data on startups, funding, and ecosystems. Directly comparable to Motherbase in data-centric open-innovation use cases, with similar European public-sector traction.
• Tracxn: Global startup and company intelligence platform with structured sector and ecosystem research. Directly comparable to Motherbase in delivering curated innovation and startup intelligence to enterprise and government customers.
• StartupBlink: Global startup ecosystem mapping platform tracking innovation hubs, accelerators, and rankings. Comparable to Motherbase on innovation ecosystem identification and international coverage, with strong public-sector/government use cases.

Broad incumbents

• CB Insights: US-based market intelligence platform tracking startups, funding, and emerging technologies for enterprise strategy teams. Overlaps with Motherbase on innovation ecosystem mapping and corporate open-innovation workflows, but at much broader scale and price points.
• Crunchbase: Public business information platform covering startups, investors, and funding rounds globally. Comparable to Motherbase in serving innovation sourcing and ecosystem analysis, with stronger global brand recognition and freemium reach.
• PitchBook: Private market data provider for M&A, venture, and private equity intelligence. Comparable to Motherbase on entity data, funding tracking, and ecosystem mapping, but oriented to financial deal-making rather than open innovation.

Emerging players

• Glassdollar: Corporate-startup matching and open innovation platform for enterprise clients. Overlaps with Motherbase's SaaS+Service open innovation sourcing use case, focused on European corporates.
• Inven: Nordic-origin AI-powered M&A and private company intelligence platform. Comparable to Motherbase in using AI to structure private company and ecosystem data for deal sourcing and innovation scouting.

Regional players

• Wavestone: French-origin global consulting firm with a dedicated innovation and open innovation practice serving large corporates. Comparable to U Change in addressing enterprise digital transformation and open innovation needs, with deeper consulting-led delivery.
• Bpifrance Le Hub: French public investment bank's open innovation platform connecting large corporates with startups. Partially comparable to Motherbase on French corporate-startup ecosystem mapping, though state-sponsored rather than commercial SaaS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/uchangesolutions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/10216205
• Xx.com/Uchange_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about U Change