Optimia

What Optimia does

Optimia Agency SAS, founded in 2024 in La Rochelle, France by Julien Johann, operates as what it bills as the first outsourced Chief AI Officer (Directeur IA externalisé) for French SMEs. The firm serves companies of 20–500 employees that already use AI informally but lack dedicated AI leadership, budget for a full-time hire, or visibility into shadow AI usage and AI Act Article 4 compliance. As of early 2026 it employs 7 staff across offices in La Rochelle (Village By CA accelerator) and Paris (11th arrondissement). It is a privately-held SAS with €1,000 share capital, founder-owned, and has completed more than 20 advisory missions since inception.

The company offers a three-part portfolio. TIM (Training Intelligence Manager), launched in beta in 2025, is a SaaS program that delivers personalized AI skill-building missions inside Slack or Microsoft Teams, tracks competency progression, and auto-generates EU AI Act Article 4 compliance registries and employee attestations, priced from €89/month plus €19 per employee. The AI Audit maps declared and undeclared AI tools, real spend, and RGPD/AI Act risks (field data cites 5.3 undeclared tools and €2,100/month hidden AI cost per audited company on average). Custom AI Agents are co-designed with client teams for processes such as accounting reconciliation, lead qualification, and regulatory compliance assistance, built on a stack including LangChain, CrewAI, N8N, Qdrant, Neo4j, and multiple foundation models (Claude, GPT, Gemini, Mistral, Llama, Qwen, DeepSeek), deployed on Scaleway's sovereign European cloud. All engagements originate from a free 2-minute online diagnostic that converts into a 30-minute founder-led discovery call.

Optimia's go-to-market is a hybrid sales-led / product-led motion anchored by founder-led selling, content marketing, and event presence. Recognition includes the Challenges TOP 100 startups to invest in 2026, the France Digitale × Sopra Steria Ventures Mapping 2026, and founder Julien Johann's appointment as Osez l'IA Ambassador for Nouvelle-Aquitaine under the national plan launched in July 2025. No funding rounds have been disclosed; the company appears self-funded to date.

Name

Optimia

Legal name

Optimia Agency

Website

https://optimia.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Optimia is a French consultancy acting as an outsourced Chief AI Officer for SMEs, providing AI adoption training (TIM in Slack/Teams), shadow-AI audits, and custom AI agent builds to comply with EU AI Act Article 4.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Consulting & Adoption Services for SMEs

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Responsible AI, AI Governance & Compliance Services (BPAEAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services (BPAEAHAF), Enterprise AI Governance, Risk & Compliance Platforms (Model Risk, Audit, Policies) (HDAEANAE), AI Observability, Monitoring & Evaluation Platforms (Drift, Quality, Safety) (HDAEANAF), AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)

Keywords

• AI consulting services
• SME AI adoption
• AI Act compliance
• Custom AI agents
• AI training software

Headquarters

HQ city

La Rochelle

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Programme TIM - Abonnement SaaS: TIM is sold as a monthly SaaS subscription with a base fee (starting at €89/month) covering the manager dashboard and compliance registry, plus a per-employee charge (€19/month per employee beyond the first 2 included). No commitment required; adjustable monthly. Beta users receive 50% discount for 6 months.
2. Missions Director IA externalisé - Prestations sur devis: Time-shared Chief AI Officer engagements covering AI adoption structuring, team training, governance, and custom solution development. Billed per mission or as a monthly retainer (typically 1-4 days/month). Cost is a fraction of an internal Chief AI Officer salary (€80K-€150K/year). Includes audit, training, and solution deployment components.
3. Audit IA complet - Prestation méthodologique: Full AI audit engagement (2-4 weeks, on-site or remote) producing four deliverables: complete AI tools inventory, real costs mapping, risk cartography (RGPD/AI Act), and prioritized optimization roadmap. Billed as a one-time project on a per-quote basis following the free diagnostic.
4. Développement Agents IA sur mesure: Custom AI agent design and deployment engagements. From business process immersion with client teams, through architecture and co-construction, to deployment and adoption support. Billed as a project on a per-quote basis, following identification of a high-value use case from TIM or audit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Optimia provides outsourced Chief AI Officer services for French SMEs, combining AI adoption training (the TIM program delivered in Slack or Teams), AI governance audits that detect shadow AI tools and hidden costs, and the design of custom AI agents for business process automation. The portfolio is anchored in a free 2-minute AI diagnostic that converts into either a TIM SaaS subscription, a Director IA externalisé retainer, or a custom agent development project.

Product overview

Optimia operates as an outsourced Chief AI Officer (Directeur IA externalisé) for SMEs, offering a three-part portfolio: (1) the TIM program for personalized AI skills development integrated into Slack/Teams, (2) AI Audit services for shadow AI detection and compliance mapping, and (3) Custom AI Agent development and deployment for business process automation. All services begin with a free 2-minute AI diagnostic. The approach is ' métier d'abord, technologie ensuite' (business first, technology second), emphasizing that employees identify their own AI use cases rather than being prescribed solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TIM (Training Intelligence Manager) Proprietary SaaS program that delivers personalized AI skill-building missions (Knowledge Cards, Quizzes, Case studies) directly inside Slack or Microsoft Teams as micro-interactions. Adapts to each employee's role, skill level, and pace, tracks progression across 5 competency areas, surfaces AI use cases identified by employees to management, and automatically generates an EU AI Act Article 4 compliance registry with per-employee attestations. Pricing starts at €89/month base + €19/employee beyond the first 2 included.
• Audit IA (AI Audit) Methodological consulting engagement that produces four deliverables: complete inventory of AI tools in use (including shadow AI), real-cost mapping with hidden subscriptions surfaced, GDPR/AI Act risk cartography, and a prioritized optimization roadmap. Field data shows an average of 5.3 undeclared AI tools and €2,100/month in hidden AI costs discovered per company audited. Billed per quote.
• Agents IA sur mesure (Custom AI Agents) Bespoke design, build, and deployment of AI agents for specific business processes such as automated accounting reconciliation, inbound lead qualification, and internal regulatory compliance assistants connected to company document bases via RAG. Agents are co-constructed with client teams, tested in real workflows, deployed within the client's existing tools, and accompanied by an adoption layer. Billed per quote following identification of a high-value use case.
• Director IA externalisé (Outsourced AI Director) Time-shared Chief AI Officer engagement that combines adoption structuring (TIM), governance (audit, AI Act compliance), and custom solution development for French SMEs that cannot justify a full-time CAIO. Typically delivered as 1-4 days per month either on monthly retainer or per-mission billing. Cost is positioned as a fraction of an internal CAIO salary of €80K-€150K/year.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5.3 outils IA non déclarés découverts en moyenne par entreprise auditée
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• France DigitalecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2026Optimia est membre de France Digitale et figure dans le Mapping 2026 des startups IA co-publié avec Sopra Steria Ventures. France Digitale est la principale association de représentation des startups et investisseurs numériques européens, offrant un réseau de visibilité et de partenariat stratégique.
• ScalewaycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026Optimia a été sélectionné pour intégrer le Founders Stage Startup Program de Scaleway, l'hébergeur cloud européen de référence. Ce choix stratégique vise à déployer les solutions IA d'Optimia sur une infrastructure souveraine (européenne) plutôt que sur des clouds non-européens (AWS, GCP, Azure). Scaleway fournit l'infrastructure cloud pour les agents IA sur mesure développés par Optimia.
• Village By CA (La Rochelle)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2025Optimia est incubé à l'accélérateur Village By CA du Crédit Agricole à La Rochelle depuis février 2025. L'accès au réseau d'entrepreneurs, de mentors et de partenaires du Village By CA soutient la croissance d'Optimia et renforce son ancrage en Nouvelle-Aquitaine. L'adresse du Village By CA (12 avenue Albert Einstein) est l'un des deux bureaux d'Optimia.
• Crédit Agricole Charente-Maritime Deux-SèvresminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2025Via le Village By CA, Optimia bénéficie du soutien du Crédit Agricole Charente-Maritime Deux-Sèvres. Le Crédit Agricole est l'actionnaire principal du Village By CA et partenaire institutionnel de l'accélérateur.
• Hub France IAcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Optimia est membre du Hub France IA, l'association de référence de l'écosystème de l'intelligence artificielle en France. Cette affiliation permet à Optimia d'anticiper les évolutions réglementaires et technologiques et de bénéficier de la crédibilité de l'association auprès des acteurs institutionnels.
• Osez l'IA (Plan national)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerJulien Johann, fondateur d'Optimia, est nommé Ambassadeur du Plan national Osez l'IA pour la Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Ce plan national (lancé juillet 2025 par le Ministère de l'Économie) vise à former 15 millions de professionnels à l'IA d'ici 2030. La nomination de Julien Johann offre à Optimia une visibilité institutionnelle, un accès aux réseaux d'accompagnement publics (Bpifrance, diagnostics Data IA), et une légitimité auprès des PME et des institutionnels régionaux.
• Activateur France NumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOptimia est référencé comme 'activateur du numérique' auprès de France Num, l'initiative gouvernementale de'accompagnement à la digitalisation des PME françaises. Ce référencement peut faciliter la mise en relation avec des PME en démarche de digitalisation.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Capgemini: Global consulting and technology services firm with deep AI, generative AI, and AI Act practices. Comparable to Optimia in offering AI strategy, governance, and custom agent development, though at enterprise scale.
• Sopra Steria: Large European IT services group with significant AI, data, and AI Act compliance offerings, headquartered in France. Directly comparable as a potential competitor entering the SME AI Act compliance space alongside Optimia.
• Devoteam: European IT consultancy with a strong AI/ML practice (Devoteam M Cloud, AI Factory) serving mid-market and enterprise clients. Comparable to Optimia in the AI adoption and governance service line, but with a much broader technology portfolio.
• Onepoint: French consulting and technology firm with a dedicated AI/data transformation practice. Comparable to Optimia in serving French clients on AI adoption, governance, and bespoke solution design.
• Wavestone: Major French-origin consulting firm with a dedicated AI/ data practice serving large enterprises and ambitious mid-market players. Comparable to Optimia in advising on AI strategy, governance, and custom AI use cases, though operating at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Saegus: Paris-based digital transformation and AI consultancy serving French enterprises and mid-market firms. Comparable to Optimia in delivering AI readiness, governance, and custom solution deployment.
• Hubvisory: French digital and data/AI transformation consultancy focused on mid-market and SME clients. Comparable to Optimia in targeting French SMEs for AI/data adoption and governance advisory.

Emerging players

• 360Learning: French-founded collaborative learning platform used by mid-market and enterprise firms for upskilling. Comparable to Optimia in addressing the AI upskilling need for SMEs, though as a generic LMS rather than an AI-specialized program.
• LightOn: French AI/ML platform provider building enterprise-grade LLM and AI applications for European businesses. Comparable to Optimia as a French sovereign-aligned AI vendor serving business users, though more product/platform than advisory.

Others

• OneTrust: Global privacy, governance, and AI governance / risk management software platform. Comparable to Optimia as an enabler of AI Act and GDPR compliance workflows for enterprises and SMEs, though as packaged software rather than boutique advisory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/julienoptimia

Compliance2 records

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 Optimia