Wansquare, January 16, 2025, by Noémie Helvig
This company from northern France, with a proven export capability, is now seeing the entrepreneurial platform of Pascal Cagni—business leader and former high-ranking Apple executive—take a stake in its capital, making it fully French-owned. With this new investor, Crime Science Technology aims to accelerate its industrial development and, above all, maintain its technological edge thanks to its molecule that provides high-level security for official documents.
A French Shareholding for a Strategic and Sovereign Company
Crime Science Technology (C.S.T.), a company known for its technology that secures official documents, announced this Thursday the arrival of C4 Industries as a new shareholder. This move follows the exit of Covestro, the German industrial giant and world leader in high-tech polymers, as well as the Hauts-de-France regional fund, which typically supports companies in their early growth stages.
And who better to take on the role of a key investor than Pascal Cagni, the former Vice President and General Manager of Apple EMEIA (2000–2012), recruited by Steve Jobs himself? “Our shared goal is to become the Apple of security—an enterprise that has successfully addressed a strong market need through technological innovation,” C.S.T. President and founder Cosimo Prete told Wansquare.
Although Pascal Cagni also serves as the Chairman of Business France, his involvement in C.S.T. is through his investment platform, recognized for having made over 50 startup investments, 9 of which have become unicorns.
A Proven Model and Technology
This investment comes as the company prepares for a structured capital increase, although C.S.T. is already highly profitable. Its revenue growth rate exceeds 50%, and its recurring revenues provide visibility over 5 to 7 years on average. “Our industrial asset operates like SaaS, but over the long term,” explains Cosimo Prete. However, he warns that “the biggest enemy of an entrepreneur is time. We must quickly access the right resources to capitalize on our strengths.”
And strengths, C.S.T. has plenty. “To understand our technology, we need to go back to our initial observation,” explains Prete, a former forensic expert specializing in document fraud. “When we talk about identity papers, it’s actually a misnomer, because today they are made of plastic. However, this transition has made them less secure. We had the opportunity to create the first truly secure plastic: we developed a molecule that changes color depending on the angle of observation and the environment, which we integrate directly into the material. We then adapted this technology into an ink,” he adds.
The full article is available to subscribers. Visit the Wansquare website for more details.
