Withings founder's family takes 90% as four investors exit
Eric Carreel and his children Clémence and Bruno have bought back about 30% of the French connected health device maker from Gilde Healthcare, Bpifrance, Eurazeo and Oddo BHF. Terms were not disclosed.
The family of Eric Carreel, chairman and co-founder of Withings, now controls 90% of the French maker of connected health devices after buying back about 30% of the capital from four investors, Les Echos reported. The sellers are Gilde Healthcare, Bpifrance, Eurazeo and Oddo BHF. The financial terms were not disclosed.
Gilde Healthcare was the largest financial investor with about 15%, while the other three shared the rest of the stake, according to Capital Finance. Carreel's daughter Clémence and son Bruno, who work at the company, join him as owners.
Who owns Withings now
Clémence Carreel is chief business officer for the consumer business and Bruno Carreel is chief research officer, Les Echos and FrenchWeb report. After the deal, about 7% of the capital stays with four historic investors, BNP Paribas Développement, the 2050 fund, Adélie Capital and ACE & Company, and about 3% belongs to employees and former staff, according to Les Echos.
Les Echos describes the aim as building a long-term family-owned mid-sized company (an ETI in French terms) in connected health. Carreel told the paper he was happy that his children see meaning in the company's work and decided to join.
A company that has been bought back before
Withings was founded in 2008 by Eric Carreel, Cédric Hutchings and Frédéric Potter and is based in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, FrenchWeb notes. It became known for connected scales and blood pressure monitors. In April 2016 the Finnish group Nokia acquired the company, and CFNews puts the price at EUR 170 million. Two years later Nokia sold the connected health business back to Eric Carreel, and the Withings brand returned.
In July 2020 Withings raised EUR 53 million in a round led by Gilde Healthcare, Idinvest Partners and Bpifrance, with BNP Paribas Développement, Oddo BHF and Adélie Capital also taking part, FrenchWeb recalls. Capital Finance notes that the exit comes six years after that round.
From gadgets to medical devices
Since then the company has pushed its products further into medical use. Its Body Scan 2 scale, which won an award at CES in January 2026, analyses 60 biomarkers linked to heart function, arterial health, blood sugar regulation and cell metabolism, Les Echos writes. FrenchWeb reports that Withings spends between 20% and 27% of its revenue on research and development each year and counts 170 published studies, 31 of them in 2025.
The path has not been smooth. FrenchWeb reported in 2023 that Withings had revenue of EUR 93 million and a loss of EUR 19 million in 2022, after more than EUR 100 million in revenue in 2021. The company has since said it reached profitability in the 2025 financial year and expects revenue to grow 20% in 2026, financed by its own business, according to FrenchWeb. Withings Health Solutions, its business with health professionals and organisations, accounted for 17% of revenue according to figures released in July.
What it means for European founders and investors
Founder buybacks of this kind are rare in European tech. Most venture-backed companies end in a sale to a larger group, an IPO or a secondary sale to other funds. Withings is an example of a founder who sold to a corporate, bought the business back, and has now taken out his financial investors to secure family control.
For founders, the deal shows that profitability changes the options. A company that funds its own growth does not need to raise again on investors' terms, and can consider more patient forms of ownership. For venture and growth investors, it is a reminder that exits do not always come from trade sales or listings. A negotiated buyback by founders can return capital, although the price here has not been made public, so it is not possible to judge the return.
The deal also fits a wider debate in France about how to keep successful tech companies independent and anchored at home, rather than selling them to foreign buyers. FrenchWeb describes Withings as one of the few Western companies combining hardware, software and health data at a time when few Western players have managed to compete with China in this field. The Carreel family is betting that long-term private ownership gives Withings more room to invest in medical-grade products and services than a new round of outside capital would.
The open questions are the ones every family-controlled company faces: how it will finance larger moves, such as international expansion in healthcare services, and how governance will work with a small group of minority investors. Les Echos notes that four historic investors remain on board.
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