CAILABS (IEU-FT) (EIB-20240490)

Countries
  • France
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • European Investment Bank (EIB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jul 30, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
CAILabs SAS
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Communications
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 42.28 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 37
Converted using 2025-07-30 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 85.71 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 75
Converted using 2025-07-30 exchange rate.
Media Documents
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EIB website

Updated in EWS Nov 3, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Oct 3, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the aim is to support the promoter in enhancing a proprietary laser communication technology, originally developed by the promoter, that mitigates atmospheric turbulence and enables safer, more reliable, and high-throughput communications between satellites and Optical Ground Stations (OGS), as well as between terrestrial points such as ship-to-ship or plane-to-drone, primarily for defence sector applications.

The Project is in line with the InvestEU objective of Space.The operation directly addresses some of EIB's core priorities, namely Digitalisation & Innovation and Security & Defence. The financing is pursued under the Tech-EU strategic investment programme.

The operation helps reduce reliance on non-European suppliers for key technologies enhancing Europe's technological sovereignty and strategic autonomy. Spill-over effects are expected across the supply chain and through up-skilling workforce, improving Europe's competitiveness in the global aerospace and defence sectors.

The EIB investment will strongly contribute to the Company's set up of an industrial-scale facility to fully grasp the market opportunity lying ahead. The EIB financing will also allow the company to further expand its R&D capabilities to deliver on its roadmap. The 3 year availability period associated with a long term maturity date and bullet repayment provide the Borrower with the flexibility it requires to focus on its growth.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The investments will concern mostly research and development (R&D) activities carried out in already existing facilities. The project does not fall under Directive 2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

A €37 million loan from the EIB and an additional €20 million from other key investors.

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Cailabs is a French deep-tech small business specialising in photonics applications, with a particular focus on proprietary laser communication technology that mitigates atmospheric turbulence.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - CAILabs SAS Client -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Contact: Andrea Morawski
Email: a.morawski@eib.org
Phone: +352 4379 - 83427

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/registers/request-form/request-form-default.htm

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EIB

The EIB Complaints Mechanism is designed to facilitate and handle complaints against the EIB by individuals, organizations or corporations affected by EIB activities. When exercising the right to lodge a complaint against the EIB, any member of the public has access to a two-tier procedure, one internal - the Complaints Mechanism Office - and one external - the European Ombudsman. A complaint can be lodged via a written communication addressed to the Secretary General of the EIB, via email to the dedicated email address: complaints@eib.org, by completing the online complaint form available at the following address: http://www.eib.org/complaints/form via fax or delivered directly to the EIB Complaints Mechanism Division, any EIB local representation office or any EIB staff. For further details, check: http://www.eib.org/attachments/strategies/complaints_mechanism_policy_en.pdf

When dissatisfied with a complaint to the EIB Complaints Mechanism, citizens can then turn towards the European Ombudsman. A memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the EIB and the European Ombudsman establishes that citizens (even outside of the EU if the Ombudsman finds their complaint justified) can turn towards the Ombudsman on issues related to 'maladministration' by the EIB. Note that before going to the Ombudsman, an attempt must be made to resolve the case by contacting the EIB. In addition, the complaint must be made within two years of the date when the facts on which your complaint is based became known to you. You can write to the Ombudsman in any of the languages of the European Union. Additional details, including filing requirements and complaint forms, are available at: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/atyourservice/interactiveguide.faces

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How it works