Magic LEMP: a multimodal AI solution presented at the International Summit for Action on AI

Education often plays a key role in the encounters that shape life paths. This was certainly the case for Raphael-David Lasseri and his business partner Thomas Epalle, who met during their studies at ENS Paris-Saclay. "We met at university and although our research careers took different directions, we reconnected after completing our respective theses in physics to found Magic LEMP," says Raphael-David Lasseri. Unlike many of the region's startups, Magic LEMP did not emerge from a direct application of the co-founders' research, but was an application of their ideas as researchers.
They began with the observation that, despite significant progress in this field, researchers still tend to remain somewhat disconnected from real-world economic and societal challenges. This was the thinking behind the start-up Magic LEMP, a private research and development (R&D) laboratory dedicated to AI. "We have employees and researchers working across different fields, in direct contact with both business and societal issues," explains the entrepreneur.
 

Trustworthy, multimodal AI solutions

Today, AI is an important and integral part of everyday life. However, its rapid development creates several challenges, particularly in terms of performance and reliability. Two technical principles that guided Raphael-David Lasseri, CEO, and Thomas Epalle, Managing Director, in shaping Magic LEMP's approach to offer AI solutions tailored to business needs.
The two Ecole Normale Supérieure alumni are focusing on multimodal solutions, i.e. systems capable of processing, analysing and combining multiple types of content: audio, image, text and video. They have designed these solutions in such a way as to make them trustworthy. In other words, these solutions can quantify the uncertainty behind the answers given. "Unlike AI systems such as ChatGPT, or other large language models (LLM), our systems don't just provide an answer, but add a quantification of the likelihood of error in that response," explains Raphael-David Lasseri.
 

Diagnosis, consulting and training: a winning combination!

These two technical principles have led to the development of tailor-made solutions for companies, similar to a consulting firm. This is what makes Magic LEMP's service offer so unique; it sits at the intersection of a start-up developing technical tools and a consulting firm advising on strategy. "We bring both a technical DNA and strategic expertise," confirms Raphael-David Lasseri.
Magic LEMP therefore offers a three-phase service. It begins with an initial diagnostic phase, which is followed by its core business, R&D. However, the start-up aims to build long-term relationships with its customers, ensuring that they understand and integrate the proposed solutions into their daily routine, and so Magic LEMP also incorporates a training phase. "This approach reflects our background - we've never really left the research model. We have an educational dimension because, for our system to grow and endure, it's essential to educate people who understand the technologies and the related challenges," says the co-founder.

Pluralisme, the subsidiary that analyses public statements

Once a sufficient level of technological maturity is reached, Magic LEMP's multimodal AI solutions are then distributed more broadly through products or dedicated subsidiaries. "Two years ago, we worked on issues related to access to information, particularly during election periods. Based on this work, we created a subsidiary called Pluralisme," reveals Raphael-David Lasseri.
Pluralisme leverages local technologies for transcription, video and voice analysis and large language models to listen to public speech. This system simultaneously analyses television, radio and selected social media channels to identify and authenticate a public figure. Once a speaker has been identified, their statements are transcribed and tagged by theme to generate analyses and summaries of the political landscape. "This is our main focus. We're currently tracking almost 3,000 public figures in France and many more worldwide," explains the co-founder.

Serving digital sovereignty

Although Magic LEMP's targets a wide range of sectors, from banking and insurance to knowledge management, the defence sector has become strategically important for the start-up.
Today's geopolitical instability combined with new ways of consuming news often lead to disinformation or manipulation of public opinion. This calls into question the quality of information and the health of democracies. "Digital sovereignty is becoming a major issue for France, and even beyond. Our role is to provide tools that support a public debate based on reliable information and encourage critical thinking among citizens," explains Raphael-David Lasseri. Magic LEMP is therefore contributing to the debate on major issues: How can we better detect fake news? How can we raise awareness around certain types of information manipulation? How can sovereign AI be used for business efficiency?
It is within this framework that Pluralisme was selected as one of the French solutions showcased to world leaders at the International Summit for Action on AI, hosted by the Élysée Palace in Paris in mid-February. The start-up will also shortly take part in a hackathon with the French Ministry of the Interior and several other laboratories on the detection of deep fakes.
In addition, Magic LEMP took part in Viva Technology 2024, where the start-up, in association with Les Echos and Make.org, unveiled a tool capable of listening to conversations throughout the event, cross-referencing points of view and identifying trends. "Sometimes, at trade shows, you don't have the time or the inclination to be everywhere at once. The idea was to generate an analysis of everything that had been said by the end of the event," Raphael-David Lasseri explains. When asked if he plans to repeat the project at the 2025 event, the entrepreneur smiles and replies: "It's under discussion."