A conversation with Alan cofounder and CTO Charles Gorintin

Silicon Valley training, French mission

After acquiring technological skills at Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, Gorintin returned to France to build Alan, driven by a desire to create meaningful societal impact and personal family experiences with healthcare.

Scaling against structural odds

Launched in 2016 when France lacked experienced tech leaders to mentor startups, Alan grew to 4 million members, €800 million ARR, and 35,000 business clients by combining Silicon Valley engineering with reinvented organizational culture.

From zero to global ambition

The French tech scene has evolved from having practically no scaled leaders in 2016 to hosting billion-dollar companies capable of building global ecosystems, though still behind US and Chinese scale.

Building government trust through delivery

Alan broke the "nobody gets fired for buying IBM" barrier by winning major government contracts (Ministries of Ecology and Finance, Prime Minister's office) through proven operational competence, not just innovation.

Sovereignty through private excellence

Gorintin argues that creating large, successful tech players is essential for economic and geopolitical sovereignty, requiring startups to earn public sector trust by delivering reliably at scale.

Go early, accept initial failure

Against advice that 2020 was "too early," Alan expanded internationally immediately, recognizing that replicating success abroad takes years; competitors who stayed domestic risk being trapped in single markets for decades.

Rebuilding from first principles

The team rebuilt operations from scratch in each of four countries due to healthcare system differences, then globalized the platform by identifying common themes while preserving localized experiences.

Universal biology as advantage

While regulations differ, the human body remains constant across borders, allowing Alan to build globally compatible health products that address universal needs.

Three-pillar AI adoption framework

Alan adopted AI in 2022 with clear objectives: boosting team productivity, improving process efficiency and quality, and creating previously impossible new products like their medical agent MO.

MO medical agent performance

Built from first principles by engineer Antoine Lisé, MO now handles consultations where 80% of users prefer it over waiting 30 minutes for a doctor, with 95% of AI answers rated good or excellent by reviewing physicians.

The shift to agentic AI

Gorintin distinguishes between the chatbot revolution and the current agentic revolution, where AI performs tasks autonomously, fundamentally changing how healthcare and other industries operate.

European autonomy through Mistral

As an operational co-founder of Mistral, he emphasizes that dependence on American AI providers like OpenAI creates geopolitical vulnerability; building European champions ensures strategic insurance against decoupling while driving demand for local infrastructure.