French startup FINGREEN AI is terminating its activities following the revision of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) as part of the Omnibus Simplification Package, which profoundly restricts the scope of companies required to publish sustainability reporting. In fact, this regulatory change deprives the company of its target market and renders its economic model obsolete.
Founded to support mid-sized companies in their compliance obligations, FINGREEN AI had designed a platform intended for organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees, initially included in the scope of the CSRD. Its product leverages artificial intelligence models to automate data collection, measure environmental impact and structure regulatory reporting. Removing this business segment from the mandatory scope erases the customer base that was supposed to support its growth.
The Omnibus Simplification Package, proposed in February, raises the thresholds for application of the text: only companies with more than 1,000 employees and a minimum of 50 million euros in turnover or 25 million euros in assets remain concerned. The enlargement envisaged by the European Parliament, targeting a threshold of 1,750 employees and 450 million euros in turnover, further accentuates the contraction of the market. According to FINGREEN AI, nearly 94% of companies initially covered by the directive are now exempt.
The text also pushes back deadlines: reporting obligations for “Wave 2” companies are postponed from 2026 to 2028, and those for “Wave 3” from 2027 to 2029. These changes reduce the urgency of compliance projects, weaken internally planned budgets and shift purchasing cycles by two additional years, directly affecting technological solutions intended for the mid-market.
In a press release, the company believes that this revision “delays essential progress towards comparable and transparent ESG data, necessary for sound capital allocation, risk management and long-term resilience”. She sees this as a strategic step backwards for Europe, which had positioned itself as a pioneer in terms of sustainability standards.
Despite its closure, FINGREEN AI boasts a positive track record with the implementation of automated compliance tools, the development of specialized AI models and several partnerships with consulting firms and organizations committed to the sustainable transition. The startup finally highlights the need to quickly clarify the European regulatory framework to restore visibility for companies and ESG technology providers. The startup has been awarded multiple times, IE-Club Global Leader Award, Audience Choice Award at COP29
Since its creation in 2022, the startup has raised 1 million euros from Plug and Play, Habert Dassault Finance and Blackwood Ventures.
