Paris-based agentic AI startup H Company has undergone another leadership change, with co-founder Laurent Sifre stepping down as chief technology officer. According to Sifted, Sifre has moved into a non-operational position as head of the company’s scientific council, while Raphaël Millière has succeeded him as CTO. The transition comes nearly two years after H Company raised a $220 million seed round in May 2024.
A Pattern of Executive Reshuffling
Sifre’s move follows several changes within H Company’s founding and executive team. In August 2024, cofounders Karl Tuyls, Daan Wierstra, and Julien Perolat left the startup because of what the company described as “operational differences.” Their departures left Sifre and Charles Kantor as the two remaining members of the original five-person founding team.
The company made another governance change in June 2025 by appointing Gautier Cloix as chief executive officer. Cloix, previously CEO of Palantir France, replaced Kantor, who remained involved as an important shareholder rather than an operational executive. Sifre continued as CTO and became the only original cofounder still holding a day-to-day management position.
Pivoting Towards Product and Scale
H Company has not described Sifre’s transition as a formal strategic pivot, but the change separates scientific oversight from operational technology leadership. In his new position, Sifre can contribute through the scientific council without retaining responsibility for daily executive functions. The arrangement preserves his involvement while placing technical operations under a new CTO.
Millière brings an interdisciplinary background spanning artificial intelligence, cognitive science, language models, and philosophy. Sifted reported that he would succeed Sifre as CTO as H Company continues developing and deploying its products. However, the available reporting does not establish that his appointment was intended to counter named competitors or complete a predetermined commercialization strategy.
Advancing the Frontier of Agentic AI
H Company develops agentic AI systems designed to perform actions within digital environments rather than only generate responses to individual prompts. Its technology focuses on breaking assignments into multiple steps, interpreting interfaces, and carrying out tasks across software applications. The company has positioned these capabilities for enterprise use cases involving computer interaction and workflow automation.
On March 31, 2026, H Company released Holo3, a family of computer-use models trained to execute workflows in synthetic enterprise environments. The company said its largest Holo3 model achieved a score of 78.85% on the OSWorld-Verified benchmark and was engineered for production deployment. Holo3 was presented as a foundation for agents that can operate across many digital interfaces, not as a system guaranteed to work flawlessly on every interface.
Broader Implications for the AI Sector
The leadership transition illustrates a challenge facing research-led AI startups as they build commercial products and formalize executive responsibilities. Founders with scientific backgrounds may remain influential while operational duties move to executives focused on engineering, deployment, or business execution. In H Company’s case, the scientific council role provides continuity, but the restructuring’s long-term effect cannot yet be determined.
The change also arrives as H Company expands its products and works with enterprise users on computer-use applications. Its progress will depend on whether its models can perform reliably, integrate into business environments, and deliver value beyond benchmark results. Sifre’s new role and Millière’s appointment should therefore be viewed as an organizational development, not proof that the company has completed its transition into a scaled infrastructure provider.
Ultimately, Laurent Sifre’s departure from the CTO position marks another stage in H Company’s evolving governance. He remains connected to the startup through a scientific leadership role, while Millière assumes responsibility for its technology organization under CEO Gautier Cloix. The revised structure clarifies responsibilities, but its commercial and technical impact will become clear only through future product performance and customer adoption.
Source: Sifted