How is a company like Galeon valued?

The essentials in 30 seconds

A startup's valuation is one of the most widely misunderstood topics. It is often confused with revenue, whereas it answers a different question: how much is the company worth given what it will be able to produce tomorrow? For an unlisted company, this value cannot be read off a stock market. It is built, method by method.

Galeon is a good case study. This HealthTech builds an AI-boosted electronic health record (EHR), already deployed in 19 hospitals including 2 university hospitals, covering more than 3 million patient records and several thousand caregivers. Its proprietary hospital-to-hospital blockchain technology secures and adds value to medical data. These are all concrete assets that feed into a valuation.

A valuation does not measure what a company earned yesterday, but what it is able to create tomorrow. It is an estimate framed by methods, not a promise of return.

In this article, we first explain why a valuation is not revenue, then we detail the three methods recognised by professional investors. We then present the DCF analysis carried out for Galeon, the reasoning behind the €50M valuation, and finally the risks every investor should keep in mind.

Why is a valuation not the same as revenue?

A valuation is not revenue, nor even profit. It is the estimate of the company's total value, that is, of its ability to generate wealth in the future. Revenue is only one of the inputs to the calculation.

To understand the gap, four often-confused notions must be distinguished:

• Revenue: the money collected over a given period. It is a snapshot of the present, not a projection.
• Growth: the pace at which that revenue increases. The same revenue is worth far more if it doubles every year than if it stagnates.
• Addressable market: the total size of the need the company can capture (often called the TAM). It sets the ceiling on what the company can become.
• Enterprise value: the synthesis of all this, brought back to a single figure by a valuation method.

Two companies with the same revenue can be worth ten times more than one another. What makes the difference is growth, the recurring nature of revenue, and the size of the target market.

This is why a young HealthTech can show modest revenue while being valued at several tens of millions of euros: investors are paying for a trajectory and a market, not for an amount already banked.

Which methods do investors use to value an unlisted company?

Professional investors rely on three broad families of methods: comparables, sector transactions and DCF (Discounted Cash Flow). The golden rule: you never rely on a single method, you cross-check them to arrive at a defensible range.

The comparables method: positioning against the market

The comparables method consists of applying to the company a multiple observed on similar companies. For a SaaS startup, annual recurring revenue (ARR) is generally multiplied by a sector coefficient. If comparable companies are valued at around 6x their revenue, the same order of magnitude is applied.

Sector transactions: observing the prices actually paid

This approach looks at recent fundraising rounds and acquisitions of comparable companies. Unlike stock-market comparables, it reflects a price actually paid by a buyer. It is valuable for grounding a valuation in market reality, even if the detail of the terms often remains partly confidential.

DCF: projecting and discounting future flows

DCF projects the cash flows the company will generate in the coming years, then brings them back to their value today using a discount rate. This rate, high for a startup (often 15% to 25% or more), reflects risk: a euro expected in five years is worth less than a euro in hand today.

DCF is the most rigorous method on paper, but also the most sensitive to assumptions. Change the expected growth or the discount rate, and the result can vary threefold.

Here is a summary of these three methods:

Why do two investors value the same company differently?

Because a valuation is not a measurement, it is a judgement. Two investors can analyse exactly the same data and reach very different conclusions, without either of them being wrong.

Valuing a startup is not like estimating the price of a flat. Two investors can analyse the same figures and reach very different conclusions depending on their perception of risk, of the market, or of growth potential.

Concretely, the gap comes from a few variables that each investor weighs in their own way:

• Perception of risk: a cautious investor applies a higher discount rate, which mechanically reduces the value. A convinced investor does the opposite.
• Growth assumptions: assuming 30% or 60% annual growth radically changes the result of a DCF, even starting from the same revenue.
• Reading of the market: some estimate the addressable market as huge, others as narrower or more competitive.
• Horizon and strategy: a fund aiming to resell within 5 years does not value the same way as a long-term investor.

This is precisely why the same company can be estimated at €30M by one investor, €50M by another and more than €150M by a third. It is not that one is mistaken: each weighs risk and potential differently. Understanding this is essential to reading any valuation, including Galeon's: a figure only has meaning relative to the assumptions of whoever puts it forward.

What does the DCF analysis carried out for Galeon reveal?

At the request of investors, a DCF analysis was carried out on Galeon. Rather than a single figure, it produces four scenarios, each resting on a different set of assumptions about growth, adoption and data monetisation.

Between the optimistic scenario (€223M) and the stress scenario (€33M), the gap is nearly sevenfold. This is not an inconsistency: it is exactly what DCF reveals about a fast-growing company, whose value depends on the trajectory it will follow.

The lesson is essential for an investor: none of these four figures is "the" value of Galeon. They are bounds. The central scenario indicates what happens if the median assumptions materialise; the stress scenario shows the floor under adverse conditions. The truth lies somewhere within this range, and depends on execution.

Why is the valuation set at €50M?

With a DCF whose central scenario comes out at €145M and conservative scenario at €68M, the €50M valuation adopted deliberately sits below them. This choice reflects a logic of caution rather than optimism.

Four concrete elements justify this level, without overstating it:

• A real hospital footprint: 18 hospitals deployed, including 2 university hospitals, and one hospital is currently being deployed, which constitute proof of traction that is rare at this stage. There has not been a new hospital-wide DPI for several years; the market is clearly awaiting one.
• Recurring SaaS revenue, more predictable and better valued by the market than one-off revenue.
• Certifications and a healthcare compliance framework, valuable assets in a regulated market such as that of medical data.
• A large addressable European market, driven by the digital transformation of hospitals, the rise of data-driven medicine and the significant increase in demand for standardisation (European Health Data Space).

Setting €50M when the central DCF comes out at €145M means choosing to anchor the value on already-existing assets rather than on the promise of the best-case scenario.

To position Galeon relative to a typical tech startup, the following table compares the two valuation logics, criterion by criterion:

The essential point lies in the logic, not in a back-of-the-envelope calculation: the €50M valuation is set below the central (€145M) and conservative (€68M) DCF scenarios, and rests on already-existing assets. It is a choice of caution, not the mechanical result of a multiple applied to a revenue level.

What are the limits and risks of this valuation?

No valuation, however rigorous, constitutes a guarantee. Transparency about the limits is part of a sound investment approach. Here are the main risks to keep in mind.

• No guarantee: a valuation is an estimate at a given moment, not an assured resale price. It can move up as well as down.
• Uncertain projections: the DCF scenarios rest on assumptions about growth and adoption. If reality diverges from the assumptions, the value diverges too.
• Risk of capital loss: investing in an unlisted company exposes you to the total or partial loss of the amount invested.
• Liquidity risk: unlike a listed share, the securities of an unlisted company cannot be resold easily or quickly.
• Dependence on long cycles: in healthcare, hospital sales cycles and regulatory change (data-hosting framework, AI regulation) can slow the trajectory.

A credible valuation does not hide its risks: it names them. The figures presented here are scenarios dependent on assumptions, not forecasts of return.

FAQ — Your questions about Galeon's valuation

Why is Galeon valued at €50M?
Because this level deliberately sits below the central (€145M) and conservative (€68M) scenarios of the DCF analysis. It rests on real assets: 19 hospitals deployed, recurring SaaS revenue, healthcare certifications and a large addressable European market. It is a positioning of caution, not of optimism.

What is a DCF valuation?
DCF (Discounted Cash Flow) projects the company's future cash flows over several years, then brings them back to their value today via a discount rate that factors in risk. It is rigorous but highly sensitive to assumptions: that is why it is always presented as several scenarios.

How do you value an unlisted startup?
You cross-check three methods: comparables (multiples of similar companies), recent sector transactions and DCF. None is used on its own. The aim is to arrive at a defensible range, adjusted for growth, the recurring nature of revenue and market size.

Why can the same revenue lead to very different valuations?
Because value depends above all on growth, the recurring nature of revenue and the addressable market. A company whose revenue doubles every year in a huge market is worth far more than a stable company in a narrow market, at equal revenue.

What multiples apply to a HealthTech like Galeon?
According to the specialist M&A firm Nelson Advisors, the average revenue multiple for a European HealthTech sits between 4x and 6x, with an average of 4.8x in the first quarter of 2025 — against around 3.5x for the technology sector as a whole. Platforms with a strong AI and data component can aim for 6x to 8x revenue. These multiples remain sector benchmarks: they give an order of magnitude without transposing mechanically to a specific company.

Does the €50M valuation guarantee a return?
No. No valuation guarantees a return. Investing in an unlisted company exposes you to a risk of capital loss and illiquidity. The scenarios presented depend on assumptions that may not materialise.

In summary

Valuing an unlisted company like Galeon means estimating its future value using recognised methods — comparables, transactions and DCF — not reading off a revenue figure. These methods do not give a single number: two investors, from the same data, can arrive at very different values depending on their reading of risk and potential. The DCF analysis carried out for Galeon illustrates this, with four scenarios from €33M (stress) to €223M (optimistic), a central of €145M, each dependent on assumptions. The €50M valuation adopted deliberately sits below the central and conservative scenarios, anchored on real assets: 19 hospitals deployed, SaaS revenue, certifications and a large European market. The aim of this article is not to justify a price, but to show how investors reason when faced with a company like Galeon. There remains the absolute rule of any investment: no valuation guarantees a return, and the risk of capital loss and illiquidity remains real.

Sources

• Nelson Advisors, baromètres HealthTech européens 2025 — https://www.healthcare.digital/single-post/european-healthcare-technology-m-a-valuation-multiples-and-market-dynamics-report-by-nelson-advisor

• Aventis Advisors, SaaS Valuation Multiples 2015-2026 — https://aventis-advisors.com/saas-valuation-multiples/
• Windsor Drake, SaaS Valuation Multiples 2026 — https://windsordrake.com/saas-valuation-multiples/
• FOCUS Investment Banking, Healthcare EBITDA Multiples 2026 Dashboard — https://focusbankers.com/healthcare-ebitda-multiples/

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