From Research to Scaleup
Pioneering trustworthy, actionable, and compliant AI — powered by ante-hoc self-explainability, not post-hoc approximations.
We believe AI must be understandable, governable, and sovereign. Xpdeep's mission is to make deep learning explainable and accountable by design, enabling enterprises to deploy AI they can trust, certify, and continuously improve.
Our mission
We believe the future of AI must be transparent, traceable, and sovereign. Xpdeep's mission is to deliver deep learning that is explainable by design, enabling enterprises to understand, trust, certify, and optimize their AI systems across their entire lifecycle.
Our ante-hoc approach builds models that explain themselves natively — powering safer deployment, stronger governance, and actionable intelligence in real-world, high-stakes environments. Explore the platform.
Our Core Technology: From Research to Industrial-Grade AI
Since 2018, Xpdeep's core technology has been developed through long-term scientific research in deep learning explainability.
From 2018 to 2023, this work was conducted within Université Grenoble Alpes, one of Europe's leading centers for artificial intelligence, applied mathematics, and industrial systems research.
During this period, a significant research team worked on the foundations of self-explainable deep learning, focusing on models that can expose their internal reasoning, support counterfactual analysis, and remain aligned with real-world operational and regulatory constraints.
In April 2023, this research effort transitioned from the laboratory to industry with the creation of Xpdeep as a deep-tech company.
Since then, the same core technology has been continuously extended, hardened, and industrialized to meet the demands of high-stakes environments, including automotive, aerospace and defense, energy, healthcare, and other regulated industries.
Xpdeep is a startup founded in 2023.
Its technology, however, is the result of years of prior research, not a short-term product initiative.
Who we are
Xpdeep was founded by researchers and engineers who saw that traditional AI could not meet the transparency, safety, and accountability required in real-world environments. Our work builds on several years of academic research initiated well before the creation of the company.
Our team spans aerospace, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and defense. We are headquartered in Grenoble, France, a global center of AI, semiconductors, and industrial innovation, with an expanding international footprint.
We are united by one belief: AI must be understandable, certifiable, and human-aligned. Join us as we continue to grow.
Our leaders
Xpdeep is led by two complementary founders:
Ahlame Douzal is a senior researcher in artificial intelligence, a research director, and a deeptech entrepreneur. She is currently CSO & CTO and co-founder of XPDEEP, and the original inventor of the natively explainable deep learning solution that forms the scientific and technological foundation of the company. A researcher at Université Grenoble Alpes for over 20 years, she has led cutting-edge research, supervised more than a dozen PhD candidates, and published over 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Since 2023, together with Stanislas Chesnais, she has been leading the industrialization and deployment of this AI technology within XPDEEP, in collaboration with major industrial groups and IT services companies, and with the support of numerous national and European innovation programs.
Stanislas Chesnais is a serial entrepreneur and technology executive with more than three decades of experience building and scaling innovative software, hardware, and SaaS businesses. He is the CEO and co-founder of Xpdeep, a deep-tech company developing a self-explainable and actionable deep learning engine for regulated and critical environments. Prior to Xpdeep, he co-founded and led 3dRudder, a patented foot-powered 3D and VR controller with applications in gaming, CAD, and accessibility. Earlier in his career, he founded Netsize and grew it into a global leader in mobile payments and messaging, reaching over $110M in revenue, 220 employees, and operations across 23 countries before its acquisition by Gemalto. Stanislas has also held multiple board roles and executive positions in SaaS, mobile, and digital services, combining strong product innovation, international business development, and scale-up expertise. He holds an MBA in Product Innovation from Drexel University and a diploma in new product innovation from ESCP Business School.
Together, they unify scientific excellence with real-world impact.
Our story
Xpdeep's story begins in academic research, not in a startup garage. The foundations of the technology were laid through multi-year research programs involving researchers, engineers, and domain experts working on explainability, trust, and certification of deep learning systems.
Xpdeep began in 2018 when co-founder Ahlame Douzal, then an AI researcher and lecturer, collaborated with clinicians on a prostate cancer prediction model. Despite excellent performance, physicians hesitated to use it because they could not understand its reasoning.
This revealed a fundamental truth: If humans can't understand an AI system, they cannot trust it — especially in safety-critical fields.
Ahlame's scientific breakthrough led to a new approach: self-explainable deep learning. Together with co-founder Stanislas Chesnais, the team transformed this concept into a full industrial framework.
Through large-scale programs like Confiance.ai and partnerships with industrial leaders, Xpdeep evolved into a sovereign, enterprise-grade European AI platform. Learn more about our unified workbench.
Our commitment
Innovation, transparency, and customer success drive everything we build.
We invest equally in research and in listening to our users — data scientists, engineers, risk teams, operations leaders, and executives. Many of Xpdeep's most impactful innovations were co-designed with early adopters who needed AI they could trust, certify, and deploy in critical environments.
Have questions or want to explore how Xpdeep can help? Contact us.
Our long-term vision is clear: AI you can trust, for every critical decision.
A scientific moat eight years deep
Xpdeep's technology is the result of sustained research initiated in 2018 and continuously developed ever since, combining academic rigor with industrial deployment.
This proprietary foundation forms a scientific moat that is extremely difficult to replicate — strengthened by ongoing research and industrial deployment.
Xpdeep is not simply a product. It is the foundation of the next generation of trustworthy AI.
A Framework Built to Meet the World's Toughest Standards (Including EU AI Act & ISO).
Discover Our Partner Ecosystem
Xpdeep collaborates with leading enterprises, IT services firms, and research institutions to accelerate the adoption of transparent, certifiable, and actionable AI across critical sectors.