Force-A, a spinoff company of the French National Research Center (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, or CNRS), announced it has raised €2.25 million ($3 million) in a first round of financing from a group of investors led by SGAM AI (Société Générale Alternative Investment), and including funds from high-technology investors Scientipôle Capital and iXCore. Force-A was founded in 2004 by Jean-Luc Ayral and Zoran Cerovic, scientific researcher at CNRS in Orsay, France. The company, which employs seven, makes Dualex leaf clips and Multiplex optical sensors for crop monitoring and management. The funding will enable it to accelerate sensor development and reinforce its sales and marketing force, the company said.