VKARD, the Vendée-based digital business card specialist, announced in a press release dated 10 September 2026 its acquisition of Cardynale, a digital networking platform founded in Nancy. The transaction covers the company’s assets.
Insight from the experts at Auris Finance, advisers in mergers and acquisitions and financial engineering.
VKARD and Cardynale belong to the same generation of young French companies operating in the connected business card segment, both founded in 2021 on an identical principle: replacing the paper card with an NFC card or QR code linking to a customisable digital profile. Cardynale, founded as JustOneCard by Antoine Payre and William Bellity, then engineering students at Mines de Nancy, offered NFC cards as well as an AI-powered contact scanner.
VKARD, founded by Thibaut and Nicolas Oger, emphasises its French manufacturing, carried out at its production workshop in Mouzeuil-Saint-Martin, in the Vendée, which opened in 2023. The company reports more than 45,000 business customers and holds ISO 27001:2022 certification. Its offering has gradually extended beyond the card itself, with an email signature solution for businesses.
Continuity of service for acquired users
The value of the transaction lies in the user base and the features developed by Cardynale. User profiles remain active and their data is transferred under the same confidentiality conditions, in compliance with the GDPR. These users will then have access to the full VKARD ecosystem, including CRM integrations, email signatures, custom forms, Apple and Google Wallet, and an AI-powered scanner.
This continuity is a decisive factor in a market where value lies less in the physical medium than in the associated digital profile and the contact data it aggregates. Any interruption of service would inevitably have led to the loss of part of the acquired user base.
A European market taking shape
The transaction forms part of VKARD’s growth strategy, which includes the launch of new services in the coming months, notably a CRM module and data enrichment features. It strengthens the company’s position in a European market that is still taking shape, where the digital business card is gradually becoming a professional standard.
The dynamics observed in this segment reflect a classic consolidation phase. After an emergence period marked by the simultaneous creation of numerous players around the same value proposition, the market is narrowing around those able to broaden their offering beyond the initial product. The connected card alone is an entry point with low technological barriers. Differentiation is shifting towards associated services, particularly customer relationship management, integration with existing office tools and automated contact processing.
For leaders of technology companies of comparable size, the transaction underlines the importance of timing. A tie-up with a larger partner, prepared in advance while the company still retains room for manoeuvre, secures valuation and negotiating terms far more favourable than those of a combination pursued under pressure.
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