Deep Tech: figures and an assumed course
The Deep Tech program, deployed with France 2030, aimed to put science back at the heart of the real economy through the creation of technological startups. The objective? Go from 160 to 500 Deep Tech startups created per year. In 2024, we already reached 385.
These startups are structured around three large pillars:
- Life sciences (Biotech, Digitalized Care Course)
- Green Tech (batteries, biodiversity, agritech)
- So-called “sovereign” technologies (AI, quantum, semiconductors)
“Startups are the best vector for transposing science into the real economy.”
The massive need for private capital
Bpifrance recognizes that the Deep Tech ecosystem is still too dependent on public funding. If the public bank assumes its engine role, the objective is to bring its share to 20 %, as in digital.
Problem: it will take 30 billion euros to finance series A and B for the next 6 years. The challenge is therefore to attract private capital, in particular European, and to create specialized funds.
“We have created the conditions. Now we have to drain the capital.”
Crypto: Understand to anticipate
The creation of a € 25 million fund specific to digital assets marks a turning point: Bpifrance wants to understand the infrastructures of the web3, not to speculate on cryptos.
Objective: identify technological bricks useful for finance and secondary market. The approach is modest but strategic: test by investing, without waiting.
“The crypto is not DIY. We want to understand by doing.”
Defense Tech: towards a dual civil/military model
Two specific funds (Definvest and Defense Innovation) support startups on the border between civil and military. Bpifrance pushes a logic of duality: AI, quantum, drones, space, so many technologies usable in both worlds.
But for the ecosystem to take off, it takes a cultural change in large groups and an acculturation of the defense sector to the startup model.
“The innovative purchase by the State is a key. The DGA must become a test customer.”
Paul-François Fournier pleads for a healthy intra-European competition (France, Germany, Netherlands, etc.) but a convergence on venture capital.
Objective: to make the A/B Series Funds grow in European range, attract international LPs and create a fluid capital market.
“We want a French -based French platform. And everyone plays European.”
Industrial exits: the next battle
If Deep Tech startups want to grow, you will have to generate outings. Bpifrance calls for a transformation of the culture of innovation of large groups: investing, buying, consolidating.
