With more than a thousand startups identified and 1.6 billion euros raised in 2024 by generative AI companies alone, France is positioned as the engine country of artificial intelligence within the European Union. The 2025 promotion of French Tech Next40/120 illustrates this dynamic, with 35 % of companies that place AI at the heart of their economic model, and 97 % that use it in their daily operations.
Among the winners, several actors concentrate the attention of investors and large groups: Mistral AI, with 600 million euros raised last year, develops foundation models open alternative to American offers. H Company, supported up to 200 million euros, affirms an orientation towards multi-agent AI systems. Gleamer specializes in diagnostic assistance in radiology, bioptimus in biomedical research, while Sekoia applies artificial intelligence to cybersecurity by automating threat detection.
This rise in the IA startups is accompanied by progressive integration in strategic sectors. Doctolib has thus announced the integration of a consultation assistant for doctors, while Electra is based on predictive models to optimize its charging stations. Spendesk, in finance, reduces manual entries by 80 % and accelerates accounting fences thanks to automation. In content, raw, Voodoo or MWM operate generative models to improve the production or personalization of interfaces.
“” While almost all promotion companies use artificial intelligence on a daily basis, and 35 % of them place AI at the heart of their value proposal, their role will be key to allow France to keep its European leadership on the subject “, Underlines Clara Chappaz, Minister Delegate responsible for artificial and digital intelligence.
This dynamic is also based on a coordinated public effort. The AI Action Summit organized in Paris in February 2025 marked a political desire to position France in international competition. Several companies from the NEXT40/120, such as Mistral AI, AQEMIA or H Company, come from the French Tech 2030 program supported by the France 2030 plan.
But the trajectory remains conditioned on capitalization, industrial scaling and ability to keep talent. If France stands out as a strong technological pole within Europe, the differences remain considerable with the United States, where financing towers regularly exceed one billion dollars, and where the models are drawn to hyperscalable infrastructure.
Recent industrial partnerships nevertheless show a strategic inflection. Mistral AI has signed an agreement of 100 million euros with CMA CGM to develop generative IA business applications. OVHCLOUD combined with PASQAL to deploy a European quantum cloud. Cooperation which is part of a logic of digital sovereignty, where vertical integration, from model to infrastructure, becomes a central issue.
In the short term, the consistency of public policies, access to markets and upmarket of solutions will determine the capacity of these startups to cross a new level. The 2025 promotion of French Tech Next40/120 suggests that the momentum is engaged. It remains to convert it.
The 2025 promotion of the Next 40
- Agryco *
- Alan
- Alice & Bob *
- Back market
- Blablacar
- Brevo *
- Chapsvision
- Clubfunding *
- Content
- Descartes Underwriting *
- Doctolib
- Ecocert / Ecovadis
- Ekwateur
- Electra
- Equativ
- Exotec
- Flying Whales *
- Gojob *
- Homa *
- Innovafeed
- Ledger
- Lehibou *
- MALT
- Mirakl
- Mistertemp ‘
- Mistral ai
- Nw
- Payfit
- Pennylane
- PIGMENT
- Qair
- Qonto
- Spendesk
- Swile
- Verkor
- Collective cloakroom
- Voodoo
- Weezevent
- Worldia *
- Zeplug *
Promotion 2025 of the Next 120
(*New entrants are also marked with an asterisk *))
- 360learning
- 52 Entertainment
- Bought *
- Adikteev
- Agicap
- Akeneo
- Akur8
- Alma
- Aqemia
- Bioptimus *
- Braincube
- RAW
- BUMP *
- Certideal
- ChargeMap *
- Corwate
- Deepki
- Driver
- Ekimetrics
- Elicit Plant *
- Energy Pool *
- Exotrail
- Fairmat
- Filigran
- Flowesk
- Foodles
- Freelance Republik
- Gleamer *
- Gravithy *
- Greenly
- Positive group
- H.AI (H Company) *
- Hellocse
- Imcheck Therapeutics
- Isuplier
- Iten
- Winter
- The beautiful life
- The fork
- The collectionist
- Libon
- Locala
- Madbox
- Matawan
- Medadom
- Metron
- Moon Surgical
- MyLIGHT150
- Mwm
- Odaseva
- Optamis
- Ornikar
- Yes
- Papernest
- Pasqal
- Pixmania
- Planity
- Platform.sh
- RESILIENCE
- Sekoia.io *
- Seyna
- Shares
- Shift Technology
- Shippeo
- Sparingvision
- Stockly
- Stych
- Superprof
- Swan
- Sweep
- Tissium
- Tse
- Ultra Premium Direct
- Unseenlabs
- Veesion
- Voltalis
- Waat
- WADERCRAFT
- Yubo
- Yespark *
