The first half of 2025 confirms the place of Bpifrance as a systemic player in French tech, in a context marked by the contraction of venture capital and the slowdown in public funding of innovation. If the establishment has a high volume of high investments, its priorities move towards the consolidation of SCALE-UP and large strategic companies, to the detriment of priming and rupture projects.
Innovation and Deeptech in sub-regime
Funding from France 2030 experienced a sharp drop with -68 % for IPCEI H2 projects (571 million euros), -58 % for national acceleration strategies (238 million euros) and -53 % for I -NOV and I -demo competitions. Structuring projects in quantum, electronics and health are directly affected.
The Deeptech Venture funds have carried out around twenty operations for 51 million euros, slightly withdrawn from 2024, a dynamic which remains modest with regard to the ambitions displayed by France and Europe in the global technological competition.
Innovation capital: a shock absorber in times of crisis
Bpifrance invested 282 million euros in 89 startups in the first half, decreased 20 % compared to 2024. This volume remains significant while the French venture capital market fell by 35 % in value over the period, the establishment thus plays a role as a systemic shock absorber.
The majority of operations concern reinvestments in already supported companies, such as Qonto, Dalma, Veesion or Genesis Ai, limiting the emergence of new entrants. The life sciences, however, benefit from a notable dynamic, with investments in EG427, Inotrem, Ambos and Fizimed. Bpifrance thus concentrates its means on some sectors deemed priority.
Sovereign software and strategic industries
The rise in the development of the development capital directs part of the investments towards the SCALE-UP and the large technological companies. Out of 1.8 billion euros deployed in 84 companies, 1.6 billion comes from the wide CAP segment. Bpifrance entered the capital of Septeo, a French software publisher present on a European scale, and has strengthened its position in Exosens, a actor linked to the defense.
A dual under tension ecosystem
The assessment highlights a growing fracture with on the one hand, startups and young DeepTech shoots funded by smaller tickets subject to increased selectivity and on the other, SCALE-UP benefiting from heavy investments and a logic of consolidation.
