On the occasion of Vivatech 2025, the government reaffirmed its commitment to a sovereign tech ecosystem, crossing a symbolic milestone with More than a billion euros in purchases made by large French groups from startupsas part of the program “I choose French Tech”. A strong signal addressed to the ecosystem at a time when commercial adoption is becoming more and more critical for young French shoots whose funding has dried up.
An assumed industrial adoption strategy
Present on the French Tech stand, François Bayrou defended the doctrine proposed by Clara Chappaz: “There is no conquest strategy for AI, digital, startups, only if the big ones help the little ones. This call for solidarity between large groups and startups echoes the strategic pivot of the French Tech mission, which now makes Public and private order a structuring innovation lever.
Initiated with Vivatech in 2023, the program “I choose French Tech” was designed to meet two dead ends, first of all the difficulty of startups in accessing commercial contracts, and now that the subject of sovereignty is again up to the taste of government, the persistent dependence of French companies with foreign technologies. In two years, 10 major French groups, Including EDF, Orange, CMA CGM, BPCE, Capgemini, Sopra Steria or the SNCF, have undertaken to buy solutions from French Tech, for a total cumulative 1 billion euros over the period 2024 /2026.
A dynamic that begins to produce tangible effects
The program claims more than 12,000 related to between startups and public or private buyers, and 600 companies committedincluding 100 large groups. In parallel, 1,500 startups were trained in public procurement via French Tech Academya free module developed with OpenClassrooms to respond to the legal and operational specificities of the public sector.
Concrete collaborations begin to emerge:
- Mistral ai accompanied CMA CGM In a strategic partnership of 100 million euros over 5 years around the integration of AI into logistics.
- Sweep work with Orange on environmental reporting.
- Gojob collaborate with Geodis (SNCF) To improve temporary recruitment.
- Mistertemp associates with La Poste on large -scale HR projects.
The ministries are mobilizing in turn
At the digital pavilion, The Minister of Public Service Laurent Marcangeli announced a partnership with Mistral AI To equip 10,000 agents from its conversational assistant Le Chat, with a long -term objective of making all the 5.7 million civil servants.
Around François Bayrou, Clara Chappaz (Minister Delegate for AI and Digital), Éric Lombard (Economy), Philippe Baptiste (Research) and Laurent Marcangeli defended a public policy turned to the structuring of an internal innovation marketsine qua not to the emergence of industrial champions.
An adoption diplomacy, more than a support plan
Beyond the displayed amount, the program is bent with the reality of the markets, it is no longer a question of financed, but buyto contract, and to integrate. By transforming purchasing directions into innovation vectors, notably via the DAPI program carried out with Bpifrance, the executive intends to bring out a French Tech reflex in the decision -making chains of large groups.
For the time being, the program remains focused on a dozen actors. But its gradual extension to other large companies, central administration and local communities could draw the contours of a true industrial tech policywhere the command becomes a full -fledged priming tool, as long as the decision -making bars are released.
