While venture capital continues to reconfigure in a post-zirp climate marked by prudence, May 2025 brought out several weak, and strong signals on technological priorities and investor expectations. From artificial intelligence industrialized to the new borders of digital sovereignty, this is what these 40 recent funds say of the market.
AI comes out of the hype, between business infrastructure and assisted productivity
With Tamtam,, Noota,, Seqone,, Alta Ares,, Vsora Or Kalentthe projects funded this month are no longer content to graft a layer of AI on an existing product. They structure it in depth: engine of genomic analysis, HR assistant, sales co-pilot or inference processor.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a technological supplement, it becomes an operational base.
The levees finance industrial applications above all: vertical, sovereign, specific AI. Startups that lift are not the most “sexy”, but those that translate a Actual and measurable business adoption.
Hardware, health, sovereignty: the return of “hard to do”
The hard tech returns to the field. Vsora (IA processors), Chipiron (MRI with weak field), Aircraft (electrical airships), Hemerion (laser + cancer), Wemet (connected objects), technical, capitalist, long to industrialize projects … and yet funded.
This revival is explained by:
- More marked public support (grants, innovation debt)
- A refocusing of VCs on strong technological leverage projects
- A growing demand for industrial independence (defense, energy, health)
Cybersecurity and defense are offensive
Two key segments concentrate attentions: cybersecurity (with Memority,, Dastra,, Orasio) and digital sovereignty tools (critical data, surveillance, tactical AI).
These startups are not only positioned as shieldsbut like command systems To better use data in a fragmented world. This also reflects a turn in the Early-Stage investment: less “compliance” vision, no more integrated geopolitical strategy.
The post-platform era: towards specialized SaaS, sober and aligned business
Of Didask has ENSWEETof Reelerable has Inicioa trend is emerging, that of SaaS publishers that are both sober (few lifting, little burned cash) and ultra-specialized. We are far from the “Growth at all costs” models, these companies are targeting Intermediate marketswith a well anchored product in a business problem.
- B2B positioning assumed
- Model by dominant subscription
- Few debts, few acquisitions: priority to retention
A French Tech that is anchored in industrial transitions
Finally, these lifes show that French tech returns to the fundamentals: energy transition, health, sovereignty, education, mobility.
It is not the “fashionable” themes that attract the most capital, but the projects capable of solving concrete problems with a viable economic model.
Examples:
- Inicio For photovoltaic optimization
- Russe For carbon certification
- ECOMER For the energy performance of ships
- Cleanmob For fleet management
Listed VC side signals of a recomposition to be monitored
Three fracture lines deserve attention:
-
VC Product vs vc sovereignty
Some investors remain focused on product performance (Kima, Elaia), while others align with systemic issues (Bpifrance, FRST, Starburst). This cleavage reflects an increasing tension between agility market And long -term strategic priorities. -
Opportunistic capital vs commissioned capital
The appearance of priming towers in cybersecurity, defense or climate certification suggests a partial shift to a geopolitical or regulatory capitaloften supported by public institutions or impact theses. -
Assumed verticalization of IA and SaaS theses
The logic “Horizontal SaaS for all” gives way to hyper-specialized solutions: AI for the police, SaaS for oncology, HR platforms doped for automation. Startups that lift are those that translate AI into Concrete business value.
Of course, this is an instantaneous. But in a context of global tightening of financing, what investors choose to support becomes a Advanced indicator of their deep priorities. And this month of May confirms an evolution towards sober, integrated models, and aligned with the critical issues of the present time.
What to remember from key figures for the month
- Total lifted (sample analyzed) : ~ 275 million euros
- Middle round (excluding grants and debts) : € 8.2 million
- Dominant economic model : 62 % of startups are on subscription
- B2B Ultra-majority : 80 % of liftings relate to a professional market
- Seed and A series concentrated the deals : Little visible late-teeting
In a few words
May 2025 does not sign an explosion of venture capital, but a strategic repositioning, investors now seek Resilient technologiesof the real markets and differentiated usesfar from speculative bubbles.
