In 2023, French Tech shows its resilience by catching up with the UK. According to Atomico's latest report, investment in European technology is set to reach $45 billion this year, marking the third most lucrative year on record after 2021 and 2022. France is poised to consolidate its second position behind the UK.
Challenges and caution for venture capital investors
Over the past year, venture capitalists have become increasingly cautious due to the uncertain economic climate, making it more difficult for founders to raise funds. According to Atomico's "State of European Tech" report , this caution has led to a decline of almost 45% in capital invested in Europe, in line with the global decline of 39% on average.
Resilience and growth for European startups
However, despite these challenges, the European tech ecosystem is showing its resilience by generating more promising startups than in the US. In France alone, the share of new startups has risen from 18% in 2019 to 22% in 2023. What's more, Europe has accumulated $3 trillion this year, matching the amount recorded in 2021.
Consolidation of France's position in second place
Although fundraising in Europe is down on the previous year, France maintains its position in second place in terms of capital raised, with a total of $8 billion, closely followed by Germany with $7.8 billion. The UK remains in the lead with $12.7 billion.
Tibi Initiative: leverage to narrow the gap
To bridge this gap, the French government launched phase 2 of the Tibi initiative last June, releasing €7 billion of institutional capital for seed investments, particularly in deeptech and cleantech.
Perspectives and strategies for advancing Europe
To catch up, Europe should capitalize on its attractiveness for technological talent and its potential forinnovation in artificial intelligence. What's more, by focusing on resolving the major challenges facing humanity, particularly in the energy and climate change sectors, Europe could further distinguish itself on the global technology scene.
At the 2024 CES in Las Vegas, France was the second most represented country with 150 startups on site, most of them integrating artificial intelligence technologies. Competing with ChatGPT, France's Mistral AI, founded in April 2023, is the only French unicorn of the year, with a valuation of 2 billion euros. According to a ranking based on a user satisfaction assessment, its open source model is already superior to some versions of the leader, ChatGPT (according to huggingface.co data). Mistral AI has succeeded in raising 385 million euros to "create a European champion with a global vocation in artificial intelligence", according to CEO Arthur Mensch.
