“La French Tech” raised more than €8.4 billion in the first half of 2022, an increase of 63% compared with the first half of 2021.
This is the strongest growth in investments in continental Europe, with France now well ahead of Germany (€6.26 billion, down -20%).
This performance is mainly due to the large number of transactions exceeding €100 million, a record since the creation of the EY French Venture Capital Barometer, which was published on July 18, 2022, for the first six months of the year.
In the first half of 2022, seven French unicorns were created: Ankorstore (€250 million raised), Ecovadis (€478 million), Exotec Solutions (€305 million), NW Group (€104 million), Payfit (€254 million), Qonto (€486 million) and Spendesk (€10 million).
However, the number of operations fell by 13% year-on-year (from 416 to 362).
In terms of sectors, software businesses are once again in pole position in France, with a six-fold increase in value compared with the first half of 2021 (€2.233 billion, compared with €390 million in the previous half-year), in contrast to the internet sector, which saw its funds down 29% (€1.703 billion, compared with €2.387 billion).
Fintech stands out as the second most attractive sector, with an increase of more than 86% in value (€2.025 billion, compared with €1.085 billion). CleanTech also fared very well, with its fundraising having quadrupled in value (€926 million, compared with €215 million).
Geographically, the Paris/Ile de France region remains undeniably the leading region in this ecosystem, with its startups having received 80% of the amounts raised and 67% of operations. Hauts de France moved into second place, with 5% of investments in value and 4% in number, followed by Nouvelle Aquitaine, in third, with 3% of investments in value and 9% in number.