A KPMG study.
This report notably highlights the maintenance of a high level of investment in the French tech ecosystem, despite a slight slowdown in its growth:
• 11.9 billion euros were raised in 2022 by 358 French Tech startups, with an average ticket of 33 million euros, with an increase of 19% compared to 2021;
• Investment operations were initiated mainly by venture capital funds (46%) and private equity funds (23%);
• As in 2021, fundraising is mainly in Île-de-France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but many regions are making progress;
• Sustainability Tech has grown exponentially in recent months (131%), thanks to 3,068 million euros raised through 67 operations.
A turbulent year for French French Tech
After a year 2021 characterized by an extremely rapid growth of investments in French start-ups, the year 2022, characterized by the conflict in Ukraine and by a strong inflation of the costs of energy and raw materials, has instead seen a slowdown of this rise in power. This slowdown, which mainly manifested itself during the second half of the year, in particular with a slight decrease in the average ticket per transaction, from 34 million euros in 2021 to 33 million euros in 2022, as well as an overall decrease in enhancements.
However, this relative slowdown shouldn’t overshadow the continued increase in the number of deals, as well as the overall amount raised by French tech players. In 2022, in fact, 11.9 billion euros were raised by 358 companies, with an average ticket of 33 M€, with an increase of 19% compared to the previous year. These fundraisers are mostly located in Île-de-France (223 operations), followed by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (33 operations) and New Aquitaine (20 operations), all with local mechanisms in favor of entrepreneurship and innovation. In this context, the investors identified this year are mainly venture capital funds (46%) and private equity funds (23%), with a decrease in foreign investors, particularly in transactions above 100 million euros. Corporates and institutionals, meanwhile, account for just 10% and 8% of investors, respectively.
Strong growth of Sustainability Tech
The year 2022 also gave rise to the acceleration of the development of new segments of the ecosystem, first of all Sustainability Tech, which benefited from the growing interest of companies in ESG issues. The latter thus recorded a growth of 131%, with 3,068 million euros collected through 67 operations. Martech has also accelerated its development, with a growth of 67% and 1,100 million euros raised. Beyond these two sectors, the French ecosystem continues to develop more broadly, with an upward trajectory also for BioTech (+35%) which constitutes the third best segment, Fintech (+13%) which represents the second best segment with 2,582 million euro and human capital technology (+7%).