“Investors hate vagueness.”

The number of fundraising operations for new French companies decreased by 60% in the first 2025 semester for a year, a worrying sign for the survival of many young companies, according to the barometer of a consulting firm published on Tuesday.

Behind this “brutal contraction”, which also refers to the amounts raised, 34% less than compared to the first half of 2024, hides a “deep recomposition” of the French risk capital, in particular for the benefit of the sectors perceived as structuring, indicates the study of the growth of extensive innovation.

The risk capital includes capital operations of private or public funds in promising young companies, which do not appear in the stock market, in order to carry out a substantial capital gain when this participation is resailed.

“In 2024, the tickets (inverted amounts, the editor’s note) the little ones, those who arrive from business life, had resisted quite well,” Nicolas Forey, associate president of In Innovation Growth of Exenso Innovation told AFP.

“They play their survival”

In the first half, 65% of the amounts focused on series B or beyond (C, D, etc.), that is, a more advanced stage of development than the first steps of a company that involves amounts of several tens of millions of euros.

However, behind this polarization and the general decrease in high amounts is “potentially the survival” of new companies, Nicolas Forey emphasizes.

The barometer also indicates that the reduction in risk capital is more marked in France than in Europe, where the quantities collected fell in total only 12% (but the number of operations of 44%).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the only sector that stands out and is less difficult to mobilize financing. The AI attracts the world market and captures almost a quarter of the capital collected in France, according to the barometer.

“The drawback is that AI aspires a good part of the investment capacity of the funds,” says Nicolas Forey. It is “so many euros less for other sectors”, such as Fintech or Health, who struggle to attract new funds.