France is reaching a milestone in private financing of innovation, targeting 15 billion euros to support national and European technological growth.
The Minister of the Economy Roland Lescure announced this Friday, at the VivaTech show, “an exceptional and record mobilization of an additional 13 billion euros under the third phase of the Tibi initiative, which will be invested in growing and innovative French and European companies”, with a target of 15 billion by the end of the year. This initiative is named after Philippe Tibi, economist and author of a report submitted in 2019 recommending improving market financing for French technology companies and helping our nuggets take the step to transform themselves into world champions.
100% private financing for disruptive innovation
Let us be reassured in these times of budgetary scarcity, the funds are neither public nor European, but 100% private. This operation follows “a somewhat crazy dream, that of putting our savings to work to make them an accelerator of investments by innovative companies in France”, we explain at Bercy. In the hope, gradually, of catching up with the abysmal delay accumulated in this area with the United States and China. Around half of these funds will be invested in “deeptech” (quantum, artificial intelligence, biotech, space tech, etc.), “with a desire to position France in disruptive innovation”, explains Bercy. The objective is to strengthen France’s sovereignty, particularly via critical infrastructure.
This new phase brings together around forty partner investors. New arrivals are joining the ranks, such as Carac, SNCF, RATP, but also industrialists like Naval Group, MBDA and Eutelsat. Because the ambition is to strengthen the defense aspect of the initiative, in line with the support provided by the State to the defense industrial and technological base (BITD). Listed SMEs and mid-sized companies are now eligible for the Tibi initiative, in order to encourage IPOs of companies of this size, synonymous with better growth.
A European ambition for global funds
But this dynamic must not stop at France, far too small to compete with an American market capable of mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars, particularly in AI. Bercy hopes to collaborate with its European partners, first and foremost Germany, with whom there is talk of creating a platform which would be presented in the fall. The aim is ultimately to create “pan-European funds of global size, capable of supporting technological companies throughout their growth and of intervening in the most important financing rounds”, explains the ministry.
With this record mobilization of private capital, France intends to accelerate the transformation of its innovative companies into European and global champions, while strengthening its technological and industrial sovereignty.
