French Venture Capital Barometer, H1 2026 (EY Swiss Fintech / Banking Barometer)

Summary

• The market recorded 280 deals, against 311 a year earlier, so fewer companies were financed.p.2
• The average ticket now exceeds €16 million, against less than €9 million.p.2
• UK funding rose 97% (€14.6 billion), Germany 66% (€5.9 billion) and France 65% (€4.6 billion).p.3
• The five largest French rounds alone account for nearly €2 billion, led by Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI Labs) with €890 million.p.2
• French mega-rounds rose +938%, from 0.2 to 2.1 billion euros, offsetting a 10% decline in the number of deals.p.9

Key insights

1. Alan raised €580 million in fintech, ranking second among French rounds.p.2
2. Pennylane raised €175 million and Pasqal €170 million.p.2
3. Software, including artificial intelligence, dominated the half with a little over €1.7 billion raised.p.2
4. Germany raised €5.9 billion across 213 deals, with 7 mega-rounds weighing €3.6 billion (+115%).p.3
5. London raised €14.6 billion across 616 deals (+97% in value, +21% in volume).p.3
6. The Île-de-France region accounts for more than 82% of investments in 2026.p.6
7. Isomorphic Labs (UK) was the largest European investment at €1,799 million, followed by Nscale at €1,730 million.p.7
8. In the UK, the 22 deals above €100 million drove the growth in value.p.9