France boosts Tibi tech fund by €13bn

France has unlocked an additional €13 billion for its technology sector, with minimal strain on public finances. The funding flows through Tibi, a program that encourages French insurers and pension funds to redirect capital toward venture and growth funds rather than safer, lower-yield assets. The finance ministry unveiled this third phase at VivaTech on Friday, setting a target of €15 billion by 2030.

The mechanism behind Tibi is what makes it distinctive. It is not a state fund and does not create any new public money pool. Instead, Paris persuades large institutional investors to commit their own capital, then designates which funds qualify for the Tibi label. The Treasury ultimately selects the funds that receive this stamp of approval.

So far, the strategy has proven effective. The first phase, spanning 2020 to 2022, aimed for €6 billion and attracted €6.4 billion. A government audit revealed that the scheme nearly tripled annual investment in French tech, at negligible cost to the state budget. That capital supported scale-ups such as Doctolib, Exotec, and BlaBlaCar.

This new phase broadens the scope. Alongside private insurers like AXA and Groupama, the ministry has brought in state-linked entities: railway operator SNCF, Paris transport group RATP, satellite firm Eutelsat, and defense companies Naval Group and MBDA. That last inclusion is significant. Institutional investors have historically avoided defense tech, so their involvement signals a real shift. Meanwhile, half of the new funding is earmarked for deeptech.

The most notable change is geographic. The first two phases remained largely within France. Phase three is designed to support pan-European funds that can write larger checks across multiple countries. The reasoning is familiar: Europe excels at launching startups but often loses them when they require substantial growth capital. Paris wants small and mid-sized firms to scale and list while staying in Europe, rather than being acquired or relocating abroad. TNW has previously explored why public money continues to chase this gap and the structural reasons it remains so difficult to close.

France is not acting alone. The EU has its own initiative: the European Tech Champions Initiative, managed by the European Investment Fund. The EIF also launched a €3.75 billion fund of funds to retain scale-ups on the continent, along with a separate Scaleup Europe Fund that invests directly in companies. The key difference is control. Tibi is run by the French Treasury and relies on French capital, so Paris calls the shots. ETCI gathers commitments from multiple governments through an EU body, which then selects the funds. France bets that one government can move faster than 27. Brussels counters that only a supranational scheme can be truly pan-European.

Both now pursue the same goal: growth-stage European firms needing more than €50 million, the exact point where US investors typically step in. That overlap raises an uncomfortable question France has not fully addressed. Some Tibi backers could also join the EU’s effort, meaning the two may end up competing for the same euros. Still, the core lesson is hard to dismiss. Over five years, France has demonstrated that institutional capital will invest domestically if the state sets the right conditions. Phase three is the real test. It will reveal whether that capital will also cross borders, and whether Europe’s push for tech independence is one coordinated plan or just two similar ones running side by side.