Since 2020, the HUB France IA has provided visibility, through its map, to promising French startups for which AI is the core of their products or services. This reference tool aims to structure a rapidly growing ecosystem while facilitating connections between solution providers, public or private buyers, and investors. The 2025 edition, recently published, lists nearly 600 innovative players. This is a significant increase compared to the
4th edition, which listed 328 startups, demonstrating both a sustained entrepreneurial dynamism and an acceleration in the adoption of AI across economic sectors.
"The French AI landscape continues to gain strength, with nearly 600 startups and innovative providers listed in 2025, marking a remarkable increase of 260 new players compared to the previous year. This growth is particularly driven by the rise of generative AI, which led to the creation of 44 new startups in 2024."
An Increasingly Diverse Ecosystem
The map distinguishes players based on several criteria: sector of activity, type of company, technology used, or geographical location. It thus reflects a growing diversification in the uses of AI, confirming its key role in modernizing strategic sectors of the French economy.
Among the most represented AI application domains, software leads with 23% of the listed players, while generative AI and image and voice processing technologies are at the heart of innovations. The healthcare sector, though less predominant than before, remains a strategic pillar with 15% of the companies involved. The manufacturing industry holds a significant position (7%), driven by initiatives in automation and optimization of industrial processes.
Simultaneously, the integration of AI into
business functions is reaching notable maturity, profoundly transforming operational practices. The most impacted areas include:
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Operations (18%): optimization of flows and task automation;
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Marketing & advertising (15%): use of language models (LLMs) to personalize campaigns;
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Customer service & support (13%): chatbots and automation of interactions.
“Among the key technologies listed in this edition, we find generative AI (26%), with automated content creation and writing. Also noteworthy are recommendation systems (13%) with enhanced user journey personalization. Lastly, predictive solutions (13%) through trend anticipation and decision support. These technological advancements confirm France's leadership in developing innovative applications for businesses and citizens.”
Ecological Transition: A New Structuring Component
A major novelty of the 2025 edition is a section dedicated to
ecological transition, highlighting 69 startups selected for their solutions targeting 11 environmental challenges ranging from waste management to biodiversity,
energy consumption, water, transport, and impact measurement.
This choice, supported by the
Ecolab of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, reflects a growing expectation from public and private actors for technological solutions aligned with sustainability goals. Among all the listed startups, 11% are already developing frugal AI designed to limit their environmental footprint.
"The significant number of AI and ecological transition startups listed in this first edition of the ecological transition section is an excellent sign of vitality and France's leadership in this domain." A Tool with European Reach
The methodology used to establish this map relies on an expert committee bringing together public actors (
Ademe,
Banque des Territoires, Bpifrance…), private actors (
Bouygues,
Cathay Innovation,
Probabl.), as well as committed collectives (
The Shift Project, Le VoiceLab). This collaborative governance seems to be setting a trend, as it will serve as a foundation for a future European map within the framework of the Deploy AI project, supported by the European Commission.
To better understand
What is the Ecolab of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, and what role does it play in the AI startup ecosystem in France?
Ecolab is an initiative by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition. It aims to support innovative projects that promote ecological transition, especially using AI technologies. Ecolab plays a crucial role by supporting startups that provide solutions aligned with sustainability objectives by offering funding, resources, and enhanced visibility, thus driving innovation in the ecological sector.
How do frugal AI systems contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of technology?
Frugal AI systems are designed to be more efficient in terms of energy and resource consumption, for instance, by optimizing algorithms to require less computing power. They contribute to reducing the carbon footprint by requiring less energy to operate, which is crucial in the current context of climate change. They integrate approaches such as data-efficient machine learning and the optimization of hardware resource usage to minimize AI's environmental impact.
