After a month of January with 2.6 billion euros raised, February would almost pass for a disappointment. This is not the case: the level of investments has never been so high at this time of the winter season. According to our calculations, innovative French companies have raised 710.1 million euros over the past four weeks. By way of comparison, this figure did not exceed 242 million euros in 2021, 350 million in 2020 or 450 million in 2019. February 2022 is thus part of a series of records, which continues to lengthen for the tricolor ecosystem. Some 80 funding rounds have been announced, which allows the past month to do not only better in volume than the past years – with 49 transactions recorded in 2021, 56 in 2020 and 58 in 2019 – but also than the previous record month – with 70 operations in January 2022. This implies the announcement of fundraising of more modest sizes, even if some of them remain substantial.
Only two mega-tricks
This month, seed rounds have therefore been particularly numerous: they concern half of the table rounds (41 out of 80). Series A have also multiplied. There are no less than 21 of them. Direct consequence: more advanced operations are marking time. There is thus a series B and a series C, as well as two late stage tricks. The February 2022 top 10 is therefore weaker than what has been observed in recent months, and gives pride of place to young shoots in strong growth. Thus, only two operations exceed 100 million euros: those carried out by Alma (115 million) and InterCloud (100 million). Together, they represent almost a third (30.3%) of the total amount raised during the month. Padoa (53 million euros), Snapshift (40 million) and Seyna (33 million) follow at a much lower level, without having to blush.
As has been the case in recent months, FinTech remains the sector that arouses the most covetousness of investors. The sector ranks first, both in value (182.7 million euros) and in volume (11 operations) – the Alma operation, accounted for in the vertical, is the locomotive because it represents 63% of this amount. Same pattern with IT, which takes second place in value (158.5 million euros) as in volume (10 operations). MedTech (64.6 million euros), HR technologies (58.3 million) and InsurTech (35.1 million) follow in value. In volume, MedTech, HR technologies and services each recorded 6 operations. The other sectors did not record more than 5 rounds of funding. Two are disappointing, after a good month of January: e-commerce and MarTech. Two fail: entertainment and LegalTech, struggling.
As regards the geographical distribution of capital, Île-de-France still remains hegemonic. The capital region attracted 86% of the sum raised in February in total, or 610.3 million euros. Paris alone concentrates 71% of the capital (506.2 million euros). Four other regions posted, more modestly, a good month on their scale: Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (28 million in 2 operations), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (20.84 million, 6 operations), New Aquitaine (20.7 million, 4 operations) and Pays-de-la-Loire (19.2 million, 4 operations). Note that no lifting has been noted since the beginning of the year in Centre-Val-de-Loire, Corsica, Grand-Est, Normandy, as well as in the Overseas Territories. Regions already in difficulty in 2021.
