> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.frenchtechjournal.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 🇫🇷 French Tech Wire: French Tech, American Money and A Changing Game - URL: https://www.frenchtechjournal.com/french-tech-wire-french-tech-american-money-and-a-changing-game/ - Published: 2026-08-28T07:00:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-28T07:00:01.000Z - Description: Hugging Face eyes a $13bn Nvidia hug, Pasqal hits Nasdaq, Verkor gets a new boss and France’s AI ambitions face a reality check. - Author: Chris O'Brien - Tags: Newsletter 👋 **Inside this week's edition:** 👀 **Essential Summer Reads #8:** We’re wrapping up our final Summer’s Essential Reads newsletter with a lighter but inspiring story celebrating French creativity and global success beyond AI. [**Discover how Sandfall Interactive, a small French studio, made the world’s best video game of 2025 with *Clair Obscur*.**](https://www.frenchtechjournal.com/clair-obscur-how-frances-sandfall-interactive-made-the-worlds-best-video-game-of-2025/) **Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand** --- SPONSORED [![CTA Image](https://www.frenchtechjournal.com/content/images/2026/08/SOC_EMEA_Scaling-security_480x60-V2.png)](https://www.vanta.com/downloads/emea-customer-guide?utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fsource=french-tech-journal&utm%5Fcampaign=fy27q3%5Fnews%5Facq%5Ffrench-tech-journal-newsletter-series%5Femea) In today’s high-growth environment, security must be built-in—not a blocker. Our report, Scaling Security, shows how leading European tech companies embed compliance early and automate smartly to scale faster. Learn how automation transforms SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR into strategic advantages. See what security maturity looks like at every growth stage. Security at scale is possible—with the right approach. [Download the Guide ](https://www.vanta.com/downloads/emea-customer-guide?utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fsource=french-tech-journal&utm%5Fcampaign=fy27q3%5Fnews%5Facq%5Ffrench-tech-journal-newsletter-series%5Femea) --- # Tech Talk 🧒 💸 **Fresh news on the Meta lawsuit:** **the social media monolith has managed to dodge a potentially explosive trial over kids’ social-media addiction... but escaping the courtroom won’t come cheap.** The company has agreed to pay up to **$18bn** to settle with 48 US states and introduce major restrictions for under-18s, including a two-hour daily limit, no overnight access and school-hours notification bans. The twist? Only $12.7bn is guaranteed, with the rest conditional on YouTube and TikTok joining the deal. Meanwhile, back in France, as mentioned last week, the Conseil constitutionnel has rejected the government’s planned ban on social media for under-15s as disproportionate, while also flagging privacy concerns around age verification. Apparently the Constitution still has some scrolling to do. | [**Le Monde**](https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2026/08/27/addiction-a-facebook-et-instagram-meta-s-evite-un-proces-historique-et-une-sanction-colossale-aux-etats-unis%5F6757834%5F3234.html?lmd%5Fmedium=al&lmd%5Fcampaign=envoye-par-appli&lmd%5Fcreation=android&lmd%5Fsource=default&ref=frenchtechjournal.com) 🤗 💰 **Nvidia reportedly wants to give France’s Hugging Face a very big hug... to the tune of $12.9bn.** The Information has reported that the chip giant has agreed to acquire the French-founded open-source AI platform, although neither company has confirmed the deal as yet. If such a deal did go through, Nvidia would gain control of one of the world’s biggest repositories of open AI models, datasets and developer tools - strengthening its grip on the AI ecosystem far beyond the chips themselves. And after Hugging Face reportedly turned down a $500m Nvidia investment last year at a $7bn valuation, Jensen Huang may simply have decided that asking nicely wasn’t working. | [**The Information**](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/nvidia-agrees-buy-open-source-model-repository-hugging-face-12-9-billion?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com), [**Reuters**](https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidia-talks-acquire-hugging-face-13-billion-deal-business-insider-reports-2026-08-27/?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) ⚛️ 🇫🇷 Meanwhile, **Pasqal is taking its quantum dream to Wall Street.** The French quantum computing pioneer will list on the Nasdaq today (Friday) after completing its SPAC merger, raising around **$280m** to fund R&D and accelerate its commercial push. French tech may be born at home, but when it comes to raising serious money, New York keeps calling. | [**Les Echos**](https://www.lesechos.fr/start-up/next40-vivatech/pasqal-fait-son-entree-au-nasdaq-pour-poursuivre-son-reve-quantique-2248623?ref=frenchtechjournal.com) 🤖 🥊 **China is putting humanoid robots through their Olympic paces - but the real race is whether they can actually do anything useful.** Beijing’s World Humanoid Robot Games showcased robots sprinting, boxing and performing all manner of increasingly impressive stunts, while China continues to dominate production. Yet even industry leaders admit today’s machines still struggle with unpredictable real-world tasks. **France, meanwhile, is taking a slightly less flashy route:** Paris-based Wandercraft has already put its Calvin-40 humanoid to work on Renault’s production line in Douai, with 350 robots planned by 2027\. **China may be winning the robot Olympics, but France is trying to get them a proper job.** | [**Le Monde**](https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2026/08/27/robots-humanoides-en-chine-le-spectacle-des-jeux-mondiaux-et-l-epreuve-du-reel%5F6758470%5F3234.html?ref=frenchtechjournal.com) 🔋👀 **Verkor is getting a new boss and Renault may have had something to do with it.** The French battery unicorn will replace co-founder and CEO Benoît Lemaignan with Laurent Debrue, its current COO, on September 1, just months after Renault publicly called out Verkor over its lack of competitiveness and **18-month production delays**. Renault, Verkor’s sole customer and an 11.6% shareholder, has already ruled out the Grenoble startup for batteries for its new electric Master. Now, with €2bn+ raised and its giant Dunkirk gigafactory struggling to ramp up, Verkor has to prove it can get production moving before the comparison nobody wants to hear gets any louder: Northvolt. | [**Maddyness**](https://www.maddyness.com/2026/08/24/verkor-la-licorne-specialisee-dans-les-batteries-electriques-va-changer-de-patron-le-1er-septembre/?ref=frenchtechjournal.com) 🇫🇷 🤖 **France may be busy positioning itself as Europe’s AI powerhouse, but its business leaders have other things on their minds.** A huge Medef survey of 65,872 company bosses found that just 35% see AI investment as a priority for the next presidential term - well behind reindustrialisation (81%), cutting taxes (83%), simplifying regulation (75%) and reducing public debt (75%). Even more strikingly, 39% say they would advise a young entrepreneur to set up abroad rather than in France… **Perhaps they haven’t yet heard that sovereignty is the new buzzword?!** 🤔 | [**Maddyness**](https://www.maddyness.com/2026/08/26/presidentielle-2027-les-patrons-francais-sinquietent-de-la-politique-economique-du-prochain-quinquennat/?ref=frenchtechjournal.com) [Become a paid subscriber](#/portal/signup) --- # Essential Summer Reads #8: Clair Obscur: How France's Sandfall Interactive Made the World's Best Video Game of 2025 ![](https://www.frenchtechjournal.com/content/images/2026/08/FTJ-esential-summer-reads.png) ***Throughout August, we’re revisiting eight long-form FTJ articles from the past year whose themes continue to resonate. From AI and deeptech to sovereignty, cybersecurity and global scale, they explore the ideas, companies and debates shaping French Tech. We hope you enjoy revisiting them with us.*** --- When Guillaume Broche took the stage at The Game Awards in Los Angeles on December 11, 2025, he did something unusual for someone accepting the industry's most coveted prize. He thanked YouTube. "I also want to acknowledge the unsung champions of our industry, the individuals creating YouTube tutorials on game development, because we were completely clueless about making a game before," Broche told the audience, his voice cracking with emotion. It was a disarmingly honest moment from the founder of [**Sandfall Interactive**](https://www.sandfall.co/?ref=frenchtechjournal.com), the Montpellier-based studio that had just made history. Their debut title, [***Clair Obscur: Expedition 33***](https://www.expedition33.com/?ref=frenchtechjournal.com), won nine awards that night, shattering the previous record of seven held by ***The Last of Us: Part II***. More significantly, it marked the first time a French game had ever won Game of the Year. Since its release earlier this year, the game has become a global phenomenon. The soundtrack, a lush, ethereal symphonic composition, has become a worldwide hit. French politicians across the political spectrum have praised it relentlessly. And there is talk of a film adaptation. [We're shedding the light on Clair Obscur here](https://www.frenchtechjournal.com/clair-obscur-how-frances-sandfall-interactive-made-the-worlds-best-video-game-of-2025/) --- 👋🏻 If you’re enjoying [The French Tech Journal](https://frenchtechjournal.substack.com/?ref=frenchtechjournal.com), support the project by forwarding it to friends and sharing it on your social networks. You can also comment on this post. And if you have ideas for stories, tips, or just want to harass us, shoot us an email: [chris@frenchtechjournal.com](mailto:chris@frenchtechjournal.com) / [helen@frenchtechjournal.com](mailto:helen@frenchtechjournal.com) 👋🏻‌