In this edition:

🧠 As 2025 draws to a close, we revisit a year that reshaped French tech’s relationship with AI, capital, and sovereignty. From global summits and geopolitical tensions to funding reality checks, regulatory battles, and historic liquidity events, this special year-in-review unpacks the stories that defined a more grounded and more political tech ecosystem. Check out our look back at 2025.

Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

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Headlines

🗞️ TSMC shrinks the world. TSMC is the world's largest contract maker of chips, used in everything from smartphones to missiles. The Taiwanese chip giant has just launched mass production of 2nm processors, a first in the semiconductor industry. The chips will be the "most advanced technology in the semiconductor industry in terms of both density and energy efficiency," the company said in a statement on its website. These ultra-dense, energy-efficient chips are perfect for AI servers and embedded intelligence. Nvidia and Apple are lined up and ready to pounce. The breakthrough keeps TSMC firmly ahead of rivals and helped its stock climb 45% this year, proving that sometimes smaller really is mightier. | Les Echos, Japan Times

🗞️ After 12 years at Meta, Laurent Solly, VP Europe, has announced his departure on LinkedIn. Solly joined in 2013 to lead Facebook France and later oversaw all European operations.

Before Meta, Solly had a flourishing career in both politics and media: Sciences Po, ENA, EDF, Sarkozy’s cabinet, TF1, basically the recipe for someone who can charm both ministers and machine learning researchers.

Alongside Yann LeCun, he helped build FAIR Paris, putting France on the AI map. His legacy: boosting French AI startups, connecting Meta to local businesses, and exporting talent across the ecosystem. He leaves with colleagues thanking him, LinkedIn posts glowing, and the tech press guessing wildly about his next move. The timing is a little uncanny with LeCun having also exited Meta to launch AMI Labs, now aiming for a €3bn valuation. 🤔 | Maddyness, Usine Digitale

🗞️ ESA servers spooked. The Paris-based European Space Agency has reported a cybersecurity incident on a very small number of external servers used for collaborative scientific projects, including AI-related research. No classified data or theft has been confirmed, leaving hackers’ claims unverified. ESA launched an immediate security analysis and reinforced protections on potentially affected systems. The episode highlights how even non-classified scientific infrastructure can be a target, as space agencies operate dual-use tech and critical research. | L’Usine Digitale

🗞️ AI is hungry… and France is watching. The French Competition Authority warns that skyrocketing AI energy needs could affect market fairness. Data centers are guzzling electricity and water, with ChatGPT queries 10x more energy-hungry than a Google search. “Frugal AI” could shake things up, letting smaller players compete without massive infrastructure. Big tech is securing renewable or nuclear power to keep costs steady and keep rivals at bay. The authority urges transparency and vigilance to avoid greenwashing and anti-competitive tricks. Could a leaner, greener AI landscape be the next frontier of competition? | Le Monde Informatique

🗞️ Amazon gets a GDPR reality check. France's Conseil d’État has cut Amazon France’s fine from €32M down to €15M, partly approving its algorithmic monitoring tools. Scanners tracking idle time, “stow machine gun” speed, and latency are legal, as long as they’re targeted and proportional. The court rejected blanket data retention, reminding Amazon that less is more when it comes to personal info. The ruling sets a precedent for AI-driven employee monitoring: you can do it, but don't overreach. For startups and big tech alike, it’s a reminder that AI at work must balance efficiency with privacy. | L’Usine Digitale

ICYMI

🗞️ Gradium Wants To Make Voice The New Operating System for AI |The Paris startup, spun out of research lab Kyutai, just emerged from stealth with a $60M seed round to become the global foundation layer for real-time voice interactions. | The French Tech Journal

🗞️ How HyprView Is Using Photonics And AI To Bring Cancer Diagnostics Into the Light | Thanks to developments in AI, photonics is stepping out of the lab and into the clinic. HyprView uses light to uncover the invisible biology inside tumors - information microscopes miss entirely - opening the door to faster, smarter, and far more predictive cancer diagnostics. | The French Tech Journal

🧠 A look back at 2025 with the French Tech Journal

As 2025 draws to a close, we’re taking a look back at articles on what has been an epic but turbulent year for French tech. 

If 2024 was the year of AI promises, 2025 was the year of reality checks.

Against a backdrop of political instability at home (2 prime ministers, 3 new governments, and a hung parliament - need we say more?!) and geopolitical tension abroad, France’s tech ecosystem spent the year grappling with scale, sovereignty, and the unintended consequences of an AI-first world.

From bold ambitions at the Paris AI Summit to funding slowdowns, defence tech revival, regulatory showdowns, and a handful of very grown-up liquidity moments, 2025 was less about hype and more about the hard questions.

Here’s our month-by-month look back at the stories that defined the year.

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