Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations : Un groupe public au service de l'intérêt général et du développement économique

Digital

With a portfolio estimated €2.5bn of assets, the FSI has imposed itself, in only 3 years, as a major player in the development of the French digital sector. This sector is contributing to the competitiveness and influence of France and has a significant development potential.

The mission of the FSI is to provide innovative French companies, as well as the national champions in the sector, with the capital tools needed for their development through an investment strategy based on five major trends:

- The distribution of electronic components within all types of environments facing new technological challenges, for the development of components that are faster, sturdier and more miniaturized;

- The emergence of cloud computing type offers is participating in a rapid change to which companies will have to adapt their business models;

- The growing demand for greater protection will be a fundamental challenge in the coming years;

- The progressive dematerialization of content is encouraging the emergence of new economic models;

- The growing importance of social networks is providing consumers with new access.

The actions of the FSI primarily target 4 major sectors:

- Investments in the internet sector are intended to support companies at the heart of the social media and content digitization revolution (Dailymotion, Skyblog, Viadeo);

- In the software sector, the FSI is working with players who are participating in the cloud computing explosion (Tinubu Square);

- The equity participations in the network management and protection sector are used to stabilize the capital of companies that are meeting the growing need for the protection of digital data (Gemalto);

- Investments in the electronics sector are helping to support the spread of digital technology in all industries and areas of day-to-day life (Soitec).

Health

For the development of companies in this sector, the FSI invests on three additional levels:

- Subscription in several funds specialising in the funding of biotechnology;

- Creation of Innobio, together with 9 major pharmaceutical laboratories (9 investments for a total of €40mn);

- Direct equity investment (6 operations for a total amount of €111mn).

The FSI has identified five axes for the sector’s evolution:

- The evolution of technologies and materials is leading to the creation of increasingly powerful systems, and the advancing research in genetics is heralding a new era;

- The commitment of the health authorities to budget control has grown and been reinvigorated, which requires innovations to demonstrate constantly increasing therapeutic benefits;

- The growing weight of the international markets and the inescapable place of the United States are making it essential for French players to develop abroad;

- Prompted by the in-depth overhaul of the nature and characteristics of product innovation, the evolution of the R&D model in the pharmacy sector is now well underway.

The actions of the FSI are guided by three investment principles:

- Supporting the most promising breakthrough innovations (equity interest of the FSI in Innate Pharma and of InnoBio in Supersonic Imagine);

- Supporting the transformation of innovative companies into pharmaceutical intermediary-sized companies (Cellectis  and DBV Technologies);

- Building on the industrial excellence of other actors in the sector in order to consolidate the overall sector’s competitiveness (Cerenis  and Novasep).

Read the launch press releases of issues 2 and 3 of the Cahiers du FSI (in French)

Read issues 2 and 3 of the Cahiers du FSI (in French)