French software publishers: growth slows as AI reshapes the market

The French software sector is holding up, but at a slower pace.

The 16th edition of the Top 250, published by EY and Numeum, estimates the 2025 edition revenue of the panel at €22.4 billion, up from €21.8 billion a year earlier. That represents a growth of 2.4% (5.2% excluding video games) versus 8.9% in 2024 on the same perimeter.

Growth is highly uneven depending on size. Publishers with over €100 million in revenue, accounting for nearly 81% of the panel’s revenue, advance by only 1% (5% in 2024).

The top three of the ranking retreat together by 5%: Dassault Systèmes, leading with €5.64 billion in edition revenue and a gain of 0.5%, while Ubisoft falls 22% and Criteo 3%.

In contrast, the smaller structures hold their pace: +14% for publishers with €10–50 million, +12% under €5 million. The Top 10 outside the podium shows a growth of 8.3% (vs +6.4% in 2024), driven notably by Cegid and Septeo, whose growth blends organic expansion and acquisitions.

By category, sector-focused publishers account for €14.1 billion (63% of the total) and grow by 3%. The horizontals (€6.1 billion) shift from +23% to +11%, with standout performances at Cegid (+19%), Silae (+38%), and Ivalua (+18%).

The consumer-facing segment and video games (€2 billion) contract by around 19%.

Profitability remains solid. 83% of panel publishers posted operating profits (+4%), and 95% report self-financing.

AI agentics takes the lead as a priority

For the first time, AI agentic emerges as the top technology priority. Nearly half of publishers place it as their first choice, a rise of 16 points versus 2024.

Cloud/SaaS, which was the top choice in the previous edition, falls to 13%, a retreat the study attributes to the maturity of these technologies, deemed less differentiating. Cybersecurity ranks among the top three priorities for 54% of respondents.

AI features are already integrated into offerings: four publishers out of five (61% in the prior edition) include them.

Among those marketing AI today, content generation and intelligent recommendations (74% each) lead over task automation (73%). Autonomous agents and integrated copilots appear in only 42% of solutions.

Publishers largely rely on third-party models: 41% use integrated solutions from players like OpenAI, Anthropic, or Mistral, and 47% take a hybrid approach. Only 12% rely exclusively on their own models or agents.

Pricing: subscriptions endure, usage grows

SaaS accounts for 67% of the panel’s edition revenue (63% in 2023, 64% in 2024).

The subscription remains the preferred contracting mode, chosen as the first option by 77% of respondents and 80% for the future. But usage-based billing is taking hold: 45% of publishers practice it (as a first or second choice) and 53% are considering it.

For AI itself, the business model is still being built: 29% have not defined their pricing yet. The rest distribute between a premium module (26%), usage-based pricing (22%), inclusion in the standard price (18%), and value- or outcome-based pricing (5%).

According to Jean-Christophe Pernet, EY partner and head of the Top 250, a rising level of usage-based pricing will gradually challenge the ARR concept, which is based on predictable recurring revenue. He also notes a difficulty for clients who plan their IT spending when costs depend on consumption volumes. The sector will need to rethink its metrics and management tools.

R&D: massive AI gains… but hard to pin down

R&D is the primary internal arena for AI application: 96% of publishers employ code-generation copilots and 97% report productivity gains in R&D.

Among those who quantify the gains, 51% report more than 20% improvement (27% between 20% and 30%, 24% above 30%). Additionally, 80% notice faster time-to-market.

Yet 41% of respondents say they do not observe any measurable benefit at this stage. The question allowed multiple responses: the two findings coexist for some publishers, which the report interprets as a gap between the diffusion of AI usage and the measurement of its economic impact.

Security and data privacy remain the top barrier to AI adoption (26% as the primary concern), ahead of the cost of models and infrastructure. Other obstacles include customers’ maturity, data quality, and uncertainty about ROI.

On the AI Act, 23% of publishers report compliance achieved or underway, 42% are in the impact analysis phase, and 25% have not started yet.

Employment: momentum slows down

For 2026, 51% of publishers expect to increase staff, 11% fewer than in the previous survey.

The profiles being sought are evolving: 64% want to reinforce data/AI teams, against 39% for developers. Junior profiles are less of a priority: 17% plan to hire more, 22% plan to hire fewer. Women represent 34% of the total workforce and 31% of executive committees.

The share of revenue earned abroad reaches 57% (55% in 2024), and 63% for publishers above €100 million. It stays at 10% under €5 million and 14% between €5 and €10 million. In 2025, 23% of publishers completed an acquisition and 58% are considering one, with nearly half targeting international markets.

In terms of funding, 64% of publishers rely on debt and 41% on French private equity. Private equity deals above €20 million totaled €2.5 billion in 2025 and €2.2 billion from January to September 2026.

Top 100 French Software Publishers 2025

Note méthodologique : le classement porte sur 272 éditeurs ; seules les sociétés françaises déclarant ne pas être filiales d’un groupe étranger y figurent. Les évolutions sont calculées sur le périmètre retenu pour l’analyse et ne se déduisent pas de la comparaison des montants publiés d’une édition à l’autre.