La French Tech — Glossary

AI system capable of autonomously planning and executing a series of complex actions to achieve a goal.

Flexible, iterative, and collaborative project management approach favoring adaptation to change.

French government agency in charge of cybersecurity and information systems defense.

Software interface allowing two applications to communicate with each other.

Set of theories and techniques developing computer programs capable of simulating human intelligence.

The portion of a company or software system dedicated to administration and internal operations, unseen by clients.

The invisible mechanics of a website: the server, the database, and the application logic.

Extremely large, complex, and fast-growing datasets that require specific processing and analysis tools.

The application of science and technology to living organisms to create new products or services.

Decentralized and secure digital ledger that records transactions in a transparent and unalterable way.

The most powerful tech event in the world, organized annually by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in Las Vegas.

Delivery of computing services (servers, storage, software) over the Internet rather than on a local computer.

Small text files placed on your device by a website to remember information about you.

Virtual assets stored on a decentralized ledger (blockchain), used as a medium of exchange or investment.

French certification (ANSSI) guaranteeing the robustness and security of a software or hardware product.

Practices and tools aimed at protecting systems, networks, and data from digital attacks.

Advanced AI technique inspired by the human brain (neural networks) to process complex data.

An alternative financial ecosystem built on blockchain and smart contracts, enabling peer-to-peer transactions without traditional banking intermediaries.

A human-centered approach to innovation that emphasizes empathy, creativity, and rapid prototyping to solve complex problems.

Method combining Development (Dev) and Operations (Ops) to accelerate and secure software delivery.

Any digital representation of value not issued by a central bank, which can be stored or traded electronically.

An approach aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of a digital product or service right from the design phase.

The ability of a state or company to maintain control over its data and technologies.

Virtual replica of a physical object, process, person, or system.

The industry sector focused on developing technological solutions and tools to innovate and improve learning and educational systems.

The act of creating, developing, and managing a business while assuming financial risks to generate value.

Laws of a country that apply outside its own borders, often used to access data hosted abroad.

The process of partially re-training a pre-existing AI model on a specific dataset to adapt it to a particular domain or task.

A software framework providing pre-built components and an architectural foundation to facilitate and standardize application development.

The visible and interactive part of a website or application, with which the user interacts.

European law protecting the privacy and personal data of citizens.

A type of artificial intelligence capable of generating new content (text, image, code) based on its training data.

A continuous improvement approach aimed at reducing the environmental, economic, and social footprint of information and communication technologies.

A phenomenon where an AI model (like an LLM) generates false, inconsistent, or invented information while presenting it with certainty.

Implementation of a new idea to create value, whether technological, social, or usage-based.

The ability of different computer systems, software, or hardware to communicate and exchange data seamlessly.

An innovation process where an employee acts like an entrepreneur within their company.

Network of physical devices connected to the Internet, capable of collecting and exchanging data.

Lightweight, text-based data format that is easy for humans and machines to read and write.

A quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success or progress of a project, process, or organization.

Ecosystem of French startups, supported by the state to promote French tech internationally.

AI model trained on vast amounts of text to understand and generate human language.

Subfield of AI allowing computers to learn from data without being explicitly programmed.

The art of directing, organizing, and motivating teams to achieve an organization's goals.

High-level university degree training future senior executives in the banking and financial sector.

A security system requiring more than one method of authentication from independent categories to verify the user's identity.

The very first version of a product containing only the essential features to satisfy early users.

A unique cryptographic digital asset recorded on a blockchain, proving ownership and authenticity of a specific digital or physical item.

Ability of a computer program to understand, interpret, and manipulate human language.

Software development approaches that allow creating applications through visual interfaces with little (Low-Code) or no (No-Code) programming.

Any transaction or data directly recorded, validated, and secured on the blockchain.

Digital data that can be freely used, modified, and shared by anyone for any purpose, often published by public institutions.

Software whose source code is public, modifiable, and redistributable by anyone.

Collection and analysis of publicly available information, especially on the internet.

ANSSI-certified company authorized to perform IT security audits.

ANSSI-certified service provider ensuring the detection of security incidents (often via a SOC) for critical entities.

A cyberattack technique involving fraudulent communications designed to trick users into revealing sensitive information.

Branch of physics concerning the study and application of light generation, detection, and manipulation.

An early-stage demonstration of a product or idea aiming to prove its technical feasibility and viability before full development.

Computerized system used by merchants to ring up sales and process payments.

ANSSI-certified service provider for emergency response in the event of a proven cyberattack.

The art of designing precise instructions to get the best result from a generative AI.

Two-dimensional barcode capable of storing data, quickly readable by a smartphone.

A new generation of computing using the principles of quantum mechanics to solve complex problems inaccessible to classical computers.

Activities undertaken by companies to innovate and introduce new products and services.

Technique coupling a large language model (LLM) with a search database to provide accurate and sourced answers.

Malicious software that encrypts a victim's data and demands payment of a ransom to restore access.

Financial indicator used to evaluate the profitability of an investment or project.

An open syndication format that allows users to automatically track updates from a website via an external reader.

Traditional physical or financial assets represented as digital tokens on a blockchain.

Software distribution model where the application is hosted on the Cloud and accessed via a browser (e.g., Netflix, Gmail).

The most popular Agile framework, organized in short cycles called 'Sprints'.

Security visa issued by ANSSI to guarantee the highest level of requirements for cloud service providers in France.

Set of techniques aimed at optimizing a website's visibility in search engines.

A self-executing computer program stored on a blockchain that automatically enforces the terms of an agreement when predefined conditions are met.

Businesses whose personnel numbers and revenue fall below certain limits.

Centralized team and facility responsible for monitoring, detecting, and responding to cybersecurity incidents.

Online platforms enabling users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

A set of programs, procedures, and rules related to the operation of a computer system.

A cloud computing infrastructure localized and operated under the jurisdiction of its users' country, ensuring data independence and security.

Cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to a fiat currency (like the Euro or Dollar) to avoid volatility.

A young innovative company with high growth potential.

Massive data and text analysis technique to extract knowledge, often used for AI training.

Token

A digital unit of processing, security, or asset: representing a text chunk in AI, an authorization/claims credential in security (like a JWT), or a digital asset on a blockchain.

The process of converting rights to an asset into a digital token on a blockchain.

Design of the User Interface (UI - the visual) and the User Experience (UX - the feel and usability).

Uniform Resource Locator. It is the unique web address used to access a specific resource on the Internet.

The new generation of the web, decentralized and based on blockchain technology.

A cybersecurity framework based on the principle of strictly verifying every user and device, assuming no implicit trust whether inside or outside the network.