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This article examines the genesis of “start-ups” as publics of scientific and industrial policies in France. Looking at the French Ministry for Research and Industry during the 1990s, it shows how the work of second-rank actors, from the fields of administration and finance, facilitated the institutionalization of this category. It highlights the mechanisms by which elective affinities between low-profile agents of the State and venture capitalists were eventually solidified. All of them contributed to the reform of the technological State, reinforcing the power of venture capital in shaping the national economy.