France has a vibrant startup ecosystem, particularly centered in Paris, which is becoming a major European tech hub. As of 2023, France is home to around 20,000 startups. The French government supports innovation through initiatives like La French Tech, which provides funding and resources for startups. In 2022, French startups raised approximately €10 billion in venture capital. These factors collectively highlight France's dynamic and rapidly evolving startup landscape.
As of 2023, France's startup ecosystem includes around 20,000 startups. In 2022, these startups attracted approximately €10 billion in venture capital funding. This substantial investment underscores the ecosystem's growth potential and robust nature. The market's size and financial backing reflect its capacity to foster innovation and sustain a competitive edge within Europe and beyond.
France's startup ecosystem is characterized by several key strengths, including strong government support, a high-quality education system, and a strategic location in Europe. The country excels in sectors such as fintech, healthtech, and deep tech. These strengths are bolstered by France's robust industrial base and government support, positioning it as a leader in the European startup scene.
Paris is the primary hub of France’s startup ecosystem, known for its vibrant tech scene and concentration of startups. The city attracts entrepreneurs and investors from around the world. Major corporations and research institutions in Paris foster a collaborative environment for innovation. The dynamic ecosystem in Paris is instrumental in driving France's economic growth and technological advancements.
In addition to Paris, emerging hubs like Lyon, Marseille, and Toulouse are gaining prominence in France’s startup ecosystem. Lyon is known for its strengths in biotech and digital industries, Marseille for its focus on maritime and logistics tech, and Toulouse for aerospace and advanced manufacturing. These emerging hubs are expanding the reach and diversity of France’s entrepreneurial landscape, offering new opportunities for innovation and growth.
France’s startup ecosystem benefits from a strong network of incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces that provide essential support and resources for entrepreneurs. Initiatives like Station F and Paris&Co have been pivotal in fostering a supportive environment for startups, providing access to resources, mentorship, and funding. This supportive infrastructure is crucial for nurturing early-stage companies and fostering a collaborative entrepreneurial environment.
Despite its strengths, the French startup ecosystem faces challenges such as bureaucratic hurdles and high labor costs. Navigating regulatory frameworks can be time-consuming and complex for startups. Additionally, labor costs in France are relatively high, which can impact the profitability and scalability of new ventures. Addressing these challenges requires strategic efforts and supportive policies to sustain growth and competitiveness.
France has significant opportunities for growth in sectors like fintech, healthtech, and deep tech. The country's strong focus on sustainability and green technology drives innovation in renewable energy and environmental technologies. France's strategic location and trade agreements provide startups with opportunities for international expansion. With continued investment and innovation, France's startup ecosystem is poised for further growth, contributing significantly to the global innovation landscape.
France's startup ecosystem demonstrates remarkable resilience and adaptability. The country's commitment to innovation, coupled with strong government and institutional support, enables startups to navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities. The diverse talent pool and high-quality research institutions attract entrepreneurs and investors alike, ensuring sustained growth and success in the face of global economic shifts and market dynamics.
Palo Alto - California, U.S.A. - Global: U.S.A., Australia, Canada, Germany, U.K., Israel, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • BioTech • A.I. (& Big Data) • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Autonomous vehicles (& Cars) • Cloud Services (& Infrastructure) • Developer tools • Consumer
Most Interested In
API E-Commerce Education Enterprise Fintech Food and Beverage Future of Work Gaming Government Technology Hardware Health and Wellness Healthcare/Medtech Industrial Internet and Mobile IoT Life Sciences Productivity Proptech/Real Estate Robotics SaaS Social Supply Chain/Logistics Transportation Travel/Hospitality
Tel Aviv - London, U.K. - Israel - Germany - France
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • PropTech • FinTech (& Financials services) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Real Estate (& Construction) • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Consumer
Most Interested In
Marketplaces, digital health, fintech
Not Interested In
Ecommerce, hardware, biotech
Toby Coppel is a Co-Founder and serves as Partner at Mosaic Ventures. He also serves Board Member at Habito. He has a strong track record of principal investing in growth companies and strong operational experience. His background and expertise allow him to provide unique insights regarding the convergence of energy, communications and information technologies. Prior to VGF, he held a number of senior executive roles with Yahoo!, including Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director, Yahoo! Europe & Canada. While at Yahoo!, Toby was responsible for almost $5 billion of acquisitions and investments. Toby was also the Executive sponsor for Yahoo's global sustainability program and led initiatives including the launch of Yahoo! Green and the management of Yahoo's carbon footprint across its global data centers and facilities. Prior to Yahoo!, Toby was a Founding Partner of Windsor Media a private investment company that acquires traditional media businesses and re-positions them for the digital future. Coppel also held investment and client advisory positions with Allen & Company and Goldman Sachs. He is an Industry Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute and a Member of both the Israel-Britain and Palestine-Britain Business Councils. Coppel received his MA Philosophy, Politics & Economics (First Class) from Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom and an MBA (with Distinction) from Harvard Business School.
London - San Francisco Bay Area - New York - City - Sao Paulo - California, U.S.A. - U.K. - Brazil - France - Mexico
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • PropTech • Businesses Solutions • FinTech (& Financials services) • A.I. (& Big Data) • Developer tools • Future Of Work • Insurance (& InsurTech) • Payments • Real Estate (& Construction) • Woman Focused
Most Interested In
Passionate about next generation marketplaces & technically minded founders that have strong intuition about markets & customers. AI and crazy ideas.
Not Interested In
Well if it doesn't have or aspire to have a network effect, then probably not a fit... Very very selective when looking at opportunities that are not based in the Bay Area - we can be more helpful when teams are near us.
Pete Flint serves as Managing Partner at NFX. The co-founder of Trulia, Pete is a serial entrepreneur who built one of today's most successful marketplaces. As CEO, Pete led the company from inception to one of the largest and fastest growing real estate websites in the U.S. with more than 50 million monthly unique users and a merger with Zillow in 2015 that valued Trulia at $3.5 billion. Prior to starting Trulia, Pete was part of the founding team of lastminute.com, a leading European online travel site that was acquired in 2005 by Travelocity / Sabre Holdings for over $1 billion. These experiences gave Pete a rarely acquired understanding of what it takes to scale a company from a great idea to a $1 billion+ exit, all from a founder's perspective.
Los Altos - California, U.S.A. - Europe: Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Norway, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland, Monaco
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • Online Social
COO & Board Member at MasterClass
COO & Board Member at MasterClass
San Francisco Bay Area - California, U.S.A. - Global: U.S.A., Australia, Canada, Germany, U.K., Israel, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • BioTech • FinTech (& Financials services) • Developer tools
Hunter Walk is a Co-Founder and serves as a Partner at Homebrew. He served as Board Member Shyp. He also serves as an Advisor at Resolute Ventures. Prior to Homebrew, Hunter was VP of Product at Twitter, building and leading the Product Management and User Services tea Before Twitter, he was a Partner at Battery Ventures, where he co-led the seed and early stage investing practices. He joined Google in 2003 and was responsible for AdSense product management and partnerships. Before heading to Silicon Valley for Google, he worked for DoubleClick, in venture capital and as a strategy consultant. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA in History from Vassar College.
London - San Francisco Bay Area - Berlin, Germany - U.K. - France
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • Sales (& Marketing) • Analytics • Developer tools • Impact • Local commerce • Woman Focused
SaaSicionado. First investor in Zendesk, Algolia, Contentful, Typeform,...
Most Interested In
Vertical SaaS, bottom-up land & expand, strong tech co-founders, startups from all around the world
Not Interested In
Copycats. Over-hyped pre-seed rounds.
Christoph Janz is a Co-Founder and serves as Partner at Point Nine Capital. Janz is an Angel Investor. He also serves as a Board Member at FreeAgent Holdings and Qwilr. Before co-founding Point Nine Capital in 2011, Christoph was active as a private angel investor, working together closely with Team Europe on a variety of investments. Prior to that, Christoph co-founded several software and Internet startups, including comparison shopping engine DealPilot.com (funded by Bertelsmann, acquired by Shopping.com) and personalized startpage Pageflakes (funded by Balderton Capital, acquired by LiveUniverse). With investments in Zendesk, FreeAgent Central, Clio, Propertybase and other highly successful SaaS companies Christoph is a recognized expert in the field of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Christoph Janz serves as Board Member at ShiftPlanning, mention, Contentful, Propertybase and Zendesk. He also serves on Board of Infogr.am.
London, U.K. - France - Germany - Sweden - Denmark - Europe: Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Norway, Ireland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • Web Security (& Privacy)
Co-founder and Partner at Crane Venture Partners
Co-founder and Partner at Crane Venture Partners
San Francisco Bay Area - Menlo Park - California, U.S.A. - Global: U.S.A., Australia, Canada, Germany, U.K., Israel, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • Web Security (& Privacy) • Cloud Services (& Infrastructure) • Developer tools
Managing Partner at GGV Capital
Managing Partner at GGV Capital
Boston - New York - Los Angeles - San Francisco Bay Area - California, U.S.A. - Global: U.S.A., Australia, Canada, Germany, U.K., Israel, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • A.I. (& Big Data) • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Developer tools • Woman Focused
Managing Director at Hack VC
Most Interested In
When we invest, we can help startups to hire engineers. We can do this because we run the world's largest programmer conference with a community of 125,000+.
Not Interested In
We typically co-invest alongside other larger seed fund and VCs since our check doesn't provide enough runway on its own. The best types of startups for us to meet come from referrals from other investors who need quality co-investors in their rounds, or from startups who have a round that needs additional participants to complement their lead investor..
Ed Roman serves as the Chief Executive Officer of HackHands and Founding Partner at Hack VC. He is also the Founder of hack.summit and was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Ghostfire Games. He received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Cornell University in 1998.
Paris, France
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Hospitality (& Events) • Education • AgroTech • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • IoT (& Wearables) • Web Security (& Privacy) • Food & Beverage • Robotics
Co-Founder & Partner @Daphni
Co-Founder & Partner @Daphni
Paris, France
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • A.I. (& Big Data) • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Advertising
VC- Partner @ Caphorn Invest
Most Interested In
seed series A Retailtech Supply chain Customer relations and support AI
Not Interested In
Consumer Mobile apps