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The French secretary of land for Digital Affairs , as of this year , Marina Ferrari , revealed this year ’s laureates duringVivaTechweek in Paris . According to its promoters , this 5th division was themost selectivesince the inception of the programme .
As a result , only 28 of the French Tech 120 selected in 2024 claim valuations of $ 1 billion or more . On the other hand , La French Tech reports that the cohort together with had anet tax revenue of € 10 billion in 2023 , compared with € 7.5 billion in 2022 . Thirty - one company report a net revenue above € 100 million .
In aggregate , this age bracket unwrap or confirms some interesting trends that France is riding , such as the upgrade of abstruse tech and AI . But it is also worth zooming in on new laureate of the Next40 : If and when the IPO window reopens , the expectation would be for some of these to go public and reinject long - awaited liquidity into the venture capital grapevine .
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Without further ado , here ’s the socio-economic class of 2024 , total up in one image :
That ’s not the most digestible format , so permit ’s take a closer spirit atnewcomers .
Welcome to the club(s)
Here are some of the company that unite the Next40 list :
It is impressive , in particular , to see how fast Mistral AI joined the same list as two - decade - old Weezevent . The AI company only recently turned one , but Arthur Mensch and his conscientious objector - beginner are now at the helm of one of France ’s most hopeful companies , and perhaps eventually a in public listed one .
While that ’s somewhat connote by the “ Next40 ” moniker touch to France’sCAC 40 , it is too early to tell which of these will turn into IPO candidates and when or where . In 2023 , Euronext only welcomed64 new list , down from83 in 2022and212 in 2021 .
Among the other 80 companies that make out the FrenchTech 120 , Modern neophyte are Adagio , AQEMIA , Braincube , Comet , DriiveMe , Ekimetrics , Exotrail , Flowdesk , Foodles , Greenly , HappyVore , Hoppen , iSupplier , La Fourche , Madbox , Moon Surgical , Mooncard , mylight150 , Opteamis , Pasqal , PerfectStay , Planity , Shares , SiPearl , Swan , Umiami , Unseenlabs , Volta Medical , WAAT , WeMaintain and Worldia .
To our cognition , none of these startup is a unicorn ( yet ) . Then again , maybe that should never have been theNorth Star . disregarding , it would have been atough goalto accomplish in late months : investing into Gallic startup declined significantly last twelvemonth , from€13.49 billion in 2022 to € 8.32 billion . According to EY , green tech was the bombastic age group with€2.7 billion in funding , and is also well represented in the French Tech 120 .
Reflecting trends
The French Tech 120 add up from a variety of sectors , from fintech to infinite tech , but there are clear trends at play .
A caution , though : For the first time , applicants were asked to respect commitments in term of sex equality and ecological conversion . The latter could have apply a bit more weight to greenish tech companies , which stand for 30 % of the 2024 class , but that ’s also roughly in line with the part of investing they attracted last year .
AI is another sphere in which French startups draw mega - rounds , even at the seed stage . There’ssomething going on with AI startups in France , and the Gallic governmentwants to support this . The French Tech Next40/120 reflects that trend with the inclusion of Mistral AI , but also pharmatech AQEMIA andquantum computing startup Pasqal .
Beyond AI , it ’s inscrutable tech that comes up as a titan on the list , account for 23 % of the 120 party . Again , that ’s no surprise : We already report that inscrutable tech wason the risein Europe , with tailwind from public financing .
The French Tech Next40/120 programme also comes with perks . There ’s no direct backing involved ; the main benefit is the promise of less friction and fewer “ unnecessary institutional obstacles . ” It is quite telling that this is blow as a magnanimity , and presumptively , more companies could benefit from that . But if you require to have global champions , you have to come out somewhere .
The French Tech Next40/120 already crossed borders : 88 % of companies in the new course of instruction have a physical presence or important commercial-grade action abroad in 2024 .
Being selected will give them more outside visibility , but it ’s at home that it will more directly loose doors : Since 2023 , an opening move called “ Je Choisis la French Tech ” encourages public establishment and large corporations to procure solutions from French startups . Now that markets care more about profitability , this is much more palpable than a unicorn cornet .
