HEC Paris ecosystem shines in the Future40

STATION F has just unveiled the 2025 edition of the Future 40 ranking, highlighting the most promising early-stage companies on its campus. Once again, startups originating from the HEC Paris entrepreneurial ecosystem are highly represented, accounting for 22% of the entire cohort.

Station F Future 40, the place to be (incubated)

The Future 40 is the annual selection of the 40 best-performing pre-seed and seed startups chosen from the pool of over 1,000 companies housed at STATION F, the XXL incubator launched by Xavier Niel nearly a decade ago. The selected companies represent the top 4% of the campus ecosystem. To establish this ranking, the STATION F team evaluates key criteria such as growth, traction, initial commercial or technical successes, and plans for the coming months. Since 2023, startups that have raised €1 million or more have been eligible for selection.

This ranking positions companies for rapid acceleration, offering them enhanced visibility and access to critical development opportunities. The selected founders are invited to a high-level dinner attended by several top international funds and key players who can open new doors for growth.
 

22% of the Future 40 Cohort Stem from the HEC Paris Ecosystem

The HEC Paris entrepreneurial community contributes significantly to the dynamism of the Future 40 program, securing its place as the #3 top partner. Indeed, three startups currently incubated through the Incubateur HEC Paris made it into the ranking:

1. Freeda: An AI co-pilot for construction and expansion teams that spots architectural plan errors within 48 hours, preventing delays. The startup, cofounded by HEC Alumnus Peter Starr (H.23), announced a 3.4M€ funding round alongside its selection.
    
2. HyReveal: A deeptech pioneer focused on subsurface exploration and monitoring for natural (geologic) hydrogen.
    
3. Voicing AI: AI-driven customer communication solutions with ultra-realistic voice synthesis and seamless system integration, incubated through the India AI program.

With these three incubated startups, the 2025 cohort includes in total 9 startups from the HEC Paris ecosystem. These nine champions highlight the growing involvement of HEC Paris graduates and startups supported by HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute programs:
 

HEC Alumni-Founded Companies

Five startups were founded by HEC Alumni:

1. Opsima: A FinOps tool that automates AWS commitments to cut costs and save time for companies. Co-founded by Louis Raynaud (MS HEC 08).
    
2. Pletor: A canvas where marketing and creative teams combine the best AI models to design and automate their creative workflow. Co-founded by Antoine Sueur (H.20).
    
3. Qantum: Building the first AI-native accounting software in Europe, covering everything from legal accounting to simulation. Co-founded by Hugues Decosse (H.04).
    
4. Sandra AI: Develops intelligent voice and SMS assistants for car dealerships, revolutionizing customer service in the automotive industry. Co-founded by Ismail Majjad (H.21) and Badr El Idrissi Mokdad (H.21).
    
5. Vema Hydrogen: Developer and operator of Engineered Mineral Hydrogen (EMH), a disruptive hydrogen production technology. Co-founded by Pierre Levin (H.86).
    

Creative Destruction Lab - Paris

Aerleum: Develops breakthrough technology to transform atmospheric CO₂ into cost-competitive synthetic fuels and chemicals for hard-to-abate industries.  (CDL Climate 2025-26) 

In total, 7 founders associated with the HEC ecosystem are featured this year.

Key Figures

Collectively, the nine HEC Paris-affiliated companies featured in the 2025 Future 40 cohort demonstrate significant economic potential within the early-stage startup landscape:

• $130M in total valuation.
• $15.2M in total funding raised. This funding was secured across 8 rounds.
• The total funding includes $13.0M in Series A rounds and $2.2M in Seed rounds.

These startups account for 52 direct employees.

This achievement underlines the commitment, entrepreneurial mindset, and culture of excellence fostered at HEC Paris.
 

Strategic Focus: AI Agents and Clean Energy

The 2025 Future 40 cohort generally shows a strong emphasis on technology, with nearly 75% of founders being engineers and 17 holding PhDs. For the HEC Paris ecosystem, two strategic areas stand out: 
 

AI Agents and Software

Several HEC-affiliated companies are utilizing sophisticated AI to automate critical business functions and gain productivity: Voicing AI, Sandra AI, Opsima, Pletor and Freeda. 
 

Clean Energy

HEC Paris labelled startups also contribute to the critical domain of clean energy and decarbonization with HyReveal, Vema Hydrogen and Aerleum.
 

The Future 40 Selection Process and Impact

The selection process for the Future 40 identifies high-potential early-stage companies based on growth, traction, and demonstrated commercial success. This year’s batch is characterized by mature founder profiles; 42% of the cohort are “repeat founders” who have previously exited companies or held senior positions in major tech companies like Meta and Airbnb. 

Being part of the Future 40 ranking provides laureates with substantial immediate benefits, including significant market visibility. Across all seven editions, the 280 featured companies have collectively raised over €900M, demonstrating the selection’s power to spot future successes. The entire STATION F campus ecosystem achieved a historic milestone this year, having collectively raised over €1B as of September.

Full ranking here