HEC Paris Champions Forge Future Sovereignty and Economic Leadership
The year 2025 marks a new period of recognition for the HEC Paris entrepreneurial ecosystem, reaffirming our status as a leading institution in the creation and acceleration of technological champions in France and Europe. Our HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute climbed to the 4th position in the “Europe's Leading Start-Up Hubs” ranking by the Financial Times and Sifted, a distinction that reflects the quality of our entrepreneur support programs, evaluated based on founder satisfaction and the performance of companies supported between 2018 and 2023. We are also proud to see our community recognized in majors rankings in France and worldwide. This success is rooted in the school's ecosystem, which supports entrepreneurs through renowned programs like the Incubateur HEC Paris, the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)-Paris, and Challenge +.
National Champions and Technological Sovereignty
HEC Paris plays a central role in the emergence of future French technology leaders, as confirmed by its strong presence in the flagship programs of ‘The French Tech mission’, and beyond.
French Tech Next40/120
The French Tech Next40/120 program selects the 120 leaders of French Tech, capable of establishing themselves internationally.
This year, 25 startups founded or co-founded by HEC alumni are featured in the French Tech Next40/120 promotion:
- Eight startups featured in the Next40, representing a significant 20% of the entire Next40 ranking: Doctolib, Mirakl, Pennylane, and Qonto (all are renowned unicorns), as well as Agryco, Descartes Underwriting, Worldia, and Zeplug.
- 17 startups featured in the FT120, accounting for 21% of the ranking: Alma (Challenge+ participant), Foodles, Greenly, La Fourche, Le Collectionist, Libon, Madbox, Moon Surgical, Medadom (Incubateur HEC Paris participant), Ornikar, Seyna, Swap Food, which welcome five newcomers: Pixmania, Resilience, Veesion, Shippeo and Papernest.
These companies, launched by 31 alumni founders, account for 27% of the total 42,000 direct jobs created by the entire 2025 cohort, and represent €23 billion in market capitalization.
This year, companies were chosen based on objective performance criteria, measured by revenue growth (minimum €40 million in annual revenue and 15% annualized growth over 3 years) or by the amounts of their most significant fundraising rounds conducted between January 2022 and April 2025.
French Tech 2030, The Startups Driving National Sovereignty
The French Tech 2030 program aims to accelerate the emergence of French champions structuring the technological landscape in strategic sectors like AI, cybersecurity, quantum, space, and critical infrastructure, in order to ensure technological sovereignty. The selection is rigorous, based on mandatory eligibility criteria and a qualitative assessment of strategic interest and technological maturity (TRL 6+).
In 2025, the HEC Paris entrepreneurial community contributed significantly with 17 startups, which have joined in one of our support programs or which were co-founded by HEC Alumni, representing 21% of the promotion:
- CDL Paris: Biomemory, Isentroniq, Diamfab, Delos Intelligence, Ion-X (CDL and Challenge +).
- HEC Challenge +: Snowpack, Steerlight, Mirsense, NcodiN, Quandela, Ti Hive, Ion-X.
- Incubateur HEC Paris: Qevlar AI, Neuralk-Ai, Inbolt.
- HEC Alumni: Inbolt (2 HEC Alumni founders), Comand AI, Elistair, HarfangLab (2 alumni founders).
In total, these 17 companies account for 690 direct jobs (out of 3,200 for the whole cohort), $1.3 billion in valuation.
Bpifrance Observatoire Deeptech 2025 University Ranking
In recognition of its foundational role in Deep Tech, HEC Paris ranked #4 overall in the Bpifrance Observatoire Deeptech 2025 University Ranking, simultaneously standing as the #1 business school in France for generating Deep Tech startups. This position, which is noteworthy as HEC Paris is ranked as a stand-alone institution, reflects the profound impact of the HEC Paris ecosystem. Key figures underscore this success:
- 326 Deep Tech startups created by HEC Alumni
- €443m raised in total funds in 2025
- €11.8 billion in combined enterprise value
- 8,256 jobs created
In total, the 326 Deep Tech startups created by HEC Alumni, the combined enterprise value (€11.8 billion), and the total capital raised to date. Collectively, HEC Alumni Deep Tech ventures have created 8,256 jobs.
The methodology, powered by Bpifrance and Dealroom, weights factors such as the number of deeptech startups founded by alumni, the total volume of capital raised to date, the combined enterprise value, the funding/support activity since 2024 and, the capital raised since 2024.
All these recognitions underline our significant contribution to the French Deep Tech ecosystem.
Growth Accelerators and European Potential
Our community also excels in rankings focused on rapid growth, investment potential, and promising young companies in Europe.
Sifted 250 (The fastest-growing European startups)
The Sifted 250 ranks the 250 fastest-growing European startups based on the highest percentage revenue growth over the last three financial years, calculated using the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). To be eligible, companies must be private, independent, and based in Europe (excluding Azerbaijan, Belarus, Israel, Russia, and Turkey).
In 2025, 10 HEC startups are featured in the ranking, representing approximately 4% of the total representation:
- HEC Graduate: REVER, Folk, Lizy, Upway, Sharelock.
- Creative Destructive Lab (CDL): Arctic Space Technologies.
- Incubateur HEC Paris: Flitter, OneFlash, Aria (present last year).
- HEC Challenge +: Reflect.
Challenges 100 Startups to Invest in 2025
This ranking by Challenges magazine identifies the 100 French startups to invest in.
23 startups stem from the HEC ecosystem (Alumni & IEI):
- 13 startups with at least 1 HEC Alumni as founder: Astran, Buddy, Claimy, Clarity, Connecting Food, Epyr, Famirelay, FoodFlow, LumiSync, Mamili, Melba, Paradigme, RockFi. 6 of these Alumni startups also followed an IEI program: Buddy (Launchpad, Incubateur), Claimy (Launchpad), Clarity (Incubateur), FoodFlow (Incubateur), LumiSync (CDL), Paradigme (Incubateur).
- 10 startups supported by an IEI program (excluding Alumni founders): Challenge + (HuntX Pharma, Lifebloom Global, Lutèce Dynamics, MovaLife, RebrAIn, Therasonic), CDL (Xpdeep), Incubateur (Neuralk-AI), Osiris (HECTAR), Comex de poche (StudiAva).
From Medtech to Fintech, Greentech to Deeptech, these ventures are pushing the boundaries of innovation and impact, and many of them were born or scaled through our flagship programs.
Future 40 (Station F)
The Future 40 is the annual selection of the 40 most promising pre-seed and seed startups among the over 1,000 companies housed at STATION F. Key criteria include growth, traction, initial commercial or technical successes, and plans for the coming months.
This year, HEC Paris is recognized as the #3 top partner, with three startups currently enrolled in the HEC Paris Incubateur program: Freeda, HyReveal, and Voicing AI. Along these three incubated startups, the 2025 cohort includes in total nine startups from the HEC Paris ecosystem, accounting for 22% of the entire cohort:
- Incubateur HEC Paris: Freeda (cofounded by an HEC Alumnus), HyReveal, and Voicing AI (Incubated through the India AI program).
- HEC Alumni Founders: Opsima, Pletor, Qantum, Sandra AI, Vema Hydrogen.
- Creative Destruction Lab - Paris (CDL): Aerleum.
Together, the nine HEC Paris–affiliated startups selected for the 2025 Future 40 cohort highlight the strong economic promise of early-stage ventures. Combined, they represent a total valuation of $130M and have raised $15.2M, and employ 52 people.
SPRING50
Each year, The Paris-Saclay ecosystem highlights 50 of its most promising innovations for the future at the Paris-Saclay SPRING event.
In 2025, 9 HEC Paris-labeled startups are present, representing 18% of the entire ranking: ARCSPACE (CDL), KEPLERTECH.IO (Challenge +), FREEDA (Incubateur), LIVEO (Alumni, with 2 HEC founders), SAFENAI (Challenge +), VIKIT.AI (Incubateur, with 1 HEC Alumni founder), REVOLTY (2 HEC Alumni and Launchpad), UNVEIL (1 HEC founder), CEMENTIC (Challenge +).
Impact, Unicorns, and Talent Diversity
The commitment of the HEC Paris community is also evident in the fields of social and environmental impact, as well as in promoting entrepreneurial excellence.
Impact 40/120 (Mouvement Impact France)
The Impact 40/120 index aims to identify and support the most promising social and ecological impact startups, aspiring to become "impact unicorns".
In the 2025, 28 HEC Paris-affiliated startups are included in the Impact 120 (23.3% of the 120), accounting for 33 HEC Alumni founders. Within these laureates, 7 HECParis startups are present in the Impact 40 (17.5%): La Fourche, Les Alchimistes, Bene Bono, Upway are founded by at least one HEC Alumni, while Ipso Santé, Lifen and Vestack took part in the Incubateur HEC Paris and were founded by at least one HEC Alumni.
LinkedIn Top Startups 2025 France
This ranking highlights the 20 most dynamic French startups based on a LinkedIn algorithm combining key signals such as headcount growth, platform engagement, and job offer attractiveness.
For the 2025 Edition, 6 of the 20 startups were founded by HEC Alumni, representing 30% of the ranking. This represents 8 founders in total. Congratulations to the companies: Maki People, Flowdesk, Naboo, Pennylane, Resilience Care, and Beyond Aero.
Sifted 100 Women in Tech in Europe 2025
This Sifted 100 Women in Tech in Europe ranking spotlights 100 influential women in the European tech ecosystem (founders, investors, or executives). The selection criteria focused on concrete impact in tech (innovation, growth, influence), diversity of roles, and contribution to the European ecosystem.
5 HEC Alumni figures are featured in this ranking:
- Katrin de Proyart: Founder of Vizzia, she develops AI-powered smart video surveillance solutions to help cities detect illegal dumping and improve urban cleanliness.
- Laure Betsch: She leads Fairly Made, a company transforming sustainable fashion through textile traceability and environmental impact measurement for brands.
- Louiza Hacene: Founder of Malou, a platform that helps restaurants improve their digital visibility and automate communication to drive sales.
- Marie-Capucine Lemétais: Partner at impact fund Ring Capital, she invests in and supports responsible tech startups, with a strong focus on sustainability and diversity in venture capital.
- Rocío Alcocer: She leads Norrsken Barcelona, an impact-driven innovation hub supporting tech entrepreneurs working toward social and environmental change.
Two of them took part in our Challenge + program:
- Alison Imbert: Seed investor at Partech, she backs high-potential European startups and represents the new generation of women partners in venture capital.
- Sarah Lamaison: Co-founder of Dioxycle, a deeptech startup that converts CO₂ into reusable resources, representing the forefront of European climate tech.
We are proud to see all these startups, founders and figures contribute to a more technologically advanced and prosperous future in France and overseas. As demonstrated by our community’s significant presence in all these rankings, HEC Paris remains dedicated to supporting responsible entrepreneurs who strive not only to "make it happen, and make it big" but also to drive positive change toward a more inclusive and sustainable world.