Hec Paris Reaches New Heights In The 2026 French Tech Next40/120 Ranking
HEC Paris continues to strengthen its position as France’s leading institution for nurturing entrepreneurial champions. With 33 startups founded or co-founded by HEC alumni — or supported by an HEC Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI) programme — featured in the 2026 French Tech Next40/120 ranking, the school has reached its highest level of representation to date. This year’s cohort now accounts for more than one quarter of the entire classification, reflecting the depth and maturity of an ecosystem built to produce scalable, high-impact businesses.
A Record Footprint In 2026
This year’s promotion underscores HEC Paris’s consistent representation in the most strategic segment of the French Tech ecosystem. Compared with 25 startups in 2025, this represents a 32% year-on-year increase. The progression is driven by a new generation of scale-ups reaching higher tiers of maturity, with HEC Paris’ presence in the elite Next40 rising from 8 to 10 companies.
33startups from HEC Paris ecosystem 27 alumni-founded + 6 IEI-backed | 27.5%of the full Next40/120 ranking highest share ever recorded |
$29.1Bcombined valuation 28.3% of the full cohort’s $102.9B | 17,000direct jobs created 29.3% of all jobs in the promotion |
"This is a tremendous recognition of our impact and innovation in the AI ecosystem. This recognition comes at a pivotal moment: as AI enters the agentic era and the market shifts from model access to deployment, it reinforces Ekimetrics’ relevance as a French tech leader helping companies turn AI into measurable business impact."
—Jean-Baptiste Bouzige, CEO of Ekimetrics
HEC Paris In The Next40
Ten HEC startups now sit in the highly competitive Next40, representing 25% of France’s top 40 tech scale-ups, up from 8 in 2025. The 10 Next40 HEC companies are collectively valued at $15.4 billion and employ close to 10,000 people.
Six are new entrants or promotions from the FT120:
- Ekimetrics: B2B data science & AI (promoted from FT120)
- Foodles: corporate catering platform (promoted from FT120)
- LegalPlace: legal & compliance SaaS (direct entry)
- Hublo: healthcare workforce management (direct entry, HEC Alumni & Incubateur HEC Paris)
- Medadom: telehealth for medical deserts (promoted from FT120, Incubateur HEC Paris)
- Alma: buy-now-pay-later fintech (promoted from FT120, Challenge+)
Four companies maintain their position from the previous year: Doctolib, Pennylane, Qonto, the cornerstones of HEC’s mature unicorn portfolio, as well as Descartes Underwriting. The 10 Next40 HEC startups span five verticals: B2B Software & Services, Fintech & Financial Services, Platforms & Marketplace, Health Tech, and Legal & Compliance, illustrating the breadth of HEC’s generalist ecosystem.
A Generalist Ecosystem Confirmed By The Ft120
In the broader FT80 segment, 23 HEC startups are featured, representing 29% of the FT80, up 35% from 17 the previous year. Among them, 13 are new entrants or promotions (including Shippeo and Agryco, returning from the Next40), and 10 were already present in 2025.
These 23 companies represent a combined valuation of $9.8 billion and 6,785 jobs. Their sector coverage confirms HEC’s generalist strength: B2B Software & Services (Flowdesk, Partoo, Papernest, Jimmy, Naboo, Libon, FoodFlow, Shippeo), Fintech & Assurtech (Seyna, Stoik), Climate, Energy & Industry (Greenly, Zeplug, ITEN, Agryco), Health & Deeptech (Moon Surgical, Resilience Care), and Platforms & Consumer (HomeExchange, Ornikar, Pixmania, Homa Games, La Fourche, Animaj, Bigblue).
HEC Paris Ecosystem: The Engine Behind The Numbers
HEC Paris continues to solidify its position as a leading institution for nurturing entrepreneurial champions in the French Tech Next40/120. Its presence has grown steadily, from 20 companies in 2023 to 25 in both 2024 and 2025, and now to 33 in 2026; a trajectory that reflects both the scale and the continuity of the school’s entrepreneurial output.
This performance is underpinned by HEC Paris’ ecosystem infrastructure: an 80,000-strong international alumni network, access to over 1,000 experts and mentors through the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, and partnerships with academic and corporate institutions across deep tech, AI, beauty tech and energy.
The 2026 results translate less to a change of profile than a change of scale: the ecosystem’s economic footprint is growing rapidly, while its sectoral identity remains consistent — a generalist ecosystem with particular strength in B2B software, fintech, climate tech and digital platforms.
A Ranking At The Heart Of French Technological Sovereignty
The 2026 French Tech Next40/120 highlights a marked deep tech turn: around 38% of Next40 companies come from deeptech sectors such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, robotics, and energy. The 120 laureates employ 33,500 people in France, up 15.5% year on year, and 25 companies operate production sites in France across 33 facilities in 10 regions.
About The French Tech Next40/120
Launched in 2019, the French Tech Next40/120 is France’s flagship programme for identifying and supporting the country’s fastest-growing technology scale-ups. Now in its seventh edition, the 2026 cohort marks a significant evolution in selection criteria: for the first time, technological excellence and societal contribution stand alongside financial performance as full pillars of the selection.
The 2026 promotion’s headline figures: €11.3 billion in cumulative revenues in 2025, growing at an average of 31% year-on-year; 46,000 direct jobs worldwide (33,500 in France); and 97% companies operating overseas.