For a French startup, joining the French Tech Next40/120 annual list has always been a badge of honor. But it is more meaningful than it once was — and not just because of the growing support that laureates get through the program.
Now in its sixth edition, the program follows criteria that have evolved over the years to put less emphasis on paper valuations, and more on tangible revenue.
Unicorns are still welcome, and startups can join because they raised significant rounds of funding over the past three years; but now, half of the companies get selected for their revenue, and revenue growth.
Revenue is even more important for the ‘Next40’ side of the list, which includes ten companies that generate more than €100 million in revenue a year.
But even among the longer cohort, there are new entrants that made the list for meeting an impressive bar of generating at least €40 million in revenue, coupled with an average annual growth rate of at least 15% over the past three years. Here are eight of these:
Acheel
Acheel is a French insurtech offering a wide range of digital insurance contracts including home, health, auto, and pets. It obtained a license to operarate as an insurance company from the French regulator ACPR in 2021, expanded in 2023 for additional activities. It is backed by Xavier Niel’s NJJ, Serena and Portage Ventures (formerly Portag3 Ventures).
Chargemap
Chargemap helps EV drivers find and pay for charging stations across Europe. Since 2021, it also includes an itinerary planning tool. Chargemap Business, its B2B offering, is used by over 3,000 companies.
MWM
MWM is a mobile app publisher boasting more than 600 million downloads, and now leveraging AI, with a focus on creativity. Founded in 2012, it has raised over €75 million in funding to date, with Blisce leading its Series C in 2020.
Papernest
Backed by Kima Ventures and Idinvest Partners and Partech, Papernest helps users manage and switch household contracts including electricity, gas, internet, mobile, home insurance, and even media and press. It already helped more than one million customers, and has partnerships with a wide range of suppliers across Europe.
Stych
Stych combines digital tools and physical locations to help users get their driving license at a lower cost. Formerly known as Auto-école.net, it raised funding from Ring Capital and Calcium Capital.
Superprof
Superprof is a global tutoring marketplace connecting students and teachers — and it is bootstrapped.
Voltalis
Voltalis provides smart energy management solutions. In 2023, it secured €91 million in private equity.
Yubo
Yubo is a social media app for Gen Z . The company has raised over $60 million, including a $47.5 million Series C round in 2020.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive. According to the French Tech Mission, 16 companies were selected based on revenue criteria, but some don’t disclose these figures.