The Numbers Tell a Story

The transformation has been remarkable. In 2012, France had just three unicorns—private companies valued at over $1 billion. By 2024, that number had grown to 30, making France the leading unicorn producer in continental Europe. French startups raised €13.5 billion in 2023, a figure that would have seemed fantastical just a decade earlier. More tellingly, 45% of these investments came from international sources, signaling global confidence in French innovation.

But these numbers only scratch the surface. Behind each statistic lies a human story—of entrepreneurs who chose to build in France rather than flee to London or San Francisco, of established corporations that learned to partner with startups rather than fear them, of government officials who transformed from regulators to enablers.