France's Ministry of Economy and Finance has unveiled the 2026 cohort of the French Tech Next40/120 program, selecting 120 French companies for their growth, innovation and economic impact. The seventh edition updates the program's framework by making technological excellence and contribution to major economic and societal challenges full pillars of selection alongside financial performance. The program, launched in 2019, is designed to identify and support high-performing French scale-ups as they expand and grow internationally. The 2026 cohort reported combined 2025 revenue of EUR 11.3 billion and direct employment of 33,500 people in France, up 15.5% year on year. Thirty of the 120 companies generated more than EUR 100 million in annual revenue, average annual growth was 31%, and about 45% of companies excluding deeptech were profitable. Internationally, the selected companies generate 38% of their revenue abroad and operate in 89 countries. In industry, 25 companies run 33 production sites in France across areas including batteries, robotics, small nuclear reactors and electric aviation. For the first time, selection of the Next40 subset was entrusted to a committee drawn from the ecosystem. It was tasked with identifying, from within the French Tech 120, the 40 scale-ups combining economic performance, technological excellence, international leadership and job creation in France, with nearly 40% of the Next40 made up of deeptech companies.

Original source Back to tracker