Unveiled by the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the 2026 cohort of the French Tech 2030 program recognizes companies that are developing strategic technologies to strengthen France’s technological and industrial autonomy. Of the 80 selected startups, 11 come from the École Polytechnique ecosystem and operate in fields such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity, healthcare, and space communications.
The LinkedIn Top Startups 2026 France ranking, published in mid-October, highlights twenty startups that have placed artificial intelligence at the heart of their business. Mistral AI, Harmattan AI, Dust, and H Company, which are included in the list, were co-founded or are led by alumni of École Polytechnique. École Polytechnique and CentraleSupélec are currently the two main sources of founders for this list.
Gwendal Hénaff, from the Plasma Physics Laboratory (LPP*), and Sooyong Chae, from the Laboratory of Physics of Interface and Thin Film (LPICM*), were recognized at the i-PhD 2026 competition for their doctoral research. They will receive support for developing their entrepreneurial projects. This demonstrates how research that begins as basic science can become the driving force behind practical applications.
The French startup Mistral AI has announced a new €3 billion funding round led by Samsung Electronics, bringing its valuation to over €21 billion. Founded in 2023 by three researchers and entrepreneurs, including Arthur Mensch and Guillaume Lample (X2011), Mistral intends to continue developing cutting-edge, open, and sovereign artificial intelligence for the benefit of European companies and institutions.
The American processor designer, Nvidia, has officially announced the acquisition of Hugging Face—co-founded in 2016 by three French entrepreneurs, including two École Polytechnique alumni, Julien Chaumond and Thomas Wolf, both from the Class of 2003—for $12.9 billion. In less than ten years, Hugging Face has established itself as one of the world’s leading platforms for sharing and using open artificial intelligence models.
Co-founded by Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Alain Aspect, professor emeritus at École Polytechnique, and Antoine Browaeys, a professor at École Polytechnique, Pasqal—France’s first quantum computing unicorn—is now listed on the Nasdaq. This listing provides the company with approximately $360 million in cash to accelerate its industrial and technological development.
Nine startups incubated at X-Up, École Polytechnique’s incubator, were present at the VivaTech 2026 trade show, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. Polytech students interning at the Orange Group also participated in a roundtable discussion with Christel Heydemann (X94), CEO of the telecommunications and digital services provider, on the topic of digital sovereignty.
The winners of the 2026 edition of the Next40/FrenchTech 120 program, which supports the most promising French startups, were announced on June 17. One in three Next40 startups was founded, co-founded, or is led by an École Polytechnique alumnus; for the FrenchTech 120, the figure is nearly one in four.
Philippe Hazet, head of the École Polytechnique X-UP incubator, outlines the key considerations behind our participation in the 2026 edition of the Viva Technology trade fair. This major global event for innovation and new technologies will take place from 17 to 20 June at the Porte de Versailles in Paris.
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Sustainable Development
When they founded the start-up Jane in 2023, Simon Heurtebise and Nathan Bouldoires wanted to be part of an increasingly significant initiative: collective self-consumption. With their software, they simplify the administrative management of these complex projects and thus contribute to the green transition by promoting the sharing of renewable energy, particularly solar power. In 2024–2025, they received support from École polytechnique’s incubator, X-UP, which enabled them to bring their idea to fruition. This support demonstrates the importance École polytechnique places on supporting projects that are meaningful and beneficial to society.
Philippe Tibi (X77), a professor of economics at École Polytechnique, has been leading an initiative since 2019, at the request of the French authorities, to mobilize private capital for the financing of disruptive technological innovation. He has just been tasked with overseeing the next phase of this initiative—which has raised more than 15 billion euros since its launch—and with expanding it to the European level.
Entrepreneurship, Corporate relations, Innovation, Sustainable Development
There is something paradoxical about the current state of green technologies. Investment figures are down. The number of new GreenTech startups, after flirting with record highs, has leveled off. And yet, in laboratories, prototyping workshops, and DeepTech incubators, the buzz is palpable. Perhaps even more intense than ever. GreenTech isn't running out of steam; it's mutating
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