Welcome to a special edition of French Tech Updates! Typically, this newsletter is your weekly source of startup, VC, and tech news and insights written by James, a startup-obsessed American living in Paris.

The French 75 84 – The most promising startups in France ⭐️

In the last 18 months I’ve spent hundreds of hours researching the French tech ecosystem. During all that time, I’ve come across dozens of interesting startups—from very early ventures to well-established players.

While many have have tried to document these companies, I found most of those lists difficult to sort through or lacking the kinds of information most people want to know about a company. So, I decided to make my own list of French startups I think have the most potential to succeed.

I so badly wanted to name this list after the French 75, the famous cocktail (and field artillery piece), but ended up with more companies than I anticipated. So instead I present to you ⭐️ The French 84: the most promising startups in France.

This list captures the companies that I believe will be great places to work at, invest in, or partner with. The database also includes key information like what they do, what makes them interesting, how many people they employ, and where they are located.

To make the list, the companies needed to meet the following criteria:

• 🗓 Young: Must be founded in 2012 or later.

• 🚀 Scaleable: Must have the potential to reach a large total addressable market and achieve VC-scale returns.

• 🚜 Traction: Must be making demonstrable progress towards their objectives. This criteria excluded many pre-seed or pre-PMF ventures.

This is the resource I wish I had when I first arrived in France and I hope you find it helpful!

Know of a high-growth French startup you think I missed? Reply to this email with their name and I’ll check them out.