Station F start-ups raise a record €2bn in 2026 as Paris campus names its Future 40

05/11/2026
12
Abstract illustration of glowing amber tiles rising like a bar chart beneath a large arched glass hall

Companies linked to the world's largest start-up campus have raised €2bn this year, up from more than €1.5bn in 2025, but the total leans heavily on two alumni mega-rounds. The new Future 40 cohort, mostly pre-seed and seed, has raised €110m between them.

Station F, the Paris start-up campus founded by telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel, said on Wednesday that companies in its ecosystem have raised a record €2bn so far in 2026, surpassing the more than €1.5bn raised in 2025. The campus has passed the €1bn mark every year since 2022, according to figures it published alongside its annual Future 40 list, reported by Maddyness, Tech.eu and EU-Startups.

The headline number needs context. A large share comes from two former residents rather than from companies currently on campus: quantum and AI company Multiverse Computing, which raised €500m, and health insurer Alan, which raised €480m. Together those two rounds account for roughly half of the €2bn. Station F did not publish a breakdown of the remainder, and the figure has not been independently audited.

Who made the list

Now in its eighth edition, the Future 40 picks 40 companies from the more than 1,000 start-ups based at the campus this year, about the top 4%. Station F says selection is based on metrics, traction and milestones rather than on the size of funding rounds.

The 2026 cohort has raised €110m to date, one of the better-funded editions. The largest round belongs to Arlequin AI, which raised a €28m Series A in September for software designed to support high-stakes decision-making, according to The Next Web. Other funded names include CURA ($10m), Cleavr (€8m) and Lemrock, led by Roxane Laigle. Reports differ on Lemrock's round: Tech.eu and EU-Startups give €7m, while Maddyness gives €6m.

The money is still early-stage. Thirty-one of the 40 companies are at pre-seed or seed, two are at Series A and five are bootstrapped, Maddyness reported. Fourteen come from F/ai, a programme Station F launched this year with large AI companies that aims to help participants reach €1m in revenue in under six months (translated). Sovereign AI and physical AI stand out as themes, alongside developer infrastructure, robotics and climate tech.

Tech.eu noted that six of the selected companies went through Y Combinator in the US and then returned to France, a small but telling sign that some founders now choose to build in Europe after time in Silicon Valley.

Why it matters

For Europe's start-up scene, the list is a useful early indicator of where Paris seed money is flowing. Earlier Future 40 cohorts, 320 companies across eight editions, have raised a combined €1.2bn, and several have been bought by larger AI players: Mistral AI acquired Pimento in September, Hugging Face has also bought a Future 40 company, and tax-software group Sovos acquired Flowie.

That exit path cuts both ways. Acquisitions by Mistral and Hugging Face show French AI champions consolidating talent at home, but they also mean fewer of the campus's best young companies grow into independent scale-ups. Whether the record €2bn reflects broad momentum or a handful of very large alumni rounds is the question Station F's own numbers leave open.

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Station F start-ups raise a record €2bn in 2026 as Paris campus names its Future 40

05/11/2026
12
Abstract illustration of glowing amber tiles rising like a bar chart beneath a large arched glass hall

Companies linked to the world's largest start-up campus have raised €2bn this year, up from more than €1.5bn in 2025, but the total leans heavily on two alumni mega-rounds. The new Future 40 cohort, mostly pre-seed and seed, has raised €110m between them.

Station F, the Paris start-up campus founded by telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel, said on Wednesday that companies in its ecosystem have raised a record €2bn so far in 2026, surpassing the more than €1.5bn raised in 2025. The campus has passed the €1bn mark every year since 2022, according to figures it published alongside its annual Future 40 list, reported by Maddyness, Tech.eu and EU-Startups.

The headline number needs context. A large share comes from two former residents rather than from companies currently on campus: quantum and AI company Multiverse Computing, which raised €500m, and health insurer Alan, which raised €480m. Together those two rounds account for roughly half of the €2bn. Station F did not publish a breakdown of the remainder, and the figure has not been independently audited.

Who made the list

Now in its eighth edition, the Future 40 picks 40 companies from the more than 1,000 start-ups based at the campus this year, about the top 4%. Station F says selection is based on metrics, traction and milestones rather than on the size of funding rounds.

The 2026 cohort has raised €110m to date, one of the better-funded editions. The largest round belongs to Arlequin AI, which raised a €28m Series A in September for software designed to support high-stakes decision-making, according to The Next Web. Other funded names include CURA ($10m), Cleavr (€8m) and Lemrock, led by Roxane Laigle. Reports differ on Lemrock's round: Tech.eu and EU-Startups give €7m, while Maddyness gives €6m.

The money is still early-stage. Thirty-one of the 40 companies are at pre-seed or seed, two are at Series A and five are bootstrapped, Maddyness reported. Fourteen come from F/ai, a programme Station F launched this year with large AI companies that aims to help participants reach €1m in revenue in under six months (translated). Sovereign AI and physical AI stand out as themes, alongside developer infrastructure, robotics and climate tech.

Tech.eu noted that six of the selected companies went through Y Combinator in the US and then returned to France, a small but telling sign that some founders now choose to build in Europe after time in Silicon Valley.

Why it matters

For Europe's start-up scene, the list is a useful early indicator of where Paris seed money is flowing. Earlier Future 40 cohorts, 320 companies across eight editions, have raised a combined €1.2bn, and several have been bought by larger AI players: Mistral AI acquired Pimento in September, Hugging Face has also bought a Future 40 company, and tax-software group Sovos acquired Flowie.

That exit path cuts both ways. Acquisitions by Mistral and Hugging Face show French AI champions consolidating talent at home, but they also mean fewer of the campus's best young companies grow into independent scale-ups. Whether the record €2bn reflects broad momentum or a handful of very large alumni rounds is the question Station F's own numbers leave open.

Sources

Recent

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