French unicorns

Every French company valued above one billion, with its valuation, the year it joined the club, and the funds that backed it.

What this page covers

For each unicorn: the valuation announced at the latest known round and its currency, the year it joined the club, sector, city, number of rounds tracked since 2020 and the funds on its cap table. A ranking of the most active funds completes the list.

What counts as a unicorn

A French-founded company whose valuation has passed one billion at least once. The title sticks: a company whose valuation has since fallen stays on the list, with a note saying so. Status is curated by hand, never inferred from the amount raised.

About the figures

Valuations are converted to dollars, the unit of the threshold that defines a unicorn, at the exchange rate of the month of the announcement, with the amount as announced shown alongside. We never total them: a valuation is not money banked. Amounts raised only cover rounds from 2020 onwards, the period our database covers: for older companies this is a minimum, not a total.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is a unicorn?

A private company valued at more than one billion dollars. The term comes from American investor Aileen Lee, in 2013, to stress how rare it was. The threshold is in dollars, which is why we convert every valuation to that currency.

How many French unicorns are there?

41 to date. The count varies between sources because the criteria differ: where the headquarters sits, whether a valuation is confirmed or rumoured, whether acquired and listed companies still count. We list those whose valuation has been publicly confirmed, and we keep those that have since fallen back below the threshold, with a note saying so.

Which is the largest French unicorn?

Mistral AI, valued at €21.3B. The full ranking on this page is sorted by valuation converted to dollars at the exchange rate of the month of the announcement.

Which are the most recent French unicorns?

The latest to join the club are The Exploration Company (September 2026), AMI Labs (March 2026), Pasqal (March 2026). The page lets you sort companies by the date they joined.

Which was the first French unicorn?

Veepee, in December 2013, ahead of BlaBlaCar in September 2015. The club then stayed almost empty until 2019. Almost everything happened afterwards: 35 of the 40 French unicorns joined from 2020 onwards, 15 of them in 2021 alone.

Which French companies could become unicorns next?

We do not publish a list: a future unicorn is a prediction, not a piece of data, and ours would be worth no more than anyone else's. What we do track are the funding rounds that bring companies closer, month by month, in our fundraising barometer.

Why does your count differ from other lists?

Because the criteria differ, and rarely explicitly. We count companies founded in France whose valuation has passed one billion dollars at least once, on the strength of a public announcement, and we keep them afterwards: a company that has fallen back below the threshold keeps its title, with a note saying so. Many lists instead drop companies that were acquired, listed or devalued. We never add a company on a valuation rumour.

Why do some unicorns carry a caveat?

Because their valuation dates from a peak, often 2021, and has never been refreshed. Unicorn status works like a club: once earned, it stays. The caveat says what most lists leave out, namely that the figure on display may no longer reflect reality.

Why is there no total valuation?

Because a valuation is not money banked. It is the price of a fraction of the equity at one point in time, extrapolated to the whole. Adding them up would confuse the theoretical value of a set of companies with available wealth. We do convert figures to dollars so they can be compared, but converting makes the sum computable, not meaningful. The only total we show is money raised, which is money actually invested, and which we keep in euros because these are French rounds.

What does "raised since 2020" mean?

Our funding database starts in 2020. For an older company the figure shown is therefore a minimum, not a total: Blablacar, for one, raised far more before that date. We would rather show an exact figure over an explicit period than an approximate total.

How long does it take to become a unicorn?

7 years at the median for French companies. The spread is wide: Mistral AI crossed the billion in its founding year, Ivalua took nineteen years.

What is a centaur?

A company reaching 100 million in annual recurring revenue. The term comes from Bessemer, which considers it more telling than a valuation: it measures real activity rather than one negotiation.

Where does this data come from?

From our database of French funding rounds, which tracks deals from 2020 onwards, combined with manual curation of valuations and unicorn status. Status is never inferred from the amount raised: raising a billion is not being worth a billion.

The 41 French unicorns

41 French companies have passed the one billion dollar mark. It took them 7 years from founding, at the median. 23 of them are also centaurs, above 100 million in annual revenue.

  1. Mistral AI

    Generative AI lab building open-weight and proprietary large language models (LLMs), and the tooling to put them to work — from the assistant to the GPU clusters, self-hosted or on its own European cloud: the Mistral and Voxtral model families, Vibe (formerly Le Chat) as an enterprise work agent, Vibe for Code for engineering teams, Studio to build and observe agents, Forge to train custom models, and Compute for the underlying infrastructure.

    Valued at €21.3B as of September 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since December 2023, 0 years after being founded. Founded in 2023. AI tools & infra, Paris. €5.7B raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample, Timothée Lacroix.

    Investors : Advent, Andreessen Horowitz, ASML, Belfius, Bertelsmann Investments, BlackRock, BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas CIB, BNP Paribas Développement, Bpifrance Digital Venture, Bpifrance Large Venture, Carmignac, Cisco, CMA CGM, Conviction VC, Databricks, DST Global, Emerson Collective, Eurazeo, First Minute Capital, General Catalyst, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Hanwha Asset Management, Headline, Hillspire, Ibm, Index Ventures, JCDecaux, Korelya Capital, La Famiglia, Latitude IM, Lightspeed Venture Partners, LocalGlobe, Microsoft, Millennium New Horizons, Motier Ventures, New Wave, NVIDIA, ORA Global, Phoenix Court, PSG Equity, Redpoint, Salesforce Ventures, Samsung Ventures, Sanabil Investments, Scaleup Europe Fund, Servicenow, Snowflake Ventures, Sofina, SV Angel.

  2. Alan

    Online health and income-protection insurer that bundles cover and care in a single subscription — claims from the app, Clinique Alan with practitioners reachable by chat, Alan Mind for mental health, Alan Play for prevention, optical and nutrition. Sold to companies for their teams, but also to freelancers and retirees. Operating in France, Belgium, Spain and Canada.

    Valued at €5.5B as of June 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since April 2021, 5 years after being founded. Founded in 2016. Fintech & Insurtech, Paris. ≥ €1.2B raised over 10 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Charles Gorintin, Jean-Charles Samuelian.

    Investors : Ambel, Belfius, Coatue Management, Dara Holdings, Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, Greenoaks, H14, Index Ventures, Kaaf Investments, Kima Ventures, Lakestar, Open CNP, ORA Global, Origins, OTPP, Partech, Portage Invest, Power Financial Corporation, Prosus, Ribbit Capital, SH Capital, Skywood Capital, Teampact Ventures, Temasek.

  3. Back Market

    Marketplace for refurbished consumer electronics — smartphones, laptops, tablets, gaming consoles, home appliances and audio gear — connecting certified professional refurbishers with consumers, with a warranty and a return window on every purchase. Operating across Europe, the US and Japan.

    Valued at $5.7B as of January 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since May 2021, 7 years after being founded. Founded in 2014. Retail & Future of Commerce, Paris. €884M raised over 6 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Quentin Le Brouster, Thibaud Hug de Larauze, Vianney Vaute.

    Investors : Aglaé Ventures, Daphni, Eurazeo, General Atlantic, Generation Investment Management, Goldman Sachs Growth, Groupe Arnault, Sprints Capital.

  4. ContentSquare

    Digital experience analytics platform for enterprise brands — from session replay and heatmaps to journey and product analytics, performance monitoring, error detection and conversation intelligence, with Sense as its AI layer. Helps product and digital teams optimise conversion across web, mobile and LLM-driven traffic.

    Valued at $5.6B as of July 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since June 2021, 13 years after being founded. Founded in 2008. Adtech, Paris. €1.1B raised over 7 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Jonathan Cherki.

    Investors : BlackRock, Bpifrance Large Venture, Canaan Partners, Eurazeo, H14, Hermes GPE, Highland Europe, KKR Growth, LionTree, Seed4Soft, Sixth Street, SoftBank.

  5. Qonto

    All-in-one business banking and financial management platform for SMEs and freelancers — from business accounts, Mastercard cards, and SEPA/international transfers to e-invoicing, expense management, bookkeeping, cash flow monitoring, and company creation services, available across Europe.

    Valued at €4.4B as of January 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since January 2022, 6 years after being founded. Founded in 2016. Fintech & Insurtech, Paris. €627M raised over 6 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Alexandre Prot, Steve Anavi.

    Investors : Alkeon Capital, Alven, Crowdcube, DST Global, Eurazeo, Exor, Flucas Ventures, Gaingels, Hedosophia, Insight Partners, KKR Growth, TCV, Tencent, The Family, Tiger Global, Valar Ventures.

  6. Hugging Face

    Open-source platform and community for machine learning that lets developers build, train, share, and deploy models — from hosting models and datasets on the Hub to libraries like Transformers and Diffusers and hosted inference and Spaces apps.

    Valued at $4.5B as of August 2023 (as announced). Unicorn since May 2022, 6 years after being founded. Founded in 2016. AI tools & infra, Paris. €363M raised over 6 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Clément Delangue, Julien Chaumond, Thomas Wolf.

    Investors : A Capital Ventures, A.Capital Ventures, Addition VC, AI Futures Fund, AIX Ventures, Amazon, betaworks, Coatue, Cygni Capital, Intel Corporation, Lux Capital, NVIDIA, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, The Chernin Group, Thirty Five Ventures.

  7. Sorare

    Fantasy sports platform built on blockchain-based digital player cards — letting users collect, trade and play with NFT cards of real footballers, basketballers and baseball players, with card scarcity and player performance driving card value.

    Valued at $4.3B as of September 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since September 2021, 3 years after being founded. Founded in 2018. Culture & Divertissement, Saint-Mande. €628M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Adrien Montfort, Nicolas Julia.

    Investors : Accel, Atomico, Benchmark, Bessemer Venture Partners, Blisce, Cassius VC, Consensys Ventures, Cygni Capital, D1 Capital Partners, Eurazeo, Fabric Ventures, Headline, IVP, Kima Ventures, Kosmos, Ledger, LionTree, Partech, SeedCamp, Semantic Ventures, SoftBank.

  8. Pennylane

    All-in-one accounting and financial-management platform for SMEs and accounting firms working on the same synced workspace — combining bookkeeping, invoicing, expense and cash-flow management, integrated pro banking and cards, app integrations, automatic document scanning and an accounting copilot, with Factur-X compliant e-invoicing.

    Valued at $4.3B as of January 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since February 2024, 5 years after being founded. Founded in 2019. Fintech & Insurtech, Paris. €404M raised over 8 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Alexandre Roquoplo, Arthur Waller, Edouard Mascré, Felix Blossier, Quentin de Metz, Tancrède Besnard, Thierry Deo.

    Investors : Blackstone, CapitalG, Citadel Capital, Discovery Ventures, DST Global, Global Founders Capital, Hedosophia, Kima Ventures, Meritech Capital, Partech, Sequoia Capital, TCV.

  9. Doctolib

    Healthcare booking and practice management platform connecting patients and providers — from teleconsultation to the Doctolib Pro practice software, the Siilo secure messaging app between clinicians, and AI assistants that draft consultation notes and answer the phone. Operating in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

    Valued at €3.6B as of April 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since March 2019, 6 years after being founded. Founded in 2013. Healthcare & Life Sciences, Levallois-Perret. ≥ €833M raised over 10 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Ivan Schneider, Jessy Bernal, Stanislas Niox-Chateau, Thomas Landais.

    Investors : A.P. Moller Holding, Accel, Athos KG, Bpifrance Large Venture, Eurazeo, General Atlantic, Generation Investment Management, Kerala Ventures, Kernel Investissement.

  10. Dataiku

    Enterprise AI and data science platform that unifies data preparation, machine learning, LLM orchestration, and AI governance into a single system — enabling data teams, business analysts, and engineers to build, deploy, and govern AI models and agents across any infrastructure.

    Valued at $3.7B as of December 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since December 2019, 6 years after being founded. Founded in 2013. AI tools & infra, Paris. ≥ €738M raised over 9 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Clément Stenac, Florian Douetteau, Marc Batty, Thomas Cabrol.

    Investors : Alven, Battery Ventures, CapitalG, Dawn Capital, Eurazeo, Firstmark, Iconiq, Insight Partners, Lightrock, MACSF, Orange Ventures, Serena, Snowflake Ventures, Stripes, Tiger Global, Wellington Management.

  11. AMI Labs

    Frontier AI lab building world models — systems designed to understand the physical world, hold persistent memory, reason and plan, and stay controllable and safe — founded by Yann LeCun and led by Alex LeBrun.

    Valued at €3.2B as of March 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since March 2026, 2 years after being founded. Founded in 2024. AI tools & infra, Paris. €890M raised over 1 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Alexandre LeBrun, Laurent Solly, Michael Rabbat, Pascale Fung, Saining Xie, Yann LeCun.

    Investors : 20VC, Aglaé Ventures, Alpha Intelligence Capital, Artémis, Association Familiale Mulliez, Bezos Expeditions, Bpifrance Digital Venture, Cathay Innovation, Clover, Daphni, Drysdale Ventures, Eurazeo, FDJ UNITED Ventures, Founders Future, Greycroft, Groupe industriel Marcel Dassault, Headline, Hiro Capital, HV Capital, Kima Ventures, Motier Ventures, New Legacy Ventures, NVIDIA, Publicis, Ring Capital, Samsung Ventures, Sea, Serena, Shorooq, Softbank Ventures Asia, Temasek, Toyota Ventures, Zebox Ventures.

  12. Mirakl

    Enterprise marketplace platform that enables retailers, distributors and manufacturers to launch and operate online marketplaces and dropship programs — covering seller onboarding (Mirakl Connect), catalog management (Mirakl Catalog Platform), retail media (Mirakl Ads), and payments (Mirakl Payout). Clients include Carrefour, Best Buy, Macy's.

    Valued at $3.5B as of September 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since September 2020, 9 years after being founded. Founded in 2011. Retail & Future of Commerce, Paris. €810M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Adrien Nussenbaum, Philippe Corrot.

    Investors : 83North, Bain Capital Ventures, Elaia Partners, Felix Capital, Financière Saint-James, Permira, Silver Lake, Vintage Investment Partners.

  13. Poolside

    Developer of foundation models for software engineering, deployed inside the customer's own infrastructure — an AI coding assistant for code generation, completion, testing, refactoring and documentation across IDEs and terminals, with full model weights delivered on-premises or in private cloud for enterprises and governments. Founded by ex-GitHub CTO Jason Warner.

    Valued at $3.0B as of October 2024 (as announced). Unicorn since October 2024, 1 years after being founded. Founded in 2023. AI tools & infra, Paris. €569M raised over 3 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Eiso Kant, Jason Warner.

    Investors : Abstraction Capital, Adams Street, Air Street Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Bam Elevate, Bpifrance Digital Venture, Capital One Ventures, Citi Ventures, Dorsal Capital, DST Global, Ebay Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Fin Capital, Firedrop, Frst, Hsbc Ventures, Inovia Capital, ISAI, Kima Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, Motier Ventures, New Wave, NJJ, NVIDIA, Point Nine Capital, Premji Invest, Redpoint Ventures, Redpoint Ventures China, Schroders Capital, Scribble Ventures, Stepstone Group, The Twenty Minute VC.

  14. ManoMano

    Online marketplace for home improvement that connects DIY customers and building trades with specialist merchants — from tools, hardware and plumbing to heating, gardening and interior fittings, with a dedicated offering for professionals and the ManoFulfillment logistics network serving France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.

    Valued at €2.2B as of July 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since July 2021, 9 years after being founded. Founded in 2012. Retail & Future of Commerce, Paris. €611M raised over 8 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Christian Raisson, Philippe de Chanville.

    Investors : Aglaé Ventures, Armat Group, Bpifrance Digital Venture, Bpifrance Large Venture, Crédit Mutuel Impact, Dragoneer Investment Group, Eurazeo, General Atlantic, Kismet Holdings, Partech, Piton Capital, Temasek.

  15. Algolia

    API-first search and discovery platform that helps e-commerce, media, and B2B companies deliver fast, relevant site and app search — from typo-tolerant full-text search and AI-ranking to product recommendations, personalization, and conversational search via RAG.

    Valued at $2.3B as of July 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since July 2021, 9 years after being founded. Founded in 2012. Data & Infrastructure, Paris. ≥ €293M raised over 8 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Julien Lemoine, Nicolas Dessaigne.

    Investors : 500 Global, Accel, Acequia Capital, Aglaé Ventures, Alven, Avrhm Capital, Blue Owl Capital, CapitalX, DAG, Eurazeo, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Founders Circle Capital, Glynn Capital, Index Ventures, Initialized Capital, Lead Edge Capital, LocalGlobe, Lone Pine Capital, Point Nine Capital, Revaia, SaaStr, Salesforce Ventures, Steadfast Capital Ventures, Storm Ventures, The Family, Twilio, World Innovation Lab, Y Combinator, Zillionize.

  16. Payfit

    Cloud-based payroll and HR management platform for SMBs that automates salary calculations, tax filings, leave management, expense tracking, and compliance — with employee self-service portal, integrations to accounting software (Xero) and Slack, and a PayFit Copilot AI assistant for HR queries.

    Valued at €1.8B as of January 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since January 2022, 7 years after being founded. Founded in 2015. Future of work & HR, Paris. ≥ €434M raised over 7 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Firmin Zocchetto, Florian Fournier, Ghislain de Fontenay.

    Investors : Accel, Bpifrance Large Venture, Eurazeo, Frst, General Atlantic, Kima Ventures, Louva Invest, NJJ, The Family, YXS Capital.

  17. BlaBlaCar

    Long-distance carpooling marketplace that connects drivers with passengers travelling the same route — trip search, seat booking, in-app payment and member ratings — alongside a bus-ticket booking platform distributing third-party coach operators across Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey.

    Valued at $2.0B as of April 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since September 2015, 9 years after being founded. Founded in 2006. Mobility & Smart Cities, Paris. ≥ €490M raised over 10 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Francis Nappez, Frédéric Mazzella, Nicolas Brusson.

    Investors : 574 Invest, Accel, Baring Vostok, Cabiedes & Partners, Colle Capital Partners, FMZ Ventures, Grape Arbor VC, IFC, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Investments Search Friends, ISAI, Lead Edge Capital, Omnes Capital, Otiva J/F AB, Quadriplay Venture, VNV Global.

  18. Exotec

    Warehouse automation company that designs and deploys end-to-end robotic storage and retrieval systems — combining SkyPod (AS/RS robots) and Deepsky (warehouse execution software) for apparel, grocery, 3PL, and healthcare fulfillment. Operates as OEM integrator selling hardware + software to logistics operators.

    Valued at $2.0B as of January 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since January 2022, 7 years after being founded. Founded in 2015. Industry & Manufacturing, Wasquehal. €392M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Renaud Heitz, Romain Moulin.

    Investors : 360 Capital, 83North, Bpifrance Large Venture, Breega, Dell Technologies Capital, Goldman Sachs Growth, IRIS, Robolution Capital.

  19. Morpho

    Decentralized lending protocol that helps institutions, fintechs and asset managers build on-chain credit markets — its immutable Morpho Blue layer of isolated, permissionless markets pairs one collateral with one loan asset, with curator-managed vaults allocating across them, embedded by exchanges and wallets via API and earning a governance-set fee on interest.

    Valued at $2.0B as of June 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since November 2024, 3 years after being founded. Founded in 2021. Fintech & Insurtech, Paris. ≥ €215M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Julien Thomas, Mathis Gontier Delaunay, Merlin Égalité, Paul Frambot.

    Investors : Alven, Andreessen Horowitz, AngelDAO, Apollo Funds, Atka Capital, BH Digital, BlockTower Capital, Bpifrance, Brevan Howard Asset Management, Cathay Innovation, Cherry Ventures, Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Cryptoast, Daedalus Angel Syndicate, Daphni, Faculty Capital, Fasanara Capital, Fenbushi Capital, GCR Partners, Hack VC, HashKey Capital, IOSG Ventures, L1D, LeadBlock Bitpanda Ventures, Ledger Cathay Fund, Mechanism Capital, Mirana, Nascent Ventures, Nima Capital, NJJ, Pantera Capital, Paradigm, Prelude, Project A Ventures, Re7 Capital, Ribbit Capital, Robot Ventures, RockawayX, SBI Group, Semantic Ventures, Spaceship, Spark Capital, Stake Capital Group, Standard Crypto, Templiers, TLC, Triton Capital, VanEck, Variant, Wintermute Ventures, XAnge.

  20. Pasqal

    Maker of neutral-atom quantum processors that encode each qubit in a single atom held by lasers and computed via fine-tuned laser pulses — sold as the Quantum Discovery platform with Pulser and Pulser Studio programming tools and pay-as-you-go cloud access via Pasqal Cloud, Google Cloud and Azure.

    Valued at $2.0B as of March 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since March 2026, 7 years after being founded. Founded in 2019. Electronics & Telco, Palaiseau. ≥ €466M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Alain Aspect, Antoine Browaeys, Christophe Jurczak, Georges-Olivier Reymond, Thierry Lahaye.

    Investors : Aramco Ventures, Audacia, Bpifrance Deeptech Venture, Bpifrance Large Venture, CMA CGM, Daphni, Dunamu & Partners, EIC, Eni Next, ISAI, LG Electronics, LG Technology Ventures, Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy, Parkway Venture Capital, Quanta Computer, Quantonation, Runa Capital, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Spac Inflection Point, Temasek, TPY Capital.

  21. The Exploration Company

    Space company building orbital transport systems — Nyx, a reusable, in-orbit refillable cargo capsule compatible with any heavy launcher that docks with low-Earth-orbit space stations and returns payloads to Earth, and Storm, a high-thrust rocket engine for a reusable European heavy launcher.

    Valued at $2.0B as of September 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since September 2026, 5 years after being founded. Founded in 2021. Defense & Aerospace, Le Haillan. €583M raised over 4 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Artur Koop, Hélène Huby, Jonathan Reijneveld, Pierre Vinet, Sebastien Reichstadt.

    Investors : Atomico, Balderton Capital, Bayern Kapital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bpifrance Deeptech Venture, Cherry Ventures, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, EQT Ventures, Habert Dassault Finance, July Fund, NGP Capital, Omnes Capital, Partech, Plural, Possible Ventures, Promus Ventures, Red River West, Rymdkapital, Scaleup Europe Fund, Sistafund, SLB, Vsquared Ventures, Wealth Management Alliance.

  22. Ankorstore

    B2B wholesale marketplace connecting independent retailers with emerging consumer brands — letting retailers discover and order from thousands of brands with deferred payment terms, and brands access a qualified retail distribution network without upfront cost.

    Valued at €1.8B as of January 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since January 2022, 3 years after being founded. Founded in 2019. Retail & Future of Commerce, Paris. ≥ €365M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Mathieu Alengrin, Nicolas Cohen, Nicolas d'Audiffret, Pierre-Louis Lacoste.

    Investors : Aglaé Ventures, Alven, Bain Capital Ventures, Bond, Coatue Management, Comexposium, Eurazeo, Global Founders Capital, Index Ventures, TCV, Tiger Global.

  23. Voodoo

    Mobile games publisher and developer that creates, publishes, and operates casual and hyper-casual titles — monetized through in-app advertising and in-app purchases — alongside a creator platform, an ads network, and a competitive gaming app with cash prizes.

    Valued at €1.7B as of August 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since August 2020, 7 years after being founded. Founded in 2013. Culture & Divertissement, Paris. ≥ €440M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Alexandre Yazdi, Antoine Kleinpeter, Laurent Ritter.

    Investors : Goldman Sachs, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, Tencent, WeLikeStartup / Investessor.

  24. Ecovadis

    Sustainability intelligence platform that rates and monitors ESG performance across global supply chains — combining AI document analysis with human expert validation to score suppliers on environment, labor, ethics, and procurement practices, aligned with GRI and ISO 26000 standards.

    Valued at €1.8B as of June 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since June 2022, 15 years after being founded. Founded in 2007. Legaltech, Regtech & Govtech, Paris. ≥ €689M raised over 8 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Frédéric Trinel, Pierre-François Thaler.

    Investors : Astorg, Bain & Company, BlackRock, CVC, Eurazeo, General Atlantic, GIC, GP Bullhound, Partech, Princeville Capital, Zobito.

  25. NW Groupe

    Energy transition group that develops, owns and operates decentralised electricity storage and high-power EV charging infrastructure — from plug-and-play JBox® battery units that absorb and release power to balance the grid, to IECharge® fast-charging hubs and the JoulEden® platform that aggregates energy assets on the power markets under aggregator, supplier and balance-responsible-party licences, alongside a renewables generation arm in mainland France and the overseas territories.

    Valued at €1.5B as of June 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since June 2022, 15 years after being founded. Founded in 2007. Climate, Cleantech & Energy, Paris. €334M raised over 2 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Jean-Christophe Kerdelhué.

    Investors : RGREEN Invest.

  26. Spendesk

    Spend management platform for finance teams — covering corporate and virtual cards, invoice automation, procure-to-pay workflows, expense reimbursement, and budget monitoring in a single platform, with integrations to major accounting tools.

    Valued at $1.5B as of January 2022 (as announced). Unicorn since January 2022, 6 years after being founded. Founded in 2016. Fintech & Insurtech, Paris. ≥ €260M raised over 7 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Guilhem Bellion, Jordane Giuly, Rodolphe Ardant.

    Investors : Eight Roads Ventures, FundersClub, General Atlantic, Hexa, Index Ventures, Kima Ventures, Tiger Global, Yaday.

  27. Veepee

    Flash-sale e-commerce group that sells brands' excess inventory to members through time-limited events — from fashion, beauty and home to travel, wine, tickets and consumer electronics — alongside a Brandsplace marketplace where brands sell current-season stock themselves and a retail media arm that monetises the member audience for advertisers.

    Valued at €1.3B as of December 2013 (as announced). Unicorn since December 2013, 12 years after being founded. Founded in 2001. Retail & Future of Commerce, Saint-Denis. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Claude Sorbac, Eléonore Sabatés, Ilan Benhaïm, Jacques-Antoine Granjon, Julien Sorbac, Michaël Benabou, Philippe Naggar, Xavier Court.

    Investors : Qatar Investment Authority, Summit Partners.

  28. IAD

    Real estate brokerage network built on independent self-employed advisers rather than branches — the platform supplies the mandate management, training, listing distribution and back-office that let advisers handle residential resale, and now rental management, with commissions shared down a recruitment tree, operated in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

    Valued at €1.2B as of February 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since February 2021, 13 years after being founded. Founded in 2008. Proptech & Construction, Lieusaint. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Jade Benrejdal, Jérôme Chabin, Malik Benrejdal, Sébastien Caillé.

    Investors : Five Arrows Growth Capital, IK Partners, Insight Partners, Naxicap.

  29. Harmattan AI

    Vertically integrated maker of AI-enabled autonomous combat and surveillance drones for European armed forces — building reconnaissance, strike, counter-drone (GOBI interceptor) and electronic-warfare systems plus in-house command-and-control, manufactured near Paris.

    Valued at $1.4B as of January 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since January 2026, 3 years after being founded. Founded in 2023. Defense & Aerospace, Paris. €208M raised over 3 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Edouard Rosset, Jean-Christophe Charlaix, Jean-Patrice Coste, Marc Grelet, Martin de Gourcuff, Mouad M'Ghari.

    Investors : ACME Capital, Atlantic Labs, Better Angle, Bpifrance Deeptech Venture, Dassault Aviation, Firstmark, Future French Champions, Galion.exe, Kima Ventures, Motier Ventures, Sisyphus Ventures, W Ventures.

  30. Ledger

    Maker of hardware crypto wallets and security infrastructure that helps individuals and institutions self-custody digital assets — from the Nano and Stax consumer devices and Ledger Live app to enterprise custody and the Secure Element chip with its proprietary BOLOS operating system.

    Valued at €1.3B as of March 2023 (as announced). Unicorn since June 2021, 7 years after being founded. Founded in 2014. Fintech & Insurtech, Paris. ≥ €484M raised over 8 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Cédric Dupuis, David Balland, Éric Larchevêque, Joel Pobeda, Nicolas Bacca, Nicolas Louvet, Olivier Tomaz, Thomas France, Vanessa Rabesandratana.

    Investors : 10T, Alain Tingaud Innovations, Alliance Entreprendre, Animoca Brands, Ascendant Capital Partners, BHB Network, Boost VC, Caisse d'Epargne Loire Centre, CapHorn Invest, Cardinal Capital, Cathay Innovation, Cité Gestion, Crédit Agricole Centre Loire, Crypto.com, Cygni Capital, Digital Currency Group, Digital Finance Group, Draper Associates, Draper Dragon, Draper Venture Network, Fabric Ventures, Felix Capital, Financière Agache, Firstmark, GDTRE, Global Founders Capital, Groupe Maze, HiPay, iAngels Technologies, Inherent, IPOSharks, Kima Ventures, Korelya Capital, Libertus Capital, Loire Centre Capital, MACSF, Marcy Venture Partners, Molten Ventures, Morgan Creek Capital Management, Rosemoor Capital, Samsung Ventures, Tekne Capital, Ternel, The Whittemore Collection, True Global Ventures, Uphold Ventures, VaynerFund, Warburg Serres Investments, Wicklow Capital, XAnge.

  31. Vestiaire Collective

    Online marketplace for buying and selling pre-owned luxury and designer fashion — from clothing and handbags to watches and jewellery, with in-house expert authentication, direct or curated shipping, and seller-side pricing tools, across Europe, the US and Asia.

    Valued at €1.1B as of November 2023 (as announced). Unicorn since March 2021, 12 years after being founded. Founded in 2009. Retail & Future of Commerce, Paris. €589M raised over 11 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Alexandre Cognard, Christian Jorge, Fanny Moizant, Henrique Fernandes, Sébastien Fabre, Sophie Hersan.

    Investors : Auriga Cyber Ventures, Balderton Capital, Bpifrance Large Venture, Conde Nast, Crowdcube, Cuir Invest, Eurazeo, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, Generation Investment Management, Idinvest Partners, Kering Ventures, Korelya Capital, Luxury Tech Fund, SoftBank, Tiger Global, Vaultier7, Ventech, Vitruvian Partners, Volta Circle.

  32. Brevo

    All-in-one marketing and CRM platform that helps SMBs manage customer communications — from email and SMS campaigns to transactional messaging, marketing automation, and contact management, via a single cloud interface. Operates under the Brevo brand since 2023.

    Valued at €1.0B as of December 2025 (as announced). Unicorn since December 2025, 13 years after being founded. Founded in 2012. Martech, Paris. ≥ €31M raised over 6 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Armand Thiberge, Kapil Sharma.

    Investors : Bpifrance, Bridgepoint Group, Caloga, General Atlantic, Oakley Capital, Partech.

  33. Dentalmonitoring

    Remote orthodontic monitoring platform where patients photograph their teeth via an app and ScanBox to track tooth movement and flag oral observations between visits — works across all aligner and brace brands, cleared by the US FDA.

    Valued at $1.1B as of February 2026 (as announced). Unicorn since October 2021, 5 years after being founded. Founded in 2016. Healthcare & Life Sciences, Paris. €283M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Philippe Salah, William Ayache.

    Investors : Isalt, Lazard Elaia Capital, Merieux Partners, Naxicap, Straumann Holding, Vitruvian Partners.

  34. Lydia

    Consumer mobile banking app offering free current accounts, peer-to-peer payments, virtual cards, sub-accounts for budgeting, and investment options — with an AI assistant (Sia) for transaction analysis and cashback partnerships with major retailers.

    Valued at €1.0B as of December 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since December 2021, 8 years after being founded. Founded in 2013. Fintech & Insurtech, Paris. €225M raised over 7 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Antoine Porte, Cyril Chiche.

    Investors : Accel, Belcube, Dragoneer Investment Group, Echo Street Capital Management, Financière Saint-James, Founders Future, Groupe Duval, Hedosophia, NewAlpha Asset Management, Oddo BHF, Open CNP, Tencent, XAnge.

  35. Aircall

    Cloud-based business phone and call-center platform that integrates natively with CRM, helpdesk, and e-commerce tools — from inbound routing and shared inbox to live call coaching, automatic transcription, and automated CRM updates via 250+ native integrations including Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk.

    Valued at $1.0B as of June 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since June 2021, 7 years after being founded. Founded in 2014. Productivity & Collaboration, Paris. ≥ €196M raised over 9 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Jonathan Anguelov, Olivier Pailhes, Pierre-Baptiste Béchu, Xavier Durand.

    Investors : 500 Global, Adams Street Partners, Balderton Capital, Digital Leaders Ventures, DTCP, DTribe Capital, FJ Labs, FundersClub, Goldman Sachs Growth, Hard Yaka, Hexa, HubSpot Ventures, Kima Ventures, Molten Ventures, Newfund Capital, NextWorld Capital, Revaia, SGPA, Swisscom Ventures, Techmind VC, Viralety Ventures, Yaday, YXS Capital.

  36. Ivalua

    Source-to-pay software suite that helps large enterprises run procurement end to end — from supplier management, sourcing and contract lifecycle to purchasing, invoicing and payments, on a single configurable platform that plugs into the customer's ERP, sold to manufacturers, financial institutions, telecom operators and utilities.

    Valued at $1.0B as of May 2019 (as announced). Unicorn since May 2019, 19 years after being founded. Founded in 2000. Fintech & Insurtech, Massy. €166M raised over 4 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Arnaud Khuat-Duy, Daniel Amzallag, David Khuat-Duy.

    Investors : AgilaCapital, Ardian, Hg Capital, KKR Growth, Tiger Global.

  37. Owkin

    AI platform for biomedical R&D that uses federated learning to train models on distributed patient data without centralizing sensitive records — enabling drug discovery, clinical trial optimization, and patient stratification for pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, via its K Pro AI agent.

    Valued at $1.0B as of November 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since November 2021, 5 years after being founded. Founded in 2016. Healthcare & Life Sciences, Paris. €274M raised over 7 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Gilles Wainrib, Thomas Clozel.

    Investors : Bpifrance Large Venture, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cathay Innovation, Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital, GV, MACSF, Mubadala Capital, NJF Capital, Otium Capital, Plug & Play, Sanofi.

  38. Pigment

    Enterprise business-planning platform for finance and operations teams — letting them model, forecast and consolidate financial, workforce and operational data in a collaborative, visual workspace, covering FP&A, supply-chain and ESG planning as a faster alternative to legacy spreadsheets and EPM tools.

    Valued at $1.0B as of April 2024 (as announced). Unicorn since April 2024, 5 years after being founded. Founded in 2019. Productivity & Collaboration, Paris. ≥ €366M raised over 6 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Éléonore Crespo, Romain Niccoli.

    Investors : Blossom Capital, Felix Capital, Firstmark, Frst, Greenoaks, Iconiq, Institutional Venture Partners, Meritech Capital, Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, Visionaries Club.

  39. Shift Technology

    AI decisioning platform for property & casualty and health insurers — covering fraud detection, claims handling, subrogation, payment integrity, and coverage & liability assessment through specialized agent modules that process structured and unstructured data across the entire claims lifecycle.

    Valued at $1.0B as of May 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since May 2021, 8 years after being founded. Founded in 2013. Fintech & Insurtech, Paris. ≥ €270M raised over 6 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : David Durrleman, Éric Sibony, Jeremy Jawish.

    Investors : Accel, Advent, Avenir Growth Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bpifrance Large Venture, Elaia Partners, General Catalyst, Guidewire Software, HDS Capital, IRIS.

  40. Swile

    Employee benefits platform that consolidates meal vouchers, gift vouchers, and business travel booking into a single card and mobile app — managed by HR and used directly by employees via the Swile Card.

    Valued at $1.0B as of October 2021 (as announced). Unicorn since October 2021, 5 years after being founded. Founded in 2016. Fintech & Insurtech, Montpellier. €288M raised over 5 rounds tracked since 2020. Also a centaur.

    Founders : Loïc Soubeyrand.

    Investors : Bpifrance Large Venture, Daphni, Eurazeo, Headline, Hedosophia, Index Ventures, Kima Ventures, SoftBank.

  41. Verkor

    Industrial manufacturer of low-carbon lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage — running an R&D and pilot innovation centre plus a large gigafactory to supply European carmakers with cells produced from low-emission electricity.

    Valued at $1.0B as of September 2023 (as announced). Unicorn since September 2023, 3 years after being founded. Founded in 2020. Climate, Cleantech & Energy, Grenoble. ≥ €2.5B raised over 6 rounds tracked since 2020.

    Founders : Benoit Lemaignan, Christophe Mille, Philippe Chain, Sylvain Paineau.

    Investors : Airbridge Investments, Arkema, Bpifrance SPI, Capgemini, CMA CGM, Crédit Agricole Assurances, Demea Invest, EIB, EIT InnoEnergy, EnerSys, EQT Ventures, Government of France, Groupe Idec, ING Sustainable Investments, Isalt, Macquarie AM, Meridiam, Plastic Omnium, Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Renault Group, Schneider Electric Energy Access, Sibanye-Stillwater, Tokai COBEX.

Out of the count

Lost the title

They crossed the billion, then fell back below it.

  • Younited — unicorn from December 2022, out in December 2024
  • Deezer — unicorn from August 2018, out in July 2022
  • Diffusely — unicorn from June 2019

Out of scope

Not a failure: the term only covers private companies. These passed the billion on the stock market, never before it.

  • OVHcloud — unicorn from October 2016, out in October 2021
  • Believe — unicorn from June 2021, out in June 2021
  • Criteo — unicorn from October 2013, out in October 2013
  • Vibe — unicorn from August 2026

The funds most present among French unicorns

  1. Eurazeo · 15 unicorns, including 1 from their first tracked round
  2. Kima Ventures · 11 unicorns, including 5 from their first tracked round
  3. Bpifrance Large Venture · 11 unicorns
  4. Index Ventures · 7 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  5. Partech · 7 unicorns, including 1 from their first tracked round
  6. Accel · 7 unicorns
  7. General Atlantic · 7 unicorns
  8. Tiger Global · 6 unicorns
  9. Alven · 5 unicorns, including 4 from their first tracked round
  10. Aglaé Ventures · 5 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  11. Daphni · 5 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  12. DST Global · 5 unicorns
  13. Bpifrance Digital Venture · 4 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  14. Headline · 4 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  15. Motier Ventures · 4 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  16. Cathay Innovation · 4 unicorns, including 1 from their first tracked round
  17. Firstmark · 4 unicorns, including 1 from their first tracked round
  18. NVIDIA · 4 unicorns, including 1 from their first tracked round
  19. Temasek · 4 unicorns, including 1 from their first tracked round
  20. Hedosophia · 4 unicorns
  21. Insight Partners · 4 unicorns
  22. SoftBank · 4 unicorns
  23. Frst · 3 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  24. Global Founders Capital · 3 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  25. The Family · 3 unicorns, including 2 from their first tracked round
  26. Samsung Ventures · 3 unicorns, including 1 from their first tracked round
  27. XAnge · 3 unicorns, including 1 from their first tracked round
  28. Bain Capital Ventures · 3 unicorns
  29. Balderton Capital · 3 unicorns
  30. Bessemer Venture Partners · 3 unicorns
  31. BlackRock · 3 unicorns
  32. Bpifrance Deeptech Venture · 3 unicorns
  33. CMA CGM · 3 unicorns
  34. Cygni Capital · 3 unicorns
  35. Dragoneer Investment Group · 3 unicorns
  36. Felix Capital · 3 unicorns
  37. Generation Investment Management · 3 unicorns
  38. Goldman Sachs Growth · 3 unicorns
  39. ISAI · 3 unicorns
  40. KKR Growth · 3 unicorns

Access the investor database