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To mark 10 years from Frenchweb 500we have decided to improve our approach by creating a renewed and enlarged indicator: We innovate 500. This new index aims to accurately map the most dynamic companies in the tech and innovation ecosystem.
We innovate 500 consists of several batcheveryone highlighting a specific typology of companies according to their maturity, their impact and their growth trajectory. The first batch that we are revealing today is The Startup batchwhich brings together 500 companies founded after 2020selected according to objective performance and development criteria.
In -depth analysis work to identify the most efficient startups
This classification is based on a rigorous market analysis :: more than 6000 companies were screened to identify the 500 most dynamic startups.
The development of this indicator required More than 120 working dayswith the implementation of a Data Room consolidating a wide range of financial, economic and strategic data.
The Top 10 WE startups in Innovate 500 2025
What are the companies in the innovate 500 startups?
The most represented sectors
The analysis of fundraising highlights a strong presence of startups operating in strategic technological sectors. Healthtech dominatesrepresentative 13.43 % Startups, carried by the development of innovative health and well-being solutions.
The Martech follows closely with 11.72 %testifying to the growing importance of automation and marketing optimization tools. Fintech, with 10.44 %confirms its dynamism, in particular thanks to innovations in payment, financing and asset management.
Cybersecurity represents 7.88 % of the liftinga figure that reflects the acceleration of investments in the face of data protection and cyber-risk issues. Finally, Greentech (6.6 %) illustrates a rise in initiatives linked to ecological transition and the sustainable economy.
What is funding for WE innovate 500 startups?
Distribution of table towers.
Analysis of fundraising reveals a predominance of early funding. The Tours of Seed represent 67.34 % Operations, confirming the importance of support for young startups in the structuring phase. The Pre-Seed towerswhich mark the very first stages of financing, count for 21.39 %.
On the other hand, access to more advanced funding remains limited: only 11.03 % lifes concern Series Aand the B series only represent 0.22 % Transactions, reflecting a strong selection in access to more substantial funding.
The most important round of table 100 million euroswhile the most modest amounts to 130,000 eurosillustrating the significant gap between the most funded startups and those still in the priming phase.
In what dynamic are the startups of the We innovate 500?
Four development dynamics identified
Data analysis allowed us to identify Four major development dynamicsoffering a finer reading of the evolution of the ecosystem.
A majority of companies favor profitable growthemphasizing cost control and optimization of resources. Among them, 67 startups display a particularly sustained progression And are among the best funded, benefiting from strong investor support to accelerate their expansion.
On the entrepreneurs side, the typical portrait has also changed well, it has multiplied, feminized, with a wider age pyramid, we will devote a series of portraits to better illustrate the subject.
The financial component is undoubtedly the most impressive with invested capital which exceed 3 billion euros for the 500 companies that we have retained and of which part of them Bootstrap or is being lifted.
What are the sectors that create the most jobs?
In 2024, all sectors combined startups in our ranking recorded more than 2140 net job creations
L’Healthte is positioned at the top of the most dynamic sectors in terms of job creation. Brought by the development of medical innovation and the accelerated adoption of health technologies, this sector benefits from growing demand for digital solutions and AI applied to care.
Behind, the cybersecurity carried by the explosion of digital threats and the need for companies to strengthen their data protection infrastructure.
The sector Fintech continues its rise in power, taking advantage of the development of digital financial services and the democratization of dematerialized payments.
Finally, are theE-commerce and retailTech Supported by the evolution of consumption habits and the acceleration of online trade.
Where are the startups of the welfare of innovate 500?
The analysis of regional locations reveals a concentration marked in Île-de-Francewhich brings together 356 companiesconfirming his role as the main hub of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Other dynamic poles emerge, in particular Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (25 companies) And Occitanie (21 companies)which benefit from an environment favorable to innovation.
Regions Nouvelle-Aquitaine (16 companies),, Hauts-de-France (17 companies) And Brittany (15 companies) Also display a notable activity, although more moderate.
If you are the winner of this edition, we invite you to use the official sticker on which you can affix the logo of your company. You can download it at this address: https://www.frenchweb.fr/sticker
For any questions, click here
The Calendar for Proclamation of the Weexes of the Innovate 500
- We Innovate 500 Startups: Monday March 10, 2025
- We Innovate 500 Scale Up: Monday April 28, 2025
- We Innovate 500 Growth: Monday June 16, 2025
To ensure that your company will be well assessed for the 2025 /2026 edition, we invite you to check if it is present in our database:
https://fr.we-innovate.eu/recharche
If you do not appear in our dataroom or want to give us new information on your business, report it on this page.
If you wish to be a partner of We Innovate, you can contact us in We-innovate-500@frenchweb.fr
Richard Menneveux – Chief Redator of Frenchweb.fr
