Bpifrance and eight leading schools, including CentraleSupélec, are joining forces to accelerate the attraction of talent to DeepTech.
Under the Deeptech Plan, operated by Bpifrance On behalf of the State, eight major engineering and management schools are working alongside Bpifrance to accelerate the attraction of talent to deeptech entrepreneurship.
AgroParisTech, CentraleSupélec, EDHEC, Emlyon Business School, ESCP, ESSEC Business School,Mines-Telecom Institute and IPolytechnic Institute of Paris signed a strategic partnership with Bpifrance on April 22, 2025, aimed at raising awareness of the opportunities of the deep tech with their students and alumni, to streamline support for projects arising from these ecosystems, and to nurture the collective dynamics of the plan.
In 2024, 385 deeptech startups were created, confirming a trajectory of continued growth. While researchers remain a historical source of emergence, the ecosystem is seeing the rise of a new generation of entrepreneurs, often from top schools and with initial professional experience.
One figure illustrates this transformation: 78 of the 100 most valuable French deeptech startups were co-founded by a graduate of a top school.
The eight major engineering and management schools that signed the agreement alone have created more than 770 deeptech startups, including 45 among the 100 most highly valued, €16 billion in funding and more than 32 jobs created, highlighting the impact of this development.
At the same time, the ecosystem of University Innovation Centers (PUI), also operated by Bpifrance, is now structured and operational throughout the country. This system aims to promote research results by facilitating the creation of startups from academic laboratories.
This partnership between Bpifrance and the grandes écoles also aims to better connect these pools of entrepreneurial talent to the technological opportunities arising from the PUIs, to encourage the emergence of hybrid projects, combining scientific excellence and business capabilities.
