While VivaTech is a playground for innovation, it is also a business hub where investors from around the world gather in search of the next big hit. The 2025 edition reached a peak in this regard: more than 3,600 investors and funds made the trip, including big names like Accel, Sequoia, KKR or Eurazeo. They came to meet the 14,000 startups present and detect trends, proving that the European ecosystem now attracts global attention. Each year, VivaTech also publishes its “Top 100 Next Unicorns” list, a ranking of the 100 most promising European scale-ups that could reach a valuation of 1 billion dollars. This list, developed with GP Bullhound and leading VCs, has proven its worth: a third of the companies listed between 2019 and 2023 have indeed reached unicorn status. The example cited this year is Pennylane, the 2022 French fintech winner that became a unicorn in 2023. During a dedicated panel, the Titans of Tech 2023 report was launched, highlighting the new waves of growth in European tech and the promising sectors for the coming years. Furthermore, the aisles of VivaTech saw a multiplication of fundraising announcements and major contracts. While the general venture capital climate is cautious in 2025, this did not prevent many deals from being initiated on-site: it is rumored that a deeptech startup secured a multi-million dollar term-sheet after an improvised pitch in front of a renowned business angel. Beyond the legends, the annual Parisian tech mass confirms its utility as a marketplace: more than 640,000 business connections were recorded via the platform during the show. A colossal figure that testifies to the effectiveness of VivaTech in generating introductions and concrete opportunities. For investment funds, the event has become a must to take the pulse of European tech, meet promising founders, and co-invest alongside other players. Paris, often mocked in the past for its lack of venture capital, can now boast of being the nerve center of startup financing in Europe every year in June.
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