Paris Startup and Innovation Circuit Chauffeur — Station F, BpiFrance, French Tech, VivaTech

Station F — the world\'s largest startup campus

Station F (5 Parvis Alan Turing 75013 — in the 13ème arrondissement, in the Austerlitz district, in the former Halle Freyssinet — a 1929 railway freight hall designed by Eugène Freyssinet, covering 34,000m² under a single vault, in the block between the Gare d'Austerlitz and the Seine, accessible via the Boulevard Vincent Auriol and the Quai d'Austerlitz) :

**The campus:** Station F was inaugurated on 29 June 2017 by President Emmanuel Macron — a €250M investment by the French billionaire Xavier Niel (founder of Iliad/Free, majority shareholder of Le Monde, and France's most prominent technology entrepreneur) to convert the derelict Halle Freyssinet into the world's largest startup campus. The building (50,000m² total, 34,000m² of usable space) contains 3,000 desks, 60 meeting rooms, 6 event spaces (the main amphitheatre seats 400), and a residency programme (FLATS — 100 micro-apartments in the campus building for startups relocating founders to Paris).

**The programmes:** Station F hosts 34 startup programmes from corporate sponsors and institutional operators: - **Facebook (Meta) Startup Programme:** Facebook's primary European startup acceleration programme — 20 startups per cohort, 6-month programme, access to Meta's advertising technology and partnerships - **Amazon Launchpad & AWS Activate:** AWS cloud credits (up to $100,000 per startup), technical mentorship, and access to Amazon's global commercial network - **Microsoft for Startups:** Azure credits (up to $150,000), GitHub Enterprise, LinkedIn Premium, and Microsoft 365 access - **LVMH Luxury Ventures:** LVMH's corporate venture and startup programme — the only luxury house running a direct startup programme at Station F, focusing on startups in retail technology, sustainability, and customer experience - **HEC Paris:** the leading French business school's startup programme — HEC Paris has the highest density of unicorn founders of any European business school (BlaBlaCar, Vestiaire Collective, ManoMano all have HEC co-founders) - **Founders Programme:** the Station F flagship programme — 200 startups per cohort, open admission, most competitive (3% acceptance rate from 8,000+ annual applicants)

**Visiting Station F:** Station F operates weekly Open Days (Wednesday 18h00-20h00 — open to the public, presentation of the campus and current startups, registration required at stationf.co). VIP tours (private, outside Open Day hours) are available for investors, corporate executives, and international delegations — coordinated via the Station F partnerships team. FFGR provides transport from hotel to the Parvis Alan Turing (the campus entrance is on the Rue du Chevaleret / Boulevard Vincent Auriol side).

BpiFrance — the French state innovation bank

BpiFrance (50 Avenue Pierre Mendès-France 75013 — in the 13ème, adjacent to the Bibliothèque nationale de France François-Mitterrand, in the Tolbiac district) :

**The institution:** BpiFrance (Banque Publique d'Investissement) was created in 2012 by the merger of Oseo (the SME innovation bank), CDC Entreprises (the Caisse des Dépôts venture arm), and FSI (the French Sovereign Fund). BpiFrance is jointly owned by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (50%) and the French state (50%) — with a mandate to finance, support and invest in French startups, SMEs, and mid-caps. Since its creation, BpiFrance has deployed more than €50Bn in more than 100,000 companies, including direct investments in 350+ French startups.

**The programmes:** - **BpiFrance Investissement:** the direct venture investment arm — a €7Bn fund of funds and direct fund programme that is the largest public LP in the French VC market. BpiFrance Investissement is an LP in virtually every significant French VC fund (Partech, Idinvest/Eurazeo, Serena Capital, Kima Ventures, Elaia Partners) - **French Tech Pass:** a visa programme granting fast-track work authorisation to international founders and tech talent joining French startups — 1,000 passes issued annually - **BpiFrance Bourse French Tech:** a non-dilutive grant of €30,000-250,000 for early-stage French startups — the primary public grant for pre-seed French startups - **BpiFrance Le Hub:** the corporate-startup matchmaking service — 200 corporate programmes, 5,000 registered startups, facilitating the B2B relationships between large French corporations and innovative startups

**The Big Evening:** BpiFrance hosts the annual "Big Evening" (La Grande Soirée) — a private dinner for 3,000 French startup founders and investors, the most exclusive event in the French startup calendar.

The Paris VC circuit — the principal venture capital firms

The principal venture capital firms and investor community of Paris :

**Partech (5 Parvis Alan Turing 75013 — in Station F):** Partech is the largest Paris-based venture capital firm by AUM — managing €2Bn+ across eight funds, with investments in Algolia (€150M+ raised, search API), Swile (employee benefits, unicorn), Payfit (HR software, unicorn), and international portfolio companies in 30+ countries. Partech has offices in San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, and Dakar (the first major European VC firm with an Africa fund).

**Idinvest Partners / Eurazeo (1 Rue Georges Berger 75017 — in the 17ème, near the Avenue des Ternes):** Idinvest (founded 1997, rebranded as Eurazeo Growth in 2021 after acquisition by Eurazeo) manages €5Bn+ in growth equity, with significant positions in Vestiaire Collective, Meero, and Back Market. Eurazeo is one of the few French institutions that bridges venture capital and private equity in a single fund structure.

**Kima Ventures (c/o Iliad — 8 Rue de la Ville l'Evêque 75008 — in the 8ème):** Xavier Niel's personal angel fund — the most active angel fund in Europe, with 100 new investments per year at pre-seed stage (average ticket €150,000). Kima has backed 1,000+ companies since its founding in 2010, with a portfolio that includes Algolia, Stripe (early investor), and the majority of the Station F Founders Programme alumni.

**Serena Capital (44 Rue de Rivoli 75001 — in the 1er):** specialist in B2B SaaS and marketplace, managing €500M+ across five funds, portfolio including Salesmachine, Swan, and Tanker.

**The 360 Capital Partners / InfraVia / Tikehau capital cluster:** the cluster of mid-market PE and growth equity firms in the 8ème (Avenue Hoche, Avenue Montaigne, Avenue des Champs-Élysées) that represent the bridge between VC and buyout in the French market.

VivaTech — Europe\'s largest startup fair

VivaTech (Paris Expo Porte de Versailles — 1 Place de la Porte de Versailles 75015) :

**The fair:** VivaTech (Viva Technology) was founded in 2016 by Publicis Groupe and Les Echos (the French financial daily — France's equivalent of the Financial Times) as Europe's primary technology and innovation conference. VivaTech is held annually in late May/early June over 4 days — the 2024 edition attracted 165,000 visitors (an increase of 30% on 2023), 13,000 startups, 450 corporate partners, and 11,000 investors from 149 countries.

**The format:** VivaTech differs from most tech conferences in its emphasis on corporate-startup partnerships — each major French and international corporate (Total, BNP Paribas, L'Oréal, Carrefour, Stellantis, Airbus) operates a dedicated lab space at VivaTech, presenting their innovation programmes and conducting live demos with selected startups. The LVMH Innovation Award (presented annually at VivaTech by Bernard Arnault) is the most prestigious startup prize in the French luxury technology sector.

**VIP access:** VivaTech operates a VIP programme (VivaTech Executive Club) for investors, corporate executives, and government officials — separate entry through the Executive entrance (Avenue de la Porte de Versailles), exclusive networking events (the VivaTech UHNW dinner on Day 2 evening, hosted by Publicis chairman Arthur Sadoun), and pre-scheduled 1:1 meeting facilities with the major startups. FFGR provides VIP transport during VivaTech — vehicle management at the Porte de Versailles entrance, fleet coordination for international delegations.

**STATION F to VivaTech:** the circuit from Station F (Austerlitz) to VivaTech (Porte de Versailles) takes 25-35 minutes by FFGR vehicle via the Quai d'Austerlitz and the Boulevard Périphérique — a standard leg in the Paris innovation day circuit.

The French Tech ecosystem — beyond Station F

The Paris innovation ecosystem extends beyond Station F across the city :

**Hôtel de Ville French Tech (29 Rue du Louvre 75001 — La French Tech headquarters, in the Châtelet district):** La French Tech is the French government's international label for the French tech ecosystem — a network of 17 French Tech communities in France and 82 communities internationally, coordinating the promotion of French startups globally. The French Tech Next40/120 programme (introduced in 2019) identifies and supports the 40 fastest-growing French tech companies (annual revenue growth >20%, minimum €5M revenue) and the next 120 (the French Tech 120) with dedicated government support (public procurement fast-track, regulatory sandbox access, international market support).

**Paris&Co (17 Rue Jouy-Rosnay, Paris Boulogne-Billancourt — the City of Paris's innovation agency):** Paris&Co manages 13 innovation platforms distributed across Paris (in Belleville, Saint-Denis, Boulogne-Billancourt, and the Marais) connecting 700+ resident startups with the Paris municipal government and local enterprises. Paris&Co manages the iCAN programme (a €10M annual grant programme for Paris-based startups addressing urban challenges) and the La Ruche urban food innovation platform (30 food-tech startups).

**The Saclay cluster (south-west Paris — 25km from central Paris via the N118 or A10):** the Paris-Saclay innovation cluster is the most significant scientific research hub in continental Europe — housing the Université Paris-Saclay (ranked 13th globally by the Shanghai ARWU ranking in 2023 for research output), the École Polytechnique (the most selective engineering school in France — acceptance rate 3%), CentraleSupélec, HEC Paris, the CEA nuclear research centre, the CNRS research campus, and 60+ major corporate R&D centres (Thales, Airbus, Safran, EDF, Danone). The Saclay cluster employs 75,000 researchers and scientists. FFGR provides Paris-Saclay transfers (45-60 minutes from central Paris).

Booking the Paris innovation circuit

FFGR structures the Paris innovation service for investors, founders, and corporate executives :

**The investor circuit (full day):** FFGR vehicle from hotel (08h30) → BpiFrance (Avenue Pierre Mendès-France, 09h00 — meeting with investment team or programme manager) → Station F (Parvis Alan Turing, 10h30 — investor tour or programme partner meeting) → Partech Partners (Station F, 11h30 — if meeting pre-arranged) → lunch in the 13ème or return to Paris centre → VC meetings in the 8ème or 17ème (14h00-17h30) → hotel return.

**The VivaTech programme (annual, late May/early June):** FFGR provides the full VivaTech transport programme — CDG arrival transfer, hotel-to-venue morning transport, within-venue movement coordination, VIP dinner transport (Day 2 evening), and hotel return each evening. The Porte de Versailles venue is 20-30 minutes from the principal Paris palace hotels (Le Bristol, The Ritz, Four Seasons George V) without traffic.

**The founder programme:** for international founders relocating to Paris or seeking to enter the French market — FFGR provides the airport-to-Station F transfer, the Station F-to-FFGR hotel circuit during the first week, and the ongoing Paris professional transport programme (government meetings at Bercy, BpiFrance, DGSE tech briefings).

**The Saclay transfer:** for clients visiting the Saclay cluster (École Polytechnique, HEC Paris, corporate R&D centres), FFGR provides the Paris centre to Saclay transfer — vehicle departure 07h30 for 09h00 arrival on campus, return from Saclay 17h30 for 18h30 Paris hotel arrival.

Contact us: reservation@ffgrparis.com or WhatsApp +33 7 43 46 14 91.