France’s Mission French Tech, a government-backed initiative that supports high-growth startups, has released its 2026 Next40/120 selection—an influential roster meant to help scale companies that have moved beyond proof-of-concept and are pushing internationally.
This year’s list includes well-known names in the French startup ecosystem, including Mistral AI, Qonto, Pennylane, MyUnisoft and LegalPlace, while also adding new entrants—an indication, the program says, that the pipeline continues to refresh.
In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeast France, two companies from the Isère area joined the 2026 selection: Quobly and Verkor, reinforcing the region’s profile in deep tech and “green industry,” two sectors the French state is trying to build over the long term.
What the Next40/120 label actually delivers
The support is designed to go beyond a prestige badge. Mission French Tech says it carries out more than 250 follow-up actions each month for selected companies, organized around four areas: financing; strategic partnerships in France and abroad; removing administrative and regulatory roadblocks; and connecting founders with key decision-makers.
Program partners also step in on specific operational issues, including hiring, intellectual property, standards compliance, customs and tax operations, and access to public financing—detail that helps distinguish Next40/120 from a simple ranking.
For a company like Mistral AI—positioned against U.S. labs in the market for large language models—the article notes the priority is less about raising money than speeding up international commercial growth and building strategic partnerships beyond the usual venture-capital network.
A snapshot of French Tech in 2026
The Next40 groups what the program considers the 40 most promising startups, while the Next120 expands the set to include additional companies. The 2026 list spans digital health (Alan and Doctolib), crypto (Ledger and Flowdesk), circular economy (Back Market), robotics (Exotec), quantum computing (Pasqal and Alice & Bob), lower-carbon aviation (Aura Aero), and batteries (Verkor).
Several additions stand out. MyUnisoft and Pennylane strengthen the presence of accounting and financial management tools in the program, a segment the article describes as consolidating rapidly over the past two years. LegalPlace represents consumer-facing legal tech, a category that had long remained outside institutional radar.
GitGuardian, which focuses on protecting secrets in code repositories, and Stoïk, a cyber insurer for small and mid-sized businesses, point to cybersecurity’s growing place in the 2026 selection. The article ties their inclusion in the Next120 to a context of intensifying cyberattacks against French companies.
Grenoble and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes emerge as a deep-tech hub
Quobly and Verkor’s presence on the 2026 list highlights the density of the Grenoble-area deep-tech ecosystem, according to the article. Quobly works on silicon-based quantum chips, a technology where France aims to compete with U.S. and Canadian players.
Verkor produces batteries for electric mobility at its gigafactory in Dunkirk, but the company’s capital base and R&D roots remain strongly tied to Isère, the article says.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes places multiple companies in the program across Grenoble and neighboring departments, including Step Pharma (Ain), Energy Pool (Savoie), Verley (Rhône) and Scintil Photonics (Isère), according to the full list published by Mission French Tech.
The Next40/120 program doesn’t guarantee success, the article cautions, but it can serve as a credibility signal for foreign investors and make it easier to access public procurement. For first-time entrants, it is often the start of a faster internationalization track.
Sources
LEDAUPHINE.COM — “tech&fest. Quelles sont ces deux entreprises iséroises qui intègrent Next 40/120 ?” (June 17, 2026)
