With more than 18,000 startups and a growing number of unicorns, the French Tech ecosystem has become increasingly attractive over the past decade. Thanks to its flagship companies and unconventional success stories, the ecosystem continues to draw talent from a wide range of backgrounds. As a result, more and more French professionals are choosing to build their careers within homegrown startups.

Among these companies, some stand out as particularly aspirational employers.

Against this backdrop, The Product Crew—best known for its annual survey on salaries and employment in the tech sector—asked tech professionals (engineers, CTOs, HR leaders, Product Managers, Data Scientists, and others) to identify the French Tech companies they would most like to join one day. A total of 4,922 respondents took part in the survey.

Mistral AI Leads by a Wide Margin

Taking the top spot is the company of the moment: Mistral AI.

The French decacorn has just emerged from a high-profile period that included hosting its first flagship event at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. During the event, Mistral AI announced partnerships with Airbus and BMW, while also unveiling its ambition to reach one gigawatt of computing capacity by 2030.

Arthur Mensch’s company dominated the rankings, receiving 1,292 votes, representing 26.2% of all responses.

Just three years after its founding, the AI company now employs more than 1,000 people.

Mistral AI is followed by Alan, the company reshaping the health insurance market.

Alan received 857 votes, accounting for 17.4% of the total.

The company celebrated its tenth anniversary in March with a keynote event at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Among the attendees was Kylian Mbappé, captain of the French national football team and star forward for Real Madrid.

During the event, Mbappé announced an investment in the company and a strategic partnership aimed at raising Alan’s profile in France and internationally, while helping co-develop services for the company’s 1.1 million members.

Ten years after its launch, Alan generated €785 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) last year, up from €505 million in 2024, and is targeting €1 billion in ARR this year.

The final spot on the podium goes to another well-known French Tech success story: Doctolib.

The online medical appointment platform received 805 votes, representing 16.4% of the total.

The French unicorn recently completed a secondary share transaction that enabled early investors and employees to sell just under €300 million worth of shares while allowing new investors to enter its capital structure.

This year, the company also acquired British startup Medicus Health to establish a presence in the United Kingdom, its fifth European market, and launched a €20 million AI laboratory.

This momentum continues to attract tech professionals.

Decathlon: The Surprise Entrant in the Top 10

The remainder of the Top 10 features several familiar names, including Pennylane (4th), Qonto (5th), Back Market (7th), Finary (8th), BlaBlaCar (9th), and Swile (10th).

One notable surprise is Decathlon.

Although not a startup, the sporting goods retailer secured sixth place with 201 votes, accounting for 4.1% of the total.

Much of this enthusiasm can be attributed to the company’s strong culture of innovation.

In 2024, Decathlon launched Decathlon Pulse, its investment arm dedicated to backing startups in sports and wellness.

The company has also partnered with emerging startups, including In&motion, whose technology was used to protect skiers during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year.

Category Leaders and Rising Stars

Overall, Mistral AI leads the AI category, Alan dominates healthcare, Pennylane tops fintech, Lucca leads B2B software, Decathlon ranks first in e-commerce and retail, and Thales stands out in aerospace and defense.

Among the most promising companies highlighted by respondents that are not yet unicorns or large-scale scaleups are Alice & Bob in quantum computing, GreenGot in fintech, and Nabla in healthcare.

These are all startups that are likely to continue expanding their teams in the years ahead.