2026 French cybersecurity startup radar | Wavestone

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2026 French cybersecurity startup radar

Published June 19, 2026

Cybersecurity

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With 234 startups and 43 scale-ups, the French ecosystem shows strong creation momentum despite scaling challenges.

The French cybersecurity innovation ecosystem continues to expand in an increasingly dense market.

For the 8th consecutive year, Wavestone, in partnership with Bpifrance, is pleased to publish its French Cybersecurity Innovation Radar. The full results of the study were unveiled on June 19 at the VivaTech event. The study was conducted between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026.

Discover the Radar (FR only)

Key takeaways from the radar

A fast-growing innovation ecosystem, with time-to-market accelerated by artificial intelligence.

234 startups, including 105 new entries in the radar , compared with 180 and 44 new entries in 2025

43 cybersecurity scale-ups in France , slightly down (-3) from 2025

€304M raised, a figure close to 2025 (€289M) but spread across a larger number of companies (36 funding rounds vs. 19 last year).

A consolidation trend taking shape, with 8 new startup acquisitions (vs. 8 in 2024/25) carried out by French players.

The AI wave continues to gain traction across the market: 70% of startups have integrated it into their offerings (+17%), whether at a surface or deeper level. 22 startups stand out, offering innovative solutions to secure business use cases and AI models (vs. 15 in 2024/25).

Companies offering deep tech solutions are particularly standing out in the market, fueling their growth.

The faster time-to-market for new products is making an already competitive ecosystem even more crowded

Benefiting from the rise of AI-driven vibe coding, alongside its already diverse innovation ecosystem (incubation and support programs), France is generating a record number of startups, with 105 new additions to our radar .

The innovation ecosystem is gaining momentum

With a slight increase in the number of innovative solutions: 49% of companies offer new security solutions or secure new use cases (48% in 2025). Among new entrants, however, there is a greater appetite for risk, with a higher share of innovative solutions (+4%). The center of gravity for cyber innovation remains in the Île-de-France region, where most new startups are based, but Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Hauts-de-France, and Brittany are three highly dynamic hubs, and the decentralization of the ecosystem is continuing.

International expansion remains strong

61% of companies export their solutions outside France (unchanged from last year). This figure reaches 95% when looking only at scale-ups. Exports beyond Europe are also slightly increasing: +4% in the Americas and +3% in APAC.

Credibility and robustness should be considered

The ability to demonstrate credibility and robustness in an increasingly demanding cybersecurity ecosystem is a third pillar that should not be overlooked in growth strategies: 67% of scale-ups (+18% in one year) hold at least one cybersecurity certification (ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 1 and 2, CPSN, France Cybersecurity, etc.), compared to 14% of startups . An intellectual property strategy is also a key credibility factor: 31 startups have filed at least one patent, including 8 new entrants, along with 9 scale-ups.

Scale-ups are driving job growth while startups stay cautious

Startups and scale-ups still represent close to 6,000 jobs , with scale-ups driving employment growth. Startups, however, remain more cautious in their hiring, with job numbers similar to the 2024/2025 period. This trend is reflected in consistently small team sizes (52% have fewer than 5 employees, up from 32% in 2024/25, and only 3% exceed 20 employees, down from 7% in 2024/25 and 14% in 2023/24).

€304M raised, maintaining strong momentum despite a period of uncertainty

We observe that overall funding levels are holding steady, with €304 million raised between June 2025 and May 2026 (+€15M vs. 2024/2025). This momentum is driven by a similar number of large funding rounds as last year, with a particularly strong top three (€50M, €49M, and €42M), alongside a sharp increase in smaller tickets (27 this year vs. 9 in 2024/2025).

However, the market remains unfavorable for concentrating significant funding on a single startup, with no company raising more than €100M since Ledger in 2023.

Some specialized investors are taking a long-term approach, with a clear cybersecurity investment strategy. France is strengthening its position in large funding rounds (>€25M), reflecting the ecosystem’s growing maturity. At the same time, several European-sourced investments highlight ambitions for sovereignty at the continental level, alongside national sovereignty goals.

In contrast, consolidation continues to gain traction, favoring acquisitions over direct investments : 9 acquisitions were recorded this year...