French technology in the Pays de la Loire: a dynamic, attractive and diversified ecosystem

“We are lucky to have one of the regions in France with the largest Tech communities in France, with five communities [Saint-Nazaire La Baule Pornic, Le Mans, Laval, Angers et Vendée] as well as Nantes, the capital”, affirms Adrien Poggetti, director of the French Cantine and Tech in Nantes.

This concentration shows the vitality of the land and makes it possible to develop cooperation and complementarity between the different centers of the region, especially for the use of national French technology programs.

Additional special features

If Nantes stands out for the diversity of its founders, present in sectors as diverse as HR, health, tourism, business or reuse – among others – historically Le Mans has been to be built around movement and energy, taking advantage of the 24 hours of Le Mans and local industrial fabric.

“We are riding the wave of our mobility ecosystem to bring together other startups that can benefit from the network effect and connection with large organizations, such as MMA, but also the SNCF, Orange or Enedis,” explains Sébastien Cottais, French director of Tech Le Mans.

The regional ecosystem also includes other centers of excellence: Angers – well established internationally -, Laval – the capital of virtual reality -, Saint-Nazaire – which benefiting from the powerful local industrial fabric – and Vendée – the stronghold of the agri-food industry, In particular.

A large network of investors and events

In terms of funding, the department can count on some regional funds such as Epic Management – whose head office is in Brest, but with a branch in Nantes – no Go to Capitalas well as well-structured business angel networks, such as Bamboo or The first floorin Nantes, which invests in very young companies with tickets between €50 and €100k.

Throughout the year, the Pays de la Loire ecosystem comes alive around major events such as the Nantes Digital Weekthe DevFest or Zero2 One in Nantes. At Le Mans, the XMOBILITY event dedicated to future movement attracting startups and large groups, while Virtual Laval has become a global reference on virtual reality topics.

Lumps that shine, area that attracts

Among the area’s startup brands are Achene etc Counciltwo companies that won the French Tech 120 label and have successfully internationalized. “Today, a new generation of boxes is taking over,” also affirms Adrien Poggetti, citing a few examples, such as Trusted people, Pop shop, Underdog or Tree energy.

“Since Covid, we have seen more and more entrepreneurs choose Le Mans to create their start-up, attracted by the ease of access to the ecosystem, the collaboration offer and the how attractive is the real estate company there”, sees for his part Sébastien Cottais , who highlights the quality of the living environment in the region, as well as other assets of Le Mans: “we are 1 hour from Montparnasse , between Nantes and Paris”.

In addition, more and more Parisian startups are choosing to locate part of their teams in the region, such as Doctolib or Lucca. Another sign of the attractiveness of the Pays de la Loire.

Pay attention: the Fundtruck sets up its luggage in Nantes and Le Mans on October 8 and 9.