Tech is
growing faster in Nantes Saint-Nazaire than anywhere else in France. New
start-up creation (up 61,4% over 5 years) and job growth (up 40%) is higher here than in other cities. It's no wonder Nantes was
among the first to earn the French Tech label.
An inspiring atmosphere
Some
1,200 new students graduate each year with degrees in one of more than
twenty tech-related majors in Nantes-Saint-Nazaire, from the University
or one of the grandes écoles (Polytech Nantes, École des Mines, École
Centrale, Epitech, Design School). Companies and entrepreneurs looking
for new talent know they'll find what they need here, which attracts
business relocations and start-ups alike.
Tech success stories
Many
success stories have bolstered the reputation of Nantes Saint-Nazaire,
thereby encouraging others! In e-commerce, companies like Lengow,
iAdvize, Akeneo, which started in Nantes, are enjoying hypergrowth
and raising huge amounts of funding. Research at University of Nantes
or via the incubator of the École des Mines has helped the Nantes
Saint-Nazaire tech sector flourish in software publishing, virtual
reality, robotics/cobotics and connected objects.
A dynamic eco-system...
La FrenchTech Nantes
and La French Tech Saint-Nazaire has a reputation as the leading tech hub in France. It is
highly regarded both a creative campus with excellent quality of life
(20 beaches nearby, less than two hours from Paris by high speed train)
and as an ecosystem of complementary businesses, from large corporations
to start-ups to digital service companies (Accenture, Capgemini,
Smile). At the heart of this thriving metro area, there are countless
market opportunities: cultural and creative industries, industries of
the future, e-health, energy transition and more.
...and networks that open doors
Entrepreneurship
is supported by a network of institutional and economic stakeholders,
including la Cantine, ADN'Ouest, the competitive cluster Images and
Networks and Le Palace. With over 500 events a year, artists and
engineers, businesses and students meet in an environment of "creative
friction". The Web2day festival, the largest web event in France held in
June each year, showcases the latest trends in innovation. In late
September, all the tech cultures come together for Digital Week.
This
favourable environment continues to grow. The Hub Creatic, which
fosters digital innovation, offers a business incubator and a business
park within the campus.
And the new Alstom Halls in the Creative
Arts District on the Ile de Nantes will be redeveloped into an iconic
building symbolizing Nantes Tech, where new success stories will be
written.
Nantes, European capital of proptech
Born in 2018 in Nantes, the French Proptech movement brings
together start ups in real estate 2.0 who put their innovations to the service
of housing, real estate and construction. Here, a dynamic digital ecosystem
couples with a 300 hectare-wide urban project to invent the city of tomorrow and establish Nantes as the European Capital of Proptech.
