American accelerator Techstars is coming to Paris in partnership with Air Liquide, Groupama Group, FDJ, Groupe Renault and Total

American accelerator Techstars is coming to Paris in partnership with Air Liquide, Groupama Group, FDJ, Groupe Renault and Total

With already 27 accelerators in the US, Europe and Africa, Techstars, the most prestigious startup accelerator, is now coming to Paris. Techstars will move into the Partech Shaker, the startup campus founded by the Venture Capital firm Partech Ventures.
For its arrival in the French capital, Techstars has received active support from Air Liquide, Groupama group, FDJ, Renault and its subsidiary RCI Bank and Services, and Total, and will be joined by one or two additional partners by the summer.

Techstars and Partech have known each other for quite a few years, and share a taste for discovering new tech talents and supporting entrepreneurs by connecting them with other entrepreneurs, helping them to grow more quickly. It was only natural for them to work together for Techstars' arrival in Paris, a city with some 12,000 startups and which this year is confirming its status as the tech capital of Europe.

“Techstars helps entrepreneurs succeed and we’re excited to launch our first accelerator in France. We are incredibly thankful to Partech for their role in helping to bring Techstars to Paris. Techstars has gotten to know Partech over the last several years through mutual co-investments and a partnership between Techstars NYC and Partech’s international startup campus based in Paris, the Partech Shaker.” says Bertier Luyt, Managing Director of Techstars Paris.

“We share with Techstars our passion for supporting the most ambitious entrepreneurs from their beginnings through to their transformation. This is what we have done for the past three years, providing support from the very first financing rounds of incredible adventures such as next-generation insurance Alan, the ApolloShield anti-drone system, the blockchain revolution for banking access in developing countries with Atlas.money, operation of autonomous vehicles with BestMile, ecommerce delivery by drones in 10 minutes with Flirtey, connected medicine with Push Doctor, virtual reality with Resolution Games, and even the flying water taxis from SeaBubble,” explains Romain Lavault, General Partner at Partech Ventures.

 

THIRTEEN WEEKS TO GROW... WITH THE BEST MENTORS

Techstars is deploying its 13-week accelerator program supported by its experienced teams as well as by the most prestigious mentors, including William Shu, founder of Deliveroo, Mike Hudack, Product Director at Facebook and Nuno Simaria, CTO at HelloFresh.

More than 1,000 international startups have already benefitted from this unique, highly selective mentoring program. Less than 1% of applications are accepted. Techstars alumni companies bear witness to the program's quality, having already raised over $3 billion after completing the program. Techstars accelerator portfolio is $7.8 billion.

The first class of Techstars Paris will settle into the Partech Shaker in September 2017. Interested startups can apply to join the program on the Techstars website. In addition to applications expected in Paris, the program will also draw from the Startup Weekends which have already brought out nearly 210,000 entrepreneurs in 135 countries and from the network of the 27 Techstars accelerators on both sides of the Atlantic.

"The Techstars team is looking forward to meeting the best of the French and European tech scenes, and in September welcoming the startups to the Partech Shaker for a first high-caliber season," says Bertier Luyt, Managing Director of Techstars Paris.

 

THE PARTECH SHAKER: A HIGH-TECH SETTING FOR THE BEST INTERNATIONAL STARTUPS

In 2016, the Partech Shaker, Partech's flagship intended to support entrepreneurs, launched the Europe Made Easy program to help foreign tech companies set up a base in France and expand their activity in France and/or in Europe. Since then, England-based Made.com and the American company Etsy have added themselves to the list of residents among twenty or so startups including Dropbox, Hired, Influans and Pinterest.

"Hosting Techstars at the Partech Shaker is in line with our approach of creating an international entrepreneurial ecosystem in the heart of Paris. Techstars will bring the best startups, both French and international, to the Partech Shaker. It is also a way to offer valuable connections to the startups that we support, and to enrich our network of mentors. Techstars and Partech share the same values based around one concept: #EntrepreneursFirst," explains Marie Raichvarg, Managing Director of the Partech Shaker.