Paris has two peaks: a crowded AI and open-source fortnight in early December 2026, with Adopt AI at the Grand Palais, and VivaTech in June 2027, Europe's biggest startup show. In between come France Digitale's AI Day at Station F, ChangeNOW for impact founders and GO Entrepreneurs, the big fair for first-time and bootstrapping founders.
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events in Paris and the venues around it (La Défense, Le Bourget, Villepinte) from November 2026 to the end of 2027. We checked every date on the organiser's own website. Where a date isn't published yet, we say so, and we mark each event as Confirmed (date on the official site), Announced (date from a reliable second source) or Expected (based on past editions only).
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
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Must Attend Startup Events in Paris 2026–2027: Calendar from November 2026 to November 2027
Autumn 2026: November and December
Women's Forum Paris: 17 November 2026
A senior crowd: useful if you sell to large companies or look for corporate sponsors. The Women's Forum Global Meeting itself is in Mumbai this year (2–3 November). The same week is Global Entrepreneurship Week (16–22 November); look for free workshops and pitch nights at Paris incubators.
Tech Show Paris: 18–19 November 2026
There is an Espace Start-up on the floor. A free badge is a cheap way to meet enterprise IT buyers and test a B2B pitch.
DevFest Paris and apidays: 27 November–3 December 2026
Good for hiring and for meeting the Google, Android and AI developer community. A few days later, apidays Paris (1–3 December, CNIT Forest at La Défense) brings platform and partnership buyers for API, integration and AI-agent products.
Adopt AI Summit: 3–4 December 2026
The second edition, with hackathons, a corporate lab and side events. It follows the 2025 AI Action Summit and aims at companies that are putting AI to work, so bring use cases and customer results. The next week, Open Source Experience (9–10 December, Porte de Versailles, Hall 5.2) suits open-source and sovereign-cloud startups that sell to the French public sector.
Winter and spring 2027: January to May
Cyber Show Paris: 27–28 January 2027
Smaller than the big shows, with buyers from mid-sized companies, which is often where a young security startup finds its first customers.
France Digitale AI Day: 2 February 2027
France Digitale is the main association of French startups and VCs. Its AI Day is a good place to meet French AI investors in one room.
Devoxx France: 7–9 April 2027
Thousands of developers in three days. Useful for recruiting and for building trust if you sell to engineering teams.
ChangeNOW: 26–28 April 2027
The best Paris event for impact founders, with a startup track and an impact job fair. Book before 4 February for the cheapest tickets.
GO Entrepreneurs Paris: 28–29 April 2027
Practical talks and workshops in French on legal setup, funding, banking and sales. The best Paris event if you are starting small.
Health founders should watch SantExpo (formerly Paris Healthcare Week), the hospital show at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles (Hall 1): the official site now confirms 25–27 May 2027.
Summer 2027: June and July
Paris Air Show: 14–20 June 2027
The trade days come first and the public days at the end. It overlaps with VivaTech, so deep tech founders can do both in one trip.
VivaTech: 16–19 June 2027
The one Paris event most founders should not miss. Corporate partners run startup challenges that give winners a stand and meetings for free; watch for the calls in early 2027. In 2026, the women-in-tech network Join Forces & Dare (formerly Journée de la Femme Digitale) ran incubator office hours at the show.
Signal Week and RAISE Summit: 6–8 July 2027
AI founders can apply to the RAISE the Stakes startup competition. In the same building, Signal Week (6–7 July), the new name of Paris Blockchain Week, gathers digital-asset, tokenisation and institutional finance people.
Autumn 2027: September to November
Big Data & AI Paris: 29–30 September 2027
Enterprise data and AI buyers walk this floor. The 2026 edition was on 15–16 September.
dotAI: 21 October 2027
High-quality technical talks in a theatre. A good place to hire AI engineers. Defence and security founders can also look at Milipol Paris (16–19 November 2027, Paris Nord Villepinte), a homeland security show.
For events in the rest of the country, from Lille and Lyon to Cannes, see our guide to startup events in France.
Dates not announced yet
- Sommet des Fondatrices 2027 (France Digitale, SISTA and WILLA): the 2026 edition on 10 March 2026 brought together more than 500 women founders and 150 investors, with a demo day. Expected again in spring.
- France Digitale Day 2027: FDDay 2026 was on 16 September 2026. France Digitale
- Bpifrance BIG 2027: BIG 2026 was on 8 October 2026 at the Accor Arena; usually in October. Bpifrance
- NRF Retail's Big Show Europe 2027 (formerly Paris Retail Week): the 2026 edition was on 15–17 September at Porte de Versailles.
- Salon SME 2027: a fair for freelancers and small businesses; the 2026 edition was in October and the site says "see you in 2027".
- Prix Moovjee for founders aged 18–30: the 2026 ceremony was on 26 May 2026. Moovjee
- Margaret Awards 2027 (Join Forces & Dare), for women entrepreneurs: the 2026 call closed in February; no 2027 call yet.
Recurring meetups and communities
- Station F: the startup campus, with more than 1,000 startups and 30 programmes, hosts public events most weeks. Station F
- GDG Paris: free Google Developer Group meetups several times a year, plus DevFest. GDG Paris
- France Digitale: the startup and VC association runs events through the year. France Digitale
- Join Forces & Dare: the women-in-tech network behind the Margaret Awards. joinjfd.com
- Founder Institute Paris: a pre-seed programme; the next cohort date is not shown. Founder Institute
Some names have changed: Paris Blockchain Week is now Signal Week, the Salon des Entrepreneurs is GO Entrepreneurs, Paris Healthcare Week is SantExpo, and Hello Tomorrow runs in Amsterdam (1–3 June 2027), not Paris. We found no recent Paris events for Startup Grind or Techstars Startup Weekend.
Events for women founders in Paris
- Women's Forum Paris (17 November 2026): a one-day forum of women leaders.
- Sommet des Fondatrices: the biggest gathering of women founders and investors in France; the 2027 date is not out yet.
- WILLA (formerly Paris Pionnières): an incubator for women founders, with a six-month Willa Start programme.
- Join Forces & Dare: the network behind the Margaret Awards and the office hours at VivaTech. joinjfd.com
- French Tech Tremplin: Bpifrance's equal-opportunity programme for under-represented founders, with up to €15,000 in support. La French Tech
If you organise an event for women founders in Paris, send it to us and we'll add it.
Funding and support to know before you go
- French Tech Visa for founders: with the backing of a recognised incubator, foreign founders can get a talent passport residence card for up to four years. Each founder applies separately. French Tech Visa
- Bourse French Tech: a Bpifrance grant of up to €30,000 for early innovative projects, with no application fee. Bpifrance
- French Tech Tremplin: up to €15,000 for founders from under-represented backgrounds; the fifth cohort was announced in June 2026. La French Tech
- Registering a company: every SAS or SARL is created online through the single business registry portal (guichet unique). Budget for the legal notice and the register fees. guichet unique
- Station F programmes: the Founders Program for early-stage companies, and the Fighters Program for founders from all backgrounds, "no degree" needed. Station F
How to get the most out of Paris startup events
- Plan around two peaks. Early December 2026 (apidays, Adopt AI, Open Source Experience) and mid-June 2027 (VivaTech and the Paris Air Show).
- Use the free and cheap badges. Tech Show Paris is free for professionals from user companies, and ChangeNOW has a startup price.
- Apply for the startup challenges. VivaTech's corporate challenges and RAISE's startup competition give winners a stage. See more startup competitions.
- Speak some French. GO Entrepreneurs, Cyber Show and most Bpifrance events run in French; the AI and developer conferences are mostly in English.
- Sort the paperwork early. If you need a French Tech Visa, find a partner incubator first; it is the step that takes longest.
List your event in this guide
Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in Paris? Send us the name, dates, venue and official link, and we'll check whether it fits this guide. We list events for founders, with a real date and an official page.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
🔗 Add an awesome event
Startup events in other places
- Best startup events in France
- Must Attend Startup Events in Singapore
- Must Attend Startup Events in London, UK
- Must Attend Startup Events in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Must Attend Startup Events in San Francisco, USA
- Must Attend Startup Events in New York, USA
- Must Attend Startup Events in Berlin, Germany
- Must Attend Startup Events in Stockholm, Sweden
- Must Attend Startup Events in Dubai, UAE
- Must Attend Startup Events in Lisbon, Portugal
- Must Attend Startup Events in Barcelona, Spain
- Must Attend Startup Events in Munich, Germany
- Must Attend Startup Events in Toronto, Canada
- Must Attend Startup Events in Tokyo, Japan
- Must Attend Startup Events in Las Vegas, USA
- Best startup events in Europe (with country guides)
FAQ
What is the biggest startup event in Paris?
VivaTech, on 16–19 June 2027 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. It is Europe's largest startup and tech show.
Are there AI events in Paris?
Yes: Adopt AI Summit (3–4 December 2026, Grand Palais), France Digitale AI Day (2 February 2027, Station F), RAISE Summit (6–8 July 2027), Big Data & AI Paris (29–30 September 2027) and dotAI (21 October 2027).
Are there events for women founders in Paris?
Yes: the Women's Forum Paris (17 November 2026), the Sommet des Fondatrices (2027 date not out yet), and the Join Forces & Dare network, which runs the Margaret Awards.
Are there free startup events in Paris?
Yes. Tech Show Paris is free for professionals from user companies, GDG Paris meetups are free, and Station F hosts many public events.
What happened to Paris Blockchain Week and the Salon des Entrepreneurs?
Paris Blockchain Week is now Signal Week (6–7 July 2027), and the Salon des Entrepreneurs is now GO Entrepreneurs (28–29 April 2027 at Paris La Défense Arena).
How can a foreign founder move to Paris?
Through the French Tech Visa for founders: with the backing of a recognised incubator, you can get a talent passport residence card for up to four years.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
