Université Paris-Saclay, the No 1 higher education and research institution for deeptech entrepreneurship, according to the Bpifrance Observatoire Deeptech

The Observatoire Deeptech is a deeptech entrepreneurship information platform supported by Bpifrance. Its ranking of university sites takes into account the number of deeptech start-ups created by alumni who have graduated from these institutions (universities or Grandes Ecoles), the amount of funds these companies have raised from investors and their valuation at the time of the fund-raising. The period covered is from 2000 to the present day.

Université Paris-Saclay is ranked first in each of the categories listed by the Observatoire Deeptech ("Top number of startups", "Top fundraising", "Top valuation"). More than 230 deeptech start-ups have been created, with a cumulative investment of more than five billion euros and a combined enterprise value of over €20 billion. This alumni-based ranking reflects the primary role of the education provided by Université, with the goal of enhancing the career paths of all its students, unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit in whatever form it may take and supporting those who so desire on the path to business creation.

This ranking also reflects the dynamism of the Paris-Saclay region as a whole, with the Polytechnic Institute of Paris (Institut Polytechnique de Paris) and HEC Paris, two of Université's neighbours, ranking second and fourth respectively.
 

Ramping up economic development in the region

In 2013, the MIT Technology Review identified Paris-Saclay as one of the world's eight future technological innovation centres. These centres are characterised by a dense socio-economic fabric of technology companies, customers and service providers in the same area (large industrial groups, SMEs, start-ups, local authorities, associations, etc.), whose prosperity also depends on favourable liberal immigration laws and venture capital financing.

The Observatoire Deeptech ranking shows that the region's economic development is accelerating, supported by an innovation system that has been in place for over 20 years and includes IncubAlliance, Paris-Saclay's public research incubator.

Université's growing involvement in the commercialisation of its laboratories' research benefits in particular from the leverage provided by two French Future Investment Plan (PIA) programmes: the National Development Fund (FNV) dedicated to SATTs (Technology transfer acceleration companies), from which SATT Paris-Saclay has benefited, and Université's endowment as part of the PIA's Excellence Initiative (IDEX) project. These two programmes have strengthened close collaboration between players in the same ecosystem, with a view to accelerating and intensifying innovation and developing relationships with companies.

Université Paris-Saclay's University Innovation Cluster (PUI), accredited in July 2023 as part of France 2030, is a logical consequence of this long-standing collaboration. Bringing together 13 key players from the ecosystem and 15 partners, Université Paris-Saclay's PUI aims to further strengthen innovations that meet current and future societal challenges and promote human progress. Support for technology transfer and the creation of new companies either from laboratories or supported by the university community is one of the approaches of Université Paris-Saclay's PUI, led by SATT Paris-Saclay and the IncubAlliance incubator. 

To measure the relevance of these economic development actions, the Université Paris-Saclay PUI recently launched a business satisfaction survey, which can be found here.