French Tech Lab Grant
Supports pre-creation deeptech ventures emerging from university research through team formation and business validation.
The French Tech Lab Grant is the most recent instrument added to Bpifrance's Deeptech Plan, introduced in 2024 in conjunction with the rollout of the PUI (Pôle Universitaire d'Innovation) initiative. PUI is a national network of regional university-industry consortia created by the French government to bridge the gap between academic laboratories and the startup economy. The French Tech Lab Grant provides pre-creation business support — covering team formation, business model validation, IP work, and market exploration — to deeptech projects that originate from research conducted at a PUI member institution.
The grant is deployed regionally via each PUI's lead university, which acts as the delivery partner and primary point of contact for applicants. Published award figures are not available at a national level because terms are set region by region; typical estimates based on the programme's positioning within the Deeptech Plan suggest awards of approximately €30,000 to €80,000 per project. The instrument targets individual entrepreneurs and very early-stage teams, including pre-incorporation projects, at TRL 2 to 4. Company age at application is typically up to three years, and the IP underpinning the project must originate from a PUI member research institution. Project work must be carried out in France. There are no centrally published closing dates; intake is managed at the regional PUI level.
The French Tech Lab Grant occupies the same earliest-stage tier as Bourse French Tech Emergence in the Bpifrance ladder but is specifically anchored to the PUI regional ecosystem, making it the preferred route for researchers spinning out of PUI-affiliated universities. Applicants apply through their regional PUI lead university rather than directly through Bpifrance's national portal. The grant is part of the broader €2.5 billion Deeptech Plan that aims to produce 500 deeptech startups per year in France by reinforcing the emergence, growth, and ecosystems legs of the innovation pipeline.
Pre-creation business support for deeptech projects emerging from research, deployed via the PUI regional network. Covers business model validation, team formation, IP work, and other pre-incorporation activities.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility
Sign up free to see how to apply
Sign up free to see what you submit
Sign up free to see how they score you
Sign up free to see the timeline
Sign up free to see where teams trip up