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McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company
Rewiring Europe’s ambition and sovereignty
Rewiring Europe’s ambition and sovereignty
Why this Challenge?

McKinsey is committed to helping organizations accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth. The Firm works with clients across several sectors, combining bold strategies and transformative technologies to solve complex problems and create positive change for all their stakeholders.

Together with France Deeptech (ecosystem supporting the creation, growth, and scaling of DeepTech startups in France), we have a 2-fold objective of supporting the growth of DeepTech scale-ups and promoting the adoption of DeepTech within large companies.

Our Startup Challenge
EU ambition & sovereignty: next gen of DeepTech made in EU

The Startup Challenge's Context:
EU is showing a growing technological lag behind the US and, in certain sectors, behind China, making DeepTech a priority and vital lever for Europe’s sovereignty. This gap, initially linked to the slower adoption of digital technologies, is now widening across a dozen technological fields critical for future competitiveness, such as AI, automation, and biotech. On top, in current EU environment, scaling and succeeding in finding the sweet spot for sustainable growth can be a challenge, being when entering new markets, developing products, deploying GTM strategies, looking for investments ...

What we are looking for:
We are keen on welcoming for this challenge Startups that are reaching an inflection point in their growth. This challenge is targeting especially the fields that are crucial for EU sovereignty (e.g. DeepTech, Climate & Energy, Artificial Intelligence, Health & BioTech, Quantum Computing, Automation, Advanced Materials...).

The three winners:
• Women in DeepTech: Recognizing a female CEO who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in DeepTech, or an innovative solution that significantly advances the inclusion and representation of women in the DeepTech ecosystem.
• Decarbonation: Recognizing a CEO who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in Deeptech, or an innovative solution that significantly advances decarbonization in the Deeptech ecosystem.
• IA & Robotics: Recognizing a CEO who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in Deeptech, or an innovative solution that significantly advances AI and robotics in the Deeptech ecosystem.


Selection Criteria
Size and maturity

Minimum 100M€ of valuation

Geography

Headquartered in Europe

Deep Tech company

Patent/R&D focus, >30%
Research partnership or scientific lab origin
Scientifically qualified leader

Team & Management

Still partially or fully founders led

Growth acceleration

Entering new markets, developing new products, deploying GTM strategies, preparing for IPO...


Rewards
  • Growth Support

    Access to the DeepTech ecosystem - for the three winners:
    • One invitation to our exclusive VivaTech CEO dinner
    • One invitation for a Connectivity Dinner with the ecosystem
    • One year membership to join France DeepTech
    • One dedicated communication on France DeepTech and McKinsey social media

  • Acces to VivaTech 2026

    For the three winners, 2 startup passes to VivaTech 2026

Play an active role in our six business sectors

Your solution, product or service demonstrates that you can play an active role in LVMH's ecosystem and deliver on a large scale. Whether it be the creation process, the omnichannel customer journey, or operation and manufacturing, you support the Group's legacy of excellence and innovation in all areas of its 6 business sectors.

  • Fashion & Leather Goods

  • Wines & Spirits

  • Perfumes & Cosmetics

  • Watches & Jewelry

  • Other Activities

  • Selective Retailing

Timeline

00:00:00:00

left to apply

left to apply

  • Applications open

  • Applications close

  • The winners are announced

  • -

    20/06/2026

    10th edition of VivaTech

Jury

Stéphane Bout

Stéphane Bout

Senior Partner, Leader of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey in France

Senior Partner, Leader of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey in France

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company

Johannes Tobias Lorenz

Johannes Tobias Lorenz

Senior Partner, Global Co-Leader of “Digital and AI Transformations”

Senior Partner, Global Co-Leader of “Digital and AI Transformations”

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company

Michel de Lempdes

Michel de Lempdes

President

President

France Deeptech

France Deeptech

Romain Roullois

Romain Roullois

General Manager

General Manager

France Deeptech

France Deeptech

Audrey Lacombe

Audrey Lacombe

Associate Partner

Associate Partner

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company

Mélanie Krawina

Mélanie Krawina

Associate Partner

Associate Partner

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company

FAQ

Who can apply?

Can I apply for more than one Startup Challenge/Award?

What is the difference between a Startup Challenge and an Award?

Is applying for an Award or Startup Challenge free?

Your personal data is collected by Crédit Agricole S.A., 12 Place des Etats-Unis, 92120 Montrouge, as the data controller, so that you can participate in the Challenge organized from 18/03/2026 during the Vivatech event, called: “Digital Sustainability Training Modules”. In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right, under the conditions provided by law, to access your personal data at any time, to exercise your right to data portability, to have it rectified, to request its erasure in compliance with legal obligations, to object to its processing, to define general or specific instructions regarding the fate of your personal data after your death, or to restrict its processing for legitimate reasons. You can access more detailed information on the protection of your personal data by consulting, in particular, Article 13: “Personal data protection” of the challenge rules.

Your personal data is collected by Crédit Agricole S.A., 12 Place des Etats-Unis, 92120 Montrouge, as the data controller, so that you can participate in the Challenge organized from 18/03/2026 during the Vivatech event, called: “Digital Sustainability Training Modules”. In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right, under the conditions provided by law, to access your personal data at any time, to exercise your right to data portability, to have it rectified, to request its erasure in compliance with legal obligations, to object to its processing, to define general or specific instructions regarding the fate of your personal data after your death, or to restrict its processing for legitimate reasons. You can access more detailed information on the protection of your personal data by consulting, in particular, Article 13: “Personal data protection” of the challenge rules.

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