Rails set in motion for world’s largest startup incubator

Located close to the iconic Bibliothèque nationale de France, the 34,000m² campus will house over 3,000 desks, over ten international startup programmes, one makerspace, one restaurant, four kitchens, one café, one bar and eight event spaces. What’s more, members will have 24/7 access to these facilities.

The project is backed by French entrepreneur and investor, Xavier Niel. In a statement, he explained the vision behind STATION F: “With STATION F, we wish to give a framework to the fragmented startup ecosystem in France and in Europe. I also want to provide entrepreneurs the means to achieve high ambition.”

STATION F currently has two programmes available for interested parties. The Founders Program is open to early-stage startups who are working full time on their project; for €195 per month they can have access to a desk and join the entrepreneurial community. The team behind STATION F believe that entrepreneurs need to be surrounded by people who have been through the same problems in order to succeed.

The other programme, called the Fellowship, is targeted at founders and team members of startups who are either not quite ready or are already too big for the Founders Program. For €900 a year, subscribers can get a hot desk accessible five days each month, and be immersed inside what the company claims to be the biggest club of founders in the world.

Startup applications opened on 5th December 2016. The first campus members include Facebook, TechShop and Daphni. Julien Decot, Director, Platform Partnerships, EMEA at Facebook, said: “We're excited to be part of a truly unique space - the first of its kind in the world - for startups to collaborate, learn and build amazing new products and services. Partnering with Station F is the next step in expanding our developer outreach beyond programs like FbStart or F8.”

Following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, many startups who might originally have hoped to be based there may now be looking at the other side of the channel. In February 2017, then French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron encouraged uneasy US scientists to move to France: “I want all those who today embody innovation and excellence in the United States to hear what we say: from now on, from next May, you will have a new homeland – France.”

Coworking spaces are already popular in Paris, and from 2018 the STATION F campus will also offer accommodation for 600 people in 100 shared apartments. The three towers will also host a sports centre, café and private lounge bar, all just ten minutes away from campus. It certainly looks to be an exciting summer in the French capital.