2026 Women Entrepreneurs in Tech Prize

Wavestone, Les Echos and Serena VC launch the 2^nd edition of the award

Shake’Up, our startup accelerator, is proud to kick off the second edition of the “Women Entrepreneurs in Tech” award. Organized in partnership with the French economic media outlet Les Echos (open in a new tab) and the investment fund Serena VC (open in a new tab), the award will be presented on 23 March 2026.

The objective: to spotlight a woman who is actively contributing to the evolution of the European technology landscape. While the first edition highlighted women in Cybersecurity, the 2026 edition focuses on women entrepreneurs in Artificial Intelligence.

The winner will receive concrete and comprehensive support from the partners of the award:

A key introduction to major industry stakeholders during the Fondatrices event organized by Les Echos
Media visibility in Charlie Perreau’s column in Les Echos
Tailored support from the Shake’Up accelerator and privileged access to Wavestone’s clients
Hands-on mentoring with Serena’s teams to build the startup’s growth path and guidance on fundraising strategy
Visibility during Viva Technology

Why the “Women Entrepreneurs in Tech” award?

The objective is to highlight a founder/co‑founder or a leader/co‑leader of an innovative startup. We target high‑potential B2B or B2B2C companies that are ready to take a major step in their development.

To identify the best candidates, we will rely on our French and European network (radars, calls for projects, VivaTech database), our partners, and the extensive Les Echos ecosystem. Startups that wish to do so are also invited to apply.

I apply to the award

Our ambition is simple: to identify AI women entrepreneurs ready to scale, and offer them the winning trio: visibility, business opportunities, and support in their funding trajectory.

Mathilde Peyret, Shake’Up Lead, Wavestone

An edition focused on AI

This edition will spotlight European startups specializing in artificial intelligence. Florence Noizet, Partner and AI Lead at Wavestone, will be the sponsor of the event alongside Charlie Perreau, Head of the Tech-Media-Start-up desk at Les Echos.

The jury will be composed by Charlie Perreau, Ghislain de Pierrefeu, Partner at Wavestone, Imène Kabouya, AI Partner at Wavestone, Joséphine Boone, AI journalist at Les Echos, as well as Emilie Benayad and Juliette Ast from Serena. Together, they will assess the quality of the project, the relevance of the solution, and its alignment with the selection criteria listed below.

The ceremony will take place on 23 March at the Les Echos headquarters in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, in the presence of our partners and key players from the AI sector. Among the finalists, only one will receive the award.

The startups will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Founder/co-founder and/or CEO/co-CEO of an AI startup
Registered office in Europe
At least 50% of revenue generated from artificial‑intelligence‑based products
More than one year in existence
Fewer than 35 employees
At least three clients or prospects
Contributes to European digital autonomy in AI

Apply for the ‘Women Entrepreneurs in Tech’ 2026 award

Fill in the forms until February 20

Our partners

Shake’Up, our startup accelerator

Since its launch in 2016, Shake’Up has aimed to support our teams in gaining knowledge of the offers, solutions, and innovations emerging from the startup ecosystem, in order to bring value to our clients. To date, Shake’Up has supported 50 companies, including Yuka, Phoenix Mobility, Isahit, Olvid, Hackuity, and Néolithe.

Les Echos, the French business media outlet

Created in 1908, Les Echos is now the leading economic news outlet in France. The brand supports decision-makers and entrepreneurs in staying one step ahead. Every day, it offers them a global perspective on world events and the economy. It deciphers corporate strategies and identifies major emerging trends. It drives public debate through a plurality of opinions and contributions in support of a responsible economy. Les Echos reaches 9 million readers per month.

Serena VC, the investment fund

Serena is one of the leading venture capital funds in Europe, with nearly one billion euros under management. Founded in 2008, Serena invests in early-stage companies, from Seed to Series A, and supports the success of innovative and ambitious entrepreneurs working toward a better world. Born from the strong conviction that a venture capital fund must serve the companies in its portfolio, Serena has built the largest operational support team in Europe and created the most active startup community, the Serena Squad, bringing together more than 550 C‑level executives. In 2017, Serena Capital raised 80 million euros for its new European fund, Serena Data Ventures, dedicated to big data and artificial intelligence.