Good tech scene. Great food. No AC. Somehow it works.
Look, Paris has problems. The bureaucracy is kafkaesque. The apartments are small. August is a ghost town. And yes, nobody has air conditioning.
But there are AI labs everywhere, funding is actually flowing, the healthcare is free, the metro gets you anywhere in 20 minutes, and you can get a life-changing ice cream for €4 on any random Tuesday.
It's not perfect. It's just really, really good.
Mistral AI. Hugging Face. Kyutai. H Company. Europe's most interesting AI companies are based in Paris. Not in a tech park in the suburbs—in the actual city, next to bakeries and bookshops.
The world's largest startup campus. 1,000+ startups, 30+ programs, one massive converted train station. It's a lot of people in one place and somehow it doesn't feel corporate.
Polytechnique, ENS, HEC, CentraleSupélec—France trains very good engineers and researchers. A lot of them stay in Paris. Hiring is easier than you'd think.
French tech raised €8.2B in 2025. Paris captured 78% of it. Five mega-rounds above $100M. It's not SF money, but it's real and it's growing fast.
2h15 from London by train. 1h from Amsterdam. Central timezone. Direct flights basically everywhere. If you're building for Europe, Africa, or MENA—geographically, it's hard to beat.
You get sick, you go to the doctor, you pay almost nothing. That's it. No insurance drama.
14 lines, runs until 1am, €2.15 a ride. You don't need a car. The new Grand Paris Express lines are expanding the map even further.
Paris is tiny. Your investor, your cofounder, and your favorite restaurant are probably in the same arrondissement.
Rent is high but not SF high. A good lunch is €12. The monthly metro pass is €86. Your burn rate will thank you.
Opening a bank account takes 3 weeks and 47 documents. Getting a visa involves a letter from your landlord's cousin. You will swear. It gets easier.
July and August in a 25m² studio will test your character. On the bright side, the ice cream shops are everywhere and open late.