Incubateur Belle de Mai

What Incubateur Belle de Mai does

Incubateur Belle de Mai is a non-profit deeptech technology incubator founded in 1999 in Marseille, France, specializing in digital technologies, ICT, and media. The organization supports tech entrepreneurs from ideation through market launch via a structured program stack: La Manufacture 3.0 (a free 3-month pre-incubation program co-financed by the European Social Fund), Le 1024 Deeptech (an 18-24 month incubation offering up to €40,000 in reimbursable advances without equity dilution), and Le 1024 Media (an 18-month program for press and media innovation). Since inception, the incubator has accompanied 417 projects resulting in 273 companies created, mobilizing a network of 250 experts, with 80%+ of supported startups reaching the 5-year milestone.

The incubator is governed as an independent association with institutional members including CIPMed (presidency, since December 2023), CCIAMP (founding member, vice-presidency), and Ecole Centrale Méditerranée (secretariat). Céline Souliers serves as Directrice, leading a lean operational team of 1-10 staff that includes chargés d'affaires and a marketing lead. The incubator partners with Mission French Tech for the French Tech Tremplin program (national reach), Station F for dual-territory incubation, and academic institutions including Mines Saint-Etienne, Centrale Med, CIP, CESI, and Avignon University for entrepreneur recruitment.

The business model is a publicly co-financed association: revenue is sourced from the European Social Fund (FSE), Region Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Département des Bouches-du-Rhône, Ville de Marseille, and the Ministère de la Culture, supplemented by program-specific grants (notably the €22,900 French Tech Tremplin fellowship). The model deliberately avoids equity dilution, providing reimbursable advances and program services rather than venture-style investments. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The 21-name portfolio spans IoT (Sycon, Orama System, Ondilo), AI (Nosho.ai, Neuronaix, Ginjer AI, VirtualBrain), computer vision (Tchek, LitterSnap), media tech (Sportall, Mveo, Artale.io), and other digital verticals, with notable outcomes including Tchek's €3M raise in 2021, Delitoon's €10M revenue by 2019, and Centiloc's 8 patents in NFC geolocation.

Name

Incubateur Belle de Mai

Legal name

INCUBATEUR BELLE DE MAI

Website

https://belledemai.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Incubateur Belle de Mai is a non-profit deeptech digital technology incubator founded in 1999 in Marseille, France, supporting tech entrepreneurs through free pre-incubation and 18-24 month incubation programs funded by public co-financing and non-dilutive reimbursable advances.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubation Services

NAICS

Apprenticeship Training (611513)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

Keywords

• Startup incubation services
• Deeptech programs
• Pre-incubation programs
• Tech entrepreneur support
• Venture development

Headquarters

HQ city

Marseille

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Incubation Programs: Operates pre-incubation and incubation programs supporting entrepreneurs from ideation through market launch with financing and accompaniment
2. Public Funding: Co-financed by European Social Fund (FSE), Region Sud, Departement 13, City of Marseille, and Culture Ministry

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Incubateur Belle de Mai is a deeptech technology incubator that supports the creation of innovative digital companies. It provides structured pre-incubation and incubation programs (La Manufacture 3.0, Le 1024 Deeptech, Le 1024 Média) offering mentorship, business validation, R&D support, prototyping assistance, and reimbursable financing up to €40,000 without equity dilution. Founded in 1999, it has accompanied 417 projects resulting in 273 companies created.

Product overview

Incubateur Belle de Mai is a deeptech technology incubator offering a structured portfolio of incubation programs. The core offerings include La Manufacture 3.0 (free 3-month pre-incubation program), Le 1024 Deeptech (18-24 month deeptech incubation with up to €40,000 funding), and Le 1024 Média (18-month media-focused incubation). Complementary services include La Fresque de l'IA (AI awareness workshop), Club 1024 (peer networking for incubates), and the annual Avant-Premières du Numérique event. The incubator also participates in the national French Tech Tremplin Incubation program for underrepresented entrepreneurs. Since 1999, the incubator has supported 417 projects resulting in 273 companies created.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Manufacture 3.0: 3-month free pre-incubation program for structuring innovative business projects
• Le 1024 Deeptech
• Le 1024 Média
• Club 1024
• La Fresque de l'IA
• 8clos
• Avant-Premières du Numérique

Products and services

• La Manufacture 3.0 A free 3-month pre-incubation program co-financed by the European Social Fund, helping entrepreneurs analyze and validate their business strategy from the ideation stage. The collective cohort format provides mutual support and critical feedback on innovative business projects.
• Le 1024 Deeptech An 18 to 24-month personalized incubation program for digital deeptech startups offering up to €40,000 in reimbursable advances without equity stake. The program provides support for R&D, prototyping, sales, fundraising preparation, and business development with dedicated Operating Partners.
• Le 1024 Média An 18-month specialized incubation program for innovation in press and media sectors, helping entrepreneurs structure their media projects and accelerate their development through personalized support.
• La Fresque de l'IA A collaborative 3-hour workshop inspired by the Climate Fresco format, designed to raise awareness among teams about the economic, social, environmental, and ethical impacts of AI, helping organizations define action plans for responsible AI integration.
• Club 1024 An exclusive networking and peer-support format for current 1024 incubation cohort, combining expert tables rounds, speed-dating with investors, and collective coaching sessions on topics like fundraising strategy and commercial development.
• Avant-Premières du Numérique

Quantifiable outcome

• 417 projects accompanied since 1999
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability19 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Club Informatique Provence Méditerranée (CIPMed)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CIPMed has been a member since 2005 and was appointed to presidency in December 2023, bringing strategic governance oversight and IT industry connections. Guillaume Goury serves as President representing CIPMed.
• Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Aix-Marseille-Provence (CCIAMP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CCIAMP is a founding member of the incubator and renewed its Vice-President mandate with Julie Davico-Pahin, also serving as Treasurer. Provides industry connections and entrepreneurial ecosystem access.
• Ecole Centrale Méditerranée (ECM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ECM joined as member in 2015 and holds Secretary position with Françoise Perrin. Brings engineering talent and research connections to the incubator ecosystem.
• Mission French TechcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Mission French Tech operates French Tech Tremplin program with 224 projects selected annually. Belle de Mai hosts 5 projects from Region Sud cohort, providing 1-year incubation with €22,900 grant.
• ONERAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ONERA (French aerospace research center) partner supporting innovation and research connections.
• AktantisminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Regional innovation network partner supporting entrepreneurship ecosystem development.
• Provence PromotionminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Regional economic development agency helping promote the incubator and attract entrepreneurs to the territory.
• CIP PACAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CIP PACA is the regional IT professionals association partner of the incubator.
• UPE13minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024UPE13 (Employers Union) partner supporting entrepreneurship and business creation.
• Station FcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Artale.io was simultaneously incubated at Station F in Paris and Belle de Mai, benefiting from both programs. This demonstrates national partnership approach for startups seeking dual accompaniment.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Family: European startup education and support organization providing education, community, and investor access to early-stage tech founders. Comparable in serving digital founders from ideation through early growth with structured programs.
• IncubAlliance: Paris-Saclay incubator specializing in deeptech and digital startups emerging from university research. Comparable thematic deeptech focus with public research ties and structured 18-24 month programs.
• Station F: Largest startup campus globally, based in Paris, hosting numerous vertical-specific incubation programs for early-stage tech founders. Directly comparable as a French tech incubator pursuing national reach with a multi-program model.
• Agoranov: Paris-based deeptech incubator affiliated with Mines ParisTech, supporting early-stage scientific and digital startups with funding and mentorship. Most direct peer in French deeptech incubation, sharing research-institution ties and equity-taking model.
• Linksium: Grenoble-based deeptech startup incubator linked to Universite Grenoble Alpes, transferring research from public labs to commercial ventures. Comparable deeptech specialization and connection to academic/research institutions.
• NUMA: Paris-based digital innovation hub running pre-incubation and acceleration programs for tech entrepreneurs, including AI and deeptech tracks. Operates a comparable cohort-based model with corporate and public partners.
• Paris and Co: Paris innovation and incubation agency running multiple thematic incubators (digital, health, urban tech) with public-private support. Comparable in operating public-funded multi-vertical incubation programs targeting early-stage entrepreneurs.

Regional players

• Euratechnologies: Lille-based tech incubator and accelerator running programs for digital and ICT startups with public regional support. Comparable public-funded multi-program French tech incubation model in a different metropolitan region.
• Marseille Innovation: Marseille-based technology transfer and incubation structure supporting innovative startups in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region. Direct regional peer operating in the same incubator ecosystem on adjacent technology verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Bpifrance Le Hub: National French public innovation platform providing funding, acceleration, and ecosystem services to French startups across all sectors. Overlapping partner/funder relationship with Belle de Mai through DeepTech labeling and I-Nov contests.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/incubateur_BdM
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnQq5pYpkmhagmY7OOQAs5A
• Facebookfacebook.com/IncubateurBelledeMai
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/incubateur-multimedia-belle-de-mai
• Instagraminstagram.com/incubateurbelledemai
• TikToktiktok.com/@incubateurbdm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments40 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Incubateur Belle de Mai