The US$281-million startup facility was built in 2017 by Xavier Niel, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Kima Ventures

With an aim to attract international startups into Paris and make entrepreneurship more accessible, serial entrepreneur and investor Xavier Niel built STATION F in Paris in 2017.

Niel — the founder of telecom operator Free Mobile, tuition-free coding school 42 in France and California, and hyper-active early-stage VC firm Kima Ventures — also wanted to add more coherence and unity to the fragmented startup ecosystem.

Located in central Paris, the 34,000 sq meter building hosts an entire startup ecosystem under one roof.  The facility hosts not just local startups but startups from across the world, including Asia, such as Wishupon (South Korea).

At STATION F, you can find a startup zone with 3,000 startup desks divided into 30 different startup programmes — including Facebook’s Startup Garage, vente-privee’s Impulse and its own Founders Program. STATION F also has event spaces, offices for investors and tech companies, a makerspace, a co-working coffee-shop, and a giant food market.

A co-living space for 600 entrepreneurs is also under construction 15 minutes away from STATION F.

So far EUR250 million (US$281 million) has been invested in STATION F.

STATION F campus is divided into three zones: SHARE, CREATE, CHILL. The SHARE zone provides a variety of event spaces and services for entrepreneurs. In this space, two areas are open to the public: an Anticafé (a co-working coffee shop where you can pay by the hour) and an innovative Post office.

The SHARE zone also includes six of the eight events spaces available on campus, including a 370-seat auditorium and a ‘creativity room’ built for brainstorming sessions. All events happening on campus revolve around entrepreneurship and creativity.

There are numerous startup services in the SHARE zone, like a French Tech area that provides direct access to 35 key administrations and experts.

There is also a Tech Lab, managed by Techshop Ateliers Leroy Merlin, with 3D printers, laser cutters, and workshops.

In addition, several private offices host major tech companies like Amazon Web Services and Zendesk, and a VC areas with members like Balderton Capital, Index Ventures, Accel Partners, Alven, Ventech, Kima Ventures, and more.

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