French Tech's Vegas Gamble: Why Hundreds Of Startups Still Bet Big on CES

There's just something about the French and CES. I've never been able to figure it out.

But still, once again, early January rolls around, and the massive French delegation of startups has flown across the pond to Vegas, baby. Accompanied by Business France or a regional government or some other sugar mommy/daddy.

There are more than 100 startups this year at the mega-mega tech trade show, making what has become both a ritual and a calculated risk.

Why?

"A place that allows you to meet the world in four days and sign contracts in two hours — you won't find that anywhere else," Stéphanie Pernod, deputy president for economic affairs of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which brought 36 startups to Nevada, told Le Figaro.

Pulling from a variety of different sources, we put together a handy dandy database of 114 French tech companies at CES 2026. You can explore that database here: https://ces.frenchtechjournal.com/ (If you're at CES and not in the database, just drop us a note, and we'll add you.)

Here's a breakdown of the French CES delegation by the numbers:

The Price of Global Exposure

The economics are brutal. Between airfare, hotels, booth fees, and on-site expenses, French startups face bills ranging from €10,000 to €15,000 per company. For the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional pavilion, the cost drops to around €4,000, but even with subsidies, CES remains an expensive proposition in an era of tightened startup funding.

Indeed, the rising costs and increasingly difficult US market have forced a strategic recalibration. France sent over 300 startups to CES in 2018 and 2019. This year, just over 100 made the trip.

But that isn't the only evolution.

In this year's cohort, 80% of French startups at CES 2026 had already exhibited at the show before, compared to only 20% in 2025. France has shifted from sending waves of first-time explorers to deploying experienced veterans with proven products and realistic market ambitions.

The French delegation remains Europe's largest at CES, organized across two primary venues: the Eureka Park pavilion at the Venetian Expo, housing around 80 companies, and the France Automotive Pavilion at the Las Vegas Convention Center, showcasing roughly 20 firms focused on mobility solutions.

Of course, everyone at CES is announcing, pitching, and networking. But here are some of the French tech companies that got some notable attention from the flock of French journos who were doing their best to convince their editors that the precious travel budget was absolutely NOT being wasted:

🧑‍⚕️⚖️ Withings, the granddaddy of French consumer health tech, celebrated its 117th visit to CES by doing what it does best: turning the humble bathroom scale into a full-blown medical interrogation. The French health-tech company unveiled Body Scan 2, a connected scale that promises to spit out up to 60 health indicators, from heart and arterial health to metabolic and glycemic regulation. New tricks include hypertension risk alerts, a “heart age” score once reserved for hospital gear, and early detection signals for diabetes and prediabetes, all wrapped in the soothing language of prevention. Priced around €500 and landing in Europe in mid-2026, the device doubles down on Withings’ core pitch: catch problems before symptoms appear, preferably while you’re still barefoot in your bathroom. | Le Figaro

🤧👨‍🍳 Allergen Alert is pitching peace of mind in pocket-sized form: a two-minute “mini lab” that can sniff out common food allergens before a meal turns into a medical emergency. The Lyon-based startup is targeting the 250 million people worldwide who live with food allergies and the many parents who read menus like bomb manuals. Born from seven years of R&D and a very personal wake-up call for its founder, the device promises fast, autonomous testing for everything from gluten to peanuts, no lab coats required. With a planned launch in the second half of 2026 at around €200, plus a likely subscription for test cartridges, Allergen Alert is hoping Las Vegas buzz will help turn its handheld safety net into the next must-have accessory at restaurants and maybe, eventually, beyond the plate. | Maddyness

📱🏆 Luchrome entered CES 2026 mode by winning Innovation Award honors for its energy-efficient and flexible screen for electronics. That also helped land the company a prime spot at Eureka Park. Fresh from CES Unveiled, the French startup showcased showcasing Lusight alongside the global innovation crowd while lining up a live interview with BFM Business to make sure France is watching. | BFM Business

🗺️📍Wheere was back in Las Vegas with an ambitious promise: make indoor and underground geolocation finally work where GPS famously gives up. The Montpellier-based deeptech says it can pinpoint people or objects to within a meter—even through 50 meters of concrete, in tunnels, basements, or metro systems—using just a handful of transmitters. Backed by an €11 million seed round and labeled French Tech 2030, the startup is pitching itself as the missing link for security, industrial efficiency, and always-on IoT tracking. With talk of a future satellite constellation and a keynote grandly titled “The GPS of Industry 6.0,” Wheere is betting that the last blind spot of geolocation is ready for its CES moment. | La Revue du Digital