The Female Founder Challenge (FFC) is one of VivaTech’s top awards, putting the spotlight on startups and innovations built by women. Winners of this prestigious award get access to networking opportunities, opportunities for funding, and connections with ventures capitalists.
This award has been around since 2019, let’s take a look at where some of the past winners are today.
2024: Inbolt, Albane Dersy
In 2024, Albane Dersy, Co-founder of Inbolt, won the Female Founders Challenge.
Inbolt uses 3D vision and AI technology to guide and adapt robots, enabling them to operate more flexibly and autonomously. Their technology uses data processing to identify the position and orientation of a workpiece to adapt the robot's trajectory.
After VivaTech 2024 and their victory at the Female Founders Challenge, Inbolt secured 15 million in Series A funding and the startup is now working with partners like Stellantis, Ford, and Airbus. “I think the Female Founder Challenge is one of the best platforms we have in France in terms of marketing, communication, and visibility for female founders,” Albane shared. “The exposure before, during, and after is just so intense and there are so many things that you get out of the experience.”
2023: Pathway, Zuzanna Stamirowska
Zuzanna Stamirowska and her startup, Pathway, won the Female Founders Challenge in 2023.
Pathway is a data processing framework that enables users in industries such as supply chain and logistics to build data products that scale. Their product extracts data from input connectors and uses query and response API, as well as LLMs and external AI, to load outputs.
Just six months after VivaTech, in December 2024, Pathway raised 10 million in seed funding round. The company is now working with partners like Intel, Nato, Formula 1, and La Poste.
Claire Nouet, Co-founder of Pathway, recounted that receiving the award from Élisabeth Borne, prime minister of France at the time, was a defining moment for Pathway that helped the startup gain traction across industries.
2022: Resortecs, Vanessa Counaert
Vanessa Counaert's startup, Resortecs, won the 2022 Female Founders Challenge.
Resortecs helps tackle the 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide generated by the textile industry each year by implementing their "made-for-disassembly" technology. Using special stitching and the world's first thermal disassembly system, Resortecs makes textile recycling easy for companies across industries like fashion, bedding, and automotive.
In April 2023, the startup raised €2.2 million in a seed investment round, planning to scale up their pre-recycling production capacity by tenfold in 2024.
Vannessa Counaert recounted that "participating in the challenge, and winning... gives you a boost, gives you recognition, and really helped us gain credibility with the investors."
2021: DFNS, Clarisse Hagège
DFNS, founded by Clarisse Hagège, and winner of the Female Founder Challenge in 2021, is a digital assets wallet service that is embedded into apps and operations. It features easy access to every blockchain, one single API for all transactions, and bank-grade security. DFNS is used by "leading fintechs and enterprises to streamline digital asset operations and onboard users into crypto, safely."
The company currently secures billion in assets, has more than 10M wallets created, and manages more than billion in monthly transfers. In January 2025, DFNS closed a $16M Series A funding round.
Clarisse Hagege speaks highly of VivaTech and the Female Founders Challenege, saying that "VivaTech allowed me to not only meet my mentor, Claire Calmejane, who later put me in touch with the right people for my fundraising, but also to establish credibility with investors”.
Send In Your Application
The VivaTech Female Founder Challenge is still accepting applications for 2025. If you're an innovative female startup founder, don't miss your chance to participate and earn a chance to raise funds.