-From mini human brains grown from stem cells, to aluminium reimagined as a carbon-free industrial fuel… The most promising startups of 2026 built on breakthrough technologies span across industries, including healthcare, energy, and advanced computing.
-The 100 finalists were selected out of 4,800 applications from 108 countries by jury of leading deep tech investors and industry leaders, including L’Oréal, ASML, Honda Xcelerator Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Discovery, and others
-The Finals of the Hello Tomorrow Challenge will take place at the Hello Tomorrow Summit on 11-12 June 2026
Paris, 23 April 2026 — Hello Tomorrow today announced the Top 100 Deep Tech Startups to Watch in 2026. Selected by a jury of leading investors and industry experts in the framework of the Hello Tomorrow Challenge, the world’s most prestigious deep tech startup competition, these 100 startups represent the most promising early stage ventures on the planet across 14 industries spanning Advanced Computing & Cybersecurity to Aerospace and Food & Agriculture.
“When the Hello Tomorrow Challenge was launched in 2014, and even as recently as three years ago, deep tech was a conversation for specialists. Today it is at the centre of how nations compete, how industries survive, and how humanity tackles its most pressing challenges,” commented Arnaud de la Tour, Hello Tomorrow CEO and co-founder. “This cohort is the clearest signal yet that deep tech is compounding — and like any exponential, it looks slow until it doesn’t.”
The Most Radical Innovations Across Key Industries
Selected from 4,800+ applicants across 108 countries, the 2026 cohort was evaluated by leading experts and deep tech investors in respective industries. The finalists were selected based on four key criteria: Technological Innovation, Economic Viability, Impact, and Team Strength.
Access the Top 100 list view by industry (scroll to the left):