A national networking reception held on 17 June 2026 at La Serre, Porte de Versailles, opening Germany's Country of the Year programme at VivaTech. Around 1,000 guests gather to connect German startups with French and European investors, corporates and decision makers.
Startup Germany Night is the German national reception held alongside VivaTech 2026 on 17 June, the first business day of the show. It marks the official opening of the Country of the Year programme, Germany having been named guest country of the tenth edition. The evening runs from 18:30 to 23:30 at La Serre & Le Perchoir, on the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles site, and gathers around 1,000 guests according to the organiser.
The reception is run by the Startup Germany initiative with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (BMWK). It opens the German delegation's week at VivaTech, the largest national delegation in the show's history, with 200 startups and companies across 800 square metres. The stated themes span artificial intelligence, deeptech, energy, health and sovereignty technologies.
The evening falls on the first business day of VivaTech (17 June), positioning it as the opening anchor of the German programme before three further days of show floor activity. It belongs to a dense cluster of national and sector receptions that run each evening through the VivaTech week, and is among the largest by headcount.
Beyond the reception and the matchmaking layer, no formal conference programme is publicly documented for this event.
It is an official side event of VivaTech 2026, scheduled on the first business evening, 17 June. It opens the Country of the Year programme for Germany, guest country of the tenth edition. Registration is handled separately from VivaTech ticketing, through the b2match platform.
No. Access runs through a dedicated registration on b2match, which is free and subject to approval. A VivaTech pass is not required, though the event is aimed primarily at professionals attending the show that week.
It is not designed for: the general public, as access is professional and approval-based; attendees seeking a conference programme, since the format is a reception with matchmaking rather than talks; founders or investors with no interest in the German or Franco-German axis, given the national framing; and anyone expecting open walk-in access, since registration must be validated by the organiser.
La Serre & Le Perchoir is an event space on the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles site, at 2 Avenue de la Porte de la Plaine, 75015 Paris. Its location next to the show floor allows guests to move directly from the VivaTech halls to the reception. The site is served by metro line 12 (Porte de Versailles) and tram lines T2 and T3a.
Startup Germany is the initiative coordinating Germany's presence as VivaTech 2026 Country of the Year, with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (BMWK). The programme mobilises a 200-strong delegation of startups and companies and uses the night as its opening relational set piece for the week.
The opening night of Germany as VivaTech 2026 Country of the Year, the largest national gathering of the VivaTech week.
Registration is free and handled through the b2match platform, subject to approval by the organiser. Completing the full registration gives validated guests access to the participant list, and one-to-one meetings can be scheduled from 5 June 2026. Capacity is stated by the organiser at around 1,000 guests.
Register on the b2match event page and wait for organiser approval. Approved guests can then view the participant list and book one-to-one meetings from 5 June 2026.
On 17 June 2026, from 18:30 to 23:30, at La Serre & Le Perchoir on the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles site, 75015 Paris.
A national networking reception of around 1,000 guests, with the participant matchmaking handled in advance through b2match. No public conference programme is documented for the evening itself.
| Official page (b2match) | https://www.b2match.com/e/startup-germany-night |
| VivaTech exhibitor page | https://vivatech.com/exhibitors/startup-germany |
| Parent event | https://eventsindex.org/events/viva-technology.html |