VivaTechnology, the international exhibition of innovation and technology, stormed the Porte de Versailles in Paris last week for a new release, the 7.y, arousing. For four intense days, from 14 to 17 June 2023, the event brought together world leaders in the tech world, from startups to large corporations, investors and tech enthusiasts.
The numbers are rising
In terms of numbers, this year VivaTech had around 150,000 cumulative visitors from 174 countries, 11,400 startups (Exhibitors and Participants) Approx 2800 exhibitors (up 11% over last year), including 2,400 startups, 400 technology leaders, international groups and public players, 450 speakers, and 1,700 investors and investment funds. International pavilions, numbering 30, were also more numerous with South Korea in the spotlight, reflecting a strong and diverse international ecosystem.
Evidence of a return to post-Covid normality, the show has once again extended to Hall 2 (+20% additional space), where Sportyk, the sports ecosystem is housed in a dedicated 9,000 square meter “Future of Sport” space as part of the partnership with World Sports Week , a major event in the sports sector. Finally, nearly 300 innovations from around the world were presented in the fields of artificial intelligence, immersive virtual reality, climate, energy, mobility, cyber security… disruptive innovations that are redefining many industries, offering a concrete glimpse into the emerging technological future.
Many conference and guest stars
With a rich program of conferences, demonstrations and meetings, VivaTechnology has established itself as one of the most important global events of the year in the field of technology. Attendees had the opportunity to listen to inspiring talks from influential thought leaders, exchange innovative ideas, and learn about the latest technological developments.
One of the exceptional moments in this release was a conversationElon Musk (CEO of Space X and Tesla and Owner and CTO of Twitter) with Maurice Levy at the Dôme de Paris, followed by more than 6,000 people in a supercharged atmosphere. As for a rock star’s party, fans of a technology icon lined up for nearly three hours in the sun and about 30 degrees to attend his speech that concluded 3 professional days from the living room.
Among the many topics discussed, he specifically announced that he wants to present, starting this year, the first humanoid with neural implants from his company. Neuralink, whose technology has just been licensed in the United States. The initial aim is to help people with neurological diseases.
President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron VivaTech also chose to announce a plan worth approximately €6 billion for positive impact startups and €500 million for artificial intelligence.
The show was interspersed with speeches by other great leaders. So sign Benioff (CEO of Salesforce), Bob Metcalfe, Inventor of the Internet, Jan Leckon, Chief Artificial Intelligence Scientist at Meta, Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, Christine HeidemannCEO of Orange, Lee Young, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups of the Republic of Korea and more than 400 others provided some keys to understanding the changes and challenges in different business sectors.
Some notable innovations
Many of the innovations were amazing. It was hard to choose the best. However, here are 5 startups that blew me away in terms of impact:
- Sweetch Energy which produces osmotic energy, salt water energy,
- Notpla which manufactures sustainable packaging from algae and plants,
- Neoplants, a plant that absorbs pollution from your home
- Cumulus Water which aims to solve the problem of water shortage in drought-affected areas,
- Carbon 8 that converts carbon dioxide emissions and waste streams into building materials.
In terms of mobility and smart cities, we can keep the Apeleon electric drone with zero emissions and low operating costs; Destinus, which wants to create hydrogen-powered aircraft that will allow flying above the speed of sound over very long distances; Verge, a motorcycle with an electric motor integrated directly into the rear wheel, or Neubility, an automated urban delivery platform to meet the cost of last-mile service.
In the business axis, several startups seemed interesting to me:
- Deepbrain.ai that allows AI-generated videos to be created quickly from simple text, where the AI avatar can speak any language thanks to text-to-speech,
- Wizaly which aims to help advertisers understand the impact of their online and offline marketing channels on all conversions, and promises to improve the ROI of their marketing budgets by up to 30%,
- Sopht, a GreenOps platform that aims to decarbonise corporate IT infrastructures by automating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from their information system,
- LexRock AI that provides an easy-to-use, task-assisted solution for manual data entry and analysis to businesses,
- CogNeed that offers a real-time assistant to customer relations teams over the phone, whether in sales or customer service. The information is displayed dynamically on the agent screen, depending on the context of the call.
Finally, I’d like to mention as a general favorite Jumbo Mana, a startup called Deep Tech, that specializes in generative AI at the service of human behaviour. It brings virtual characters to life by making them fully intelligent and fully independent thanks to generative artificial intelligence. His exposure to Van Gogh’s animation was amazing. I can’t wait to see him at the Musée d’Orsay next October.
Finally, FIFA technology It is truly the unmissable event for anyone who wants to be at the heart of the latest technological developments and innovation trends. The exhibition offers a unique platform to discover, share, collaborate and stimulate growth and innovation in the world of technology. With this latest edition, VivaTech is cementing its position as Europe’s largest technology fair and business fair. Last year, more than 200,000 business relationships were established and half of the current startups generated more than 25% of annual leads over a four-day period.
