VivaTech 2025 fair: a new research program and a historic partnership agreement

Since 2017, France stands out as the “first tech hub in Europe”, says the French presidency website. With 25,000 start-ups generating over 1.1 million jobs, “the French ecosystem shines in several fields: health, eco-transition, finance, cultural industries and cybersecurity”. The Summit for Action on AI held in Paris in February 2025 also confirmed this momentum with the announcement of over 100 billion euros in private investments in France. This is also the aim of the VivaTech fair, created in 2016 by Publicis, and the press group Les Echos/Le Parisien, which has turned into the annual meeting for all stakeholders and companies dedicated to tech innovation in this field. Here are a few supporting figures: 165,000 visitors, 14,000 startups representing over 30 business sectors, 450 speakers from 170 countries.

A catalyst for company transformation

According to the Forbes magazine, VivaTech is now “one of the biggest tech events in Europe”, driven by the “mission to be a catalyst of transformation for companies and of growth for start-ups”. To achieve this aim, the event attracts the main stakeholders of innovation from all over the world “to put innovation at the service of major economic and social challenges, to build a more sustainable and inclusive society”.

It was also to achieve this goal why the French ministry in charge of higher education and the ministry of industry, in charge of artificial intelligence, were present in the event. These ministries attended Vivatech for the launch of a new 30 million euros research program on robotics, and to launch a call for projects called “Robotics and smart machines” and the next “Pionneer of AI” mechanism, dedicated to the funding of breakthrough innovation by AI in scientific fields, including robotics.

A new research program 

As the French ministry in charge of research points out, France has a world-class research ecosystem dedicated to robotics, supported by training courses of excellence in schools of engineering and master-grade courses. The research program on robotic acceleration announced at VivaTech will be driven by the CNRS as part of the France 2030 plan and given a 30 million euros endowment. The program aims at “structuring fundamental research to break scientific and tech locks of smart robotics”.

Research led will help French research “position itself on critical tech bricks, with the aim to develop advanced prototypes and solutions to be transferred to industry”. The program plans to:

• fund thesis;
• welcome postdoc students and create research engineer jobs;
• improve exchanges with industry and partners in Europe;
• managing an “AI and robotics unified community”.

Hundreds of launch announcements and a historic partnership agreement

The 300 announcements projects or programmes launches presented at VivaTech included a partnership between Mistral IA and Nvidia, an agreement celebrated as “historic” by French president Macron. 

The French AI startup Mistral AI, and American AI microchips leader Nvidia signed an agreement planning the creation of a computing infrastructure embedding microchips from Nvidia. According to newspaper Le Monde, the supercomputer called “Mistral Compute”, will be provided with “18,000 cutting edge Nvidia microchips embedded in the future data centre built by Mistral in the Essonne region, close the university and tech campus on the Saclay plateau”. This “infrastructure” will thus be “sovereign”, says Le Monde, because sovereignty in this matter is “a strategic, cultural and economic key”.Des centaines d’annonces de lancement et une partenariat historique

An event that gathered the whole world 

Among all nations present at VivaTech, Canada was the guest of honor chosen by France this year. To mark this preference, Canada organised onsite “an impressive stand” to put forward its delegation of 170 companies.

In total, VivaTech attracted exhibitors from more than 120 countries and about 50 national stands, a 20% increase compared to 2024, says Maddyness, a specialised media following the start-up ecosystem in France. Asia was particularly visible, with stands from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan or China “trying to gain ground on the Old Continent”. Other countries present included Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, and American countries with two flagship companies: Nvidia, world leader in artificial computing and artificial intelligence, and Tesla.