VitaTech: a whirlwind of B2B meetings, prospecting for innovations, and awards presentations

Provence Promotion is leading a prospection campaign and celebrating Aix-Marseille-Provence being named the European Innovation Capital

Viva Technology, Europe’s leading start-up and tech event, has been in full swing in Paris since Wednesday, June 14. The trade show is packed with business leaders, international investors, and renowned experts in fields such as AI, energy, food tech, eHealth, and cybersecurity. Provence Promotion has immersed itself in the event to observe trends, meet scale-ups, and offer learning expeditions to Aix-Marseille to promising start-ups in partnership with My Global Village.

During this international gathering, Martine Vassal, the president of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and the Bouches-du-Rhône Department, put the spotlight on the iCapital award Aix-Marseille received for being the European Capital of Innovation. This honor was highlighted at a special evening event, during which Provence Promotion also presented Invest in Provence awards to innovative start-ups that have chosen to set up activities in the Aix-Marseille territory: Bouygues ELab, MALT, Ixcys/6Xpos, and Prométhée Earth.

Once again, VivaTech is presenting an incredible panorama of global innovation! The 2023 edition, which is being held from June 14 to 17 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles exhibition center, brings together 2400 exhibitors and 2000 investors from 50 countries that cover 23 different business sectors.

Provence Promotion is using this international event to discover up-and-coming tech companies and introduce them to the advantages of Aix-Marseille, which is an ideal location for scale-ups and the development of research and development activities.

The European Commission awarded the Aix-Marseille-Provence metro area the iCapital award for being the European Capital of Innovation, which is a confirmation of the attractiveness and vibrancy of the territory’s tech ecosystem. This is further supported by a recent study by the StartupBlink global research center that ranks Marseille #2 in the Top 3 French cities for start-ups, a rise of two places compared to the previous rankings.

As part of the regional delegation, 13 start-ups from the Bouches-du-Rhône are being given the opportunity to present their services and products at the show and make valuable contacts. Among them are a number of green tech projects based at the Technopôle de l’Environnement de l’Arbois, near Aix-en-Provence.

At the invitation of the Indian Ambassador to France, Provence Promotion took the floor in the Indian pavilion to highlight the appeal of the economy in Aix-Marseille-Provence and the many benefits of locating in Provence to access European and African markets. A vast and diverse ecosystem of start-ups is thriving in the metro area with cutting-edge companies coming from a broad range of French and international locations. Alexandre Venec, the Marketing & Communication Manager at Provence Promotion, emphasized these qualities in his speech to the Indian investors in attendance.

Aix-Marseille-Provence’s innovation & investment attraction evening

In conjunction with VivaTech, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and its partners organized an evening dedicated to the territory’s economic appeal and innovation ecosystem, which was held at the Le Perchoir Porte de Versailles bar and restaurant. President Martine Vassal wanted to emphasize the territory’s commitment to tech research and celebrate the iCapital title it won in December 2022. This was also a chance to showcase local policies that support innovation and research infrastructure, as well as the overall tech ecosystem that features world-renowned entrepreneurs.

Another key moment at VivaTech was the awards ceremony for companies that have invested in Aix-Marseille-Provence. The ceremony featured Jean-David Malo, the Director of the European Innovation Council, Didier Parakian, the Vice President of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis in charge of European funds and international relations, and Arnaud Mercier, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis councillor in charge of digital technology, public data policy, and innovation. Bernard Deflesselles, the President of Provence Promotion, presented Invest in Provence awards to four companies that have chosen to develop their innovations in Aix-Marseille:

• Bouygues ELab: an office of the Bouygues ELab innovation hub was recently opened in Marseille at the CISAM innovation and knowledge campus under an agreement with Aix-Marseille University. Provence Promotion encouraged this move as it helps foster innovative collaborations such as the one with Bovlabs, the designer of one of the top three microgrid solutions linking electric vehicles and buildings. Bovlabs had an initial demonstrator project at the Aix-en-Provence high-speed rail station, and, now, in partnership with Bouygues, the company is set to continue its project in the Fabriques district with the support of CISAM. The aim is to welcome more disruptive demonstrators to the territory, particularly from the United States and Japan, thanks to the actions carried out by Provence Promotion and the Bouygues technology monitoring team.
   
• MALT community: Europe’s leading freelance platform with 420 000 freelancers in the digital sector expanded to Marseille in January 2023 with the aim of developing their community in the South of France. Malt, a scale-up that raised €80 million in 2021, is also recognized as a high-potential start-up, having been featured in the Next 40 French Tech 2022 and Frenchtech 120 rankings.
   
• Ixcys/6Xpos: specialized in software publishing and the sale of next-generation cash registers, this Parisian scale-up opened premises in the La Duranne business park in Aix-en-Provence in June 2021. This was part of a growing success for the company as a few months later, in March 2021, the AUBE Management sustainable investment firm became a shareholder alongside Région Sud Investissement committing over €3 million to the company’s capital.
   
• Prométhée Earth: Prométhée Earth: founded in January 2020, this start-up is an engineering company specializing in satellite services for environmental and strategic intelligence with an approach that supports technological sovereignty. Its platform facilitates the observation of spatial data through the use of nanosatellites. Its activities cover a wide range of applications, including maritime surveillance, seabed protection, urban planning, smart cities, and water resource preservation. Its first satellite, ProtoMéthée-1, is scheduled for launch from the Vandenberg Space Force base in California in October. The start-up conducts part of its R&D at the Technopôle de l’Arbois in Aix-en-Provence.

These four companies benefited from various forms of support from Provence Promotion, such as help finding premises and financing, recruitment support, and contacts with local ecosystems. In this way, they are a testament to how easy and advantageous it is to set up a start-up in Aix-Marseille or to establish an R&D facility in the metro area.

Provence Promotion’s prospecting campaign at VivaTech

At the same time, Provence Promotion is carrying out a successful prospecting campaign at VivaTech, taking part in more than four dozen B2B meetings. In addition to fields such as eHealth, FinTech, AI, Tech4Good, Tech4Business, blockchain, cybersecurity, and IOT, the agency is also exploring companies in the sports sector in connection with the metro area’s hosting of events for the 2024 Olympic Games and the new sustainable sports infrastructure that will result.

Provence Promotion is also benefiting from pitch sessions that are being organized by My Global Village to discover disruptive innovations. My Global Village is a dynamic community of French-speaking executives and entrepreneurs, as well as a collective intelligence platform that shares experiences at major international technology trade shows. The agency spotted several start-ups during these sessions and offered them “learning expeditions” to discover the potential and benefits of Aix-Marseille through a personalized program of visits.