Hubbry Logo
Viva TechnologyViva TechnologyMain
Open search
Viva Technology
Community hub
Viva Technology
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Viva Technology
Viva Technology
Viva Technology
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Viva Technology
GenreAnnual Technology Conference
VenueParis expo Porte de Versailles
LocationParis
CountryFrance
Inaugurated2016
FoundersPublicis Groupe and Groupe Les Echos
Attendance165,000 (2024)
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Viva Technology, or VivaTech, is an annual technology conference, dedicated to innovation and startups, held in Paris, France. VivaTech was founded in 2016 by Publicis Groupe and Groupe Les Echos.[1] The first two days of VivaTech are for startups, investors, executives, students and academics, and it is open to the general public on the third day.[2]

2016

[edit]

The first year of VivaTech was held from 30 June to 2 July 2016 in Paris, and gathered 45,000 visitors including 5,000 startup companies.[3]

2017

[edit]

In 2017, VivaTech was held at Paris expo Porte de Versailles from 14 to 16 June in Paris. In attendance were 6,000 startup firms, 1,400 investors, and 1,500 journalists. French President Emmanuel Macron delivered the keynote address and announced the creation of a 10-billion Euro fund for innovation and the launch of a French technology visa for international entrepreneurs.[3]

One thousand startups were exhibited in 20 open innovation "labs" sponsored by corporate groups (AccorHotels, Air France, KLM, Airbus, BNPP, La Poste, Cisco, Engie, Carrefour, LVMH, RATP Group, SNCF, Sodexo, Sanofi, Orange, TF1, Talan, Pari mutuel urbain, Vinci Energies, Valeo).[4]

Speakers including Eric Schmidt, Daniel Zhang and John Collison were also in attendance.[5]

2018

[edit]

In 2018, VivaTech took place from 24 to 26 May in Paris. Over 100,000 visitors and over 300 speakers attended the third edition of the event including Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella, Dara Khosrowshahi, Ginni Rometty, Chuck Robbins and Bill McDermott.[6]

French President Emmanuel Macron returned to VivaTech in 2018 and announced that the French government will launch a R900 million-programme aimed at investing in African startups.[7]

A partnership was established with TechCrunch and the Startup Battlefield, a competition for startups where the winners attended the Startup Battlefield finals in San Francisco in September 2018.[8]

2019

[edit]

In 2019, the fourth edition of the event was marked by a trend towards positive innovation ("tech for good") as well as the presence of 124,000 visitors at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, on 16 and 17 May for professionals, and on 18 May for the general public.[9]

Nearly 13,000 startups were present, as well as 450 prominent figures from all over the world, such as Jack Ma of Alibaba Group, Justin Trudeau, Olympic medallist Usain Bolt, Holly Ridings of NASA, Ken Hu of Huawei, Young Sohn of Samsung, John Kerry and Margrethe Vestager.[10]

2021

[edit]

In 2021, the fifth edition of the event was marked by a trend towards Positive change through technology at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and online, on 16, 17 and 18 June.[11]

Prominent figures from all over the world were present, such as Tim Cook of Apple, Peggy Johnson of Magic Leap, Eric Yuan of Zoom, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Melissa Bell of CNN, Emmanuel Macron and Fionn Ferreira[12]

2022

[edit]

In June 2022, for the sixth edition of VivaTech, 91,000 visitors were recorded, an attendance which remains lower than the figures before COVID-19.[13]

2023

[edit]

In June 2023, for the seventh edition of VivaTech, big names in global tech are expected such as Elon Musk, head of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter, and Yann LeCun, chief scientist of Meta's AI department. The President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron is going there again. Bernard Arnault, president of LVMH, as well as Dan Schulman, president of PayPal, and Christel Heydemann, general manager of Orange, are among the speakers.[14]

The edition reached a record by attracting more than 150,000 visitors over the entire duration of the event, almost 60,000 more than during the previous edition. The number of visitors to Viva Tech thus exceeds for the year 2023 that of CES, a benchmark show in the field of new technologies, organized each year in Las Vegas.[15]

2024

[edit]

The eight edition of VivaTech was held from 22 to 25 May at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, and attracted more than 165,000 visitors,[16] from 160+ nationalities,[16] over the four days of the event, setting another attendance record. Elon Musk virtually attended vivatech and shared his personal vision as well as the advances made by his companies in the field of Artificial Intelligence, which have been the subject of much debate.[17] Japan was honored as the country of the year.[18]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Viva Technology

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia

Viva Technology, commonly known as VivaTech, is an annual technology conference held in Paris, France, focused on fostering innovation by connecting startups, corporate leaders, investors, and policymakers to address global challenges through emerging technologies. Founded in 2016 by Publicis Groupe and Les Echos-Le Parisien Group, the event originated as a platform for startup-corporate collaborations and has evolved into Europe's premier tech gathering, featuring product demonstrations, keynote speeches, and networking opportunities over four days at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. The conference has achieved significant scale, with its 2025 edition drawing a record 180,000 attendees from over 160 countries, showcasing 14,000 startups across more than 30 sectors and facilitating over 640,000 business connections. Key features include the VivaTech Awards, such as the Female Founder Challenge and Next Startupper Challenge, which recognize innovative ventures, and the Impact Bridge initiative dedicated to environmental and societal projects. Notable milestones encompass high-profile keynotes by figures like , , and , as well as major announcements including the 2017 launch of the French Tech initiative by President and the 2025 unveiling of Mistral Compute, a European AI infrastructure project. Certified under ISO 20121 for sustainable event management since 2024, VivaTech emphasizes practical technological applications in areas like , with a 2025 focus on transitioning AI from conceptual to applied realities across industries such as , , and .

Founding and Organization

Origins and Launch

Viva Technology was founded in 2016 by Groupe and Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisien to create a dedicated platform for startups, corporate leaders, investors, and tech innovators, aiming to accelerate and position as a competitive European alternative to Silicon Valley-dominated events. The initiative emerged from a recognition of Europe's fragmented tech ecosystem and the need for a centralized hub to showcase and foster direct interactions between entrepreneurs and potential backers. The inaugural event was announced on December 17, 2015, and held from June 30 to July 2, 2016, at Expo Porte de Versailles, drawing over 45,000 attendees focused on themes of digital disruption and entrepreneurial opportunities. This debut edition featured more than 5,000 startups exhibiting prototypes and solutions, with programming designed to link technological demonstrations to tangible investment pathways through targeted networking and pitch sessions.

Organizers and Partnerships

Viva Technology is co-organized by Publicis Groupe, a multinational advertising and communications conglomerate, and Groupe Les Echos - , publisher of France's leading business daily Les Echos. These entities established the event in 2016, leveraging Publicis's global marketing infrastructure for attendee recruitment and Les Echos's financial journalism network for content curation and media amplification. The organizers sustain the event's operations through private-sector resources, including venue negotiations at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and digital platforms for exhibitor matching, avoiding predominant dependence on state funding. Founding partners—BNP Paribas, , La Poste Groupe, , and Orange—provide targeted support, such as BNP Paribas funding investor matchmaking sessions with over €1 billion in annual deal flow announcements and enabling AI demonstration zones. These collaborations emphasize corporate-led financing tracks and tech infrastructure, yielding post-event metrics like 2,500+ startup-investor connections per edition. Governance has evolved to incorporate international elements, such as annual "Country of the Year" designations (e.g., in 2025) and pavilions for non-European startups, fostering cross-border deal-making without centralized regulatory oversight. This structure prioritizes exhibitor applications vetted by organizer committees on viability, drawing from 20,000+ submissions annually to select participants based on market potential rather than mandates. Partnerships with firms like AWS and G42 further extend to specialized tracks, such as challenges, ensuring content alignment with commercial tech advancements.

Event Format and Features

Venue and Scale

Viva Technology has been hosted annually at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, a major exhibition center in southwestern Paris, France, since its launch in 2016, leveraging the venue's 240,000 square meters of indoor and outdoor space to support expansive tech gatherings. The 2025 edition, held from June 11 to 14, drew a record 180,000 visitors alongside 14,000 startups representing 171 nationalities, underscoring the event's capacity to manage high-density international participation within the venue's halls. Attendance has scaled markedly from over 45,000 visitors in the inaugural event to 150,000 by 2023, reflecting empirical growth in logistical infrastructure such as expanded areas—evidenced by a 20% increase in space for 2023—and rising numbers of exhibitor booths reaching 2,800 by that year. programming has paralleled this, with hundreds of slots annually accommodating structured discussions, while B2B matchmaking has generated 400,000 connections in recent editions, quantifying the venue's role in enabling verifiable investor-innovator engagements. Specialized pavilions within the expo halls, including those for —featuring over 40% of exhibitors in 2025—and climate technology, provide segmented booth allocations that streamline causal linkages between startups, corporates, and investors through proximity-based networking and dedicated meeting zones. This setup optimizes the physical layout for efficient scaling, with transport access via nearby metro lines (12 and T2/T3a) and bus routes supporting daily influxes without reported capacity constraints in peak years.

Core Activities and Components

Viva Technology's core activities center on structured programs that connect startups with s, corporate partners, and tech leaders to drive practical and . These include an extensive array of conferences, startup challenges for pitching solutions, dedicated investor matchmaking mechanisms, and platforms for product unveilings, all oriented toward tangible outcomes like partnerships and rather than theoretical . The conference program forms a foundational component, featuring hundreds of sessions such as keynotes, panels, workshops, and live demonstrations focused on disruptive technologies including AI, cybersecurity, applications, and . These sessions prioritize real-world deployment insights, with contributions from over 450 leading speakers annually, enabling participants to evaluate technologies based on empirical and potential. Startup challenges and pitches provide interactive opportunities for early-stage companies to present prototypes and solutions to targeted audiences. Organized across more than 40 thematic challenges in sectors like , retail, , and smart cities, these programs allow selected startups—chosen from thousands of applications—to exhibit innovations, receive direct feedback, and compete for awards. Winners and participants gain free space, introductions, business leads, and media visibility, with reported satisfaction rates exceeding 94% among entrants due to the emphasis on prototype viability and market fit over speculative ideas. The VivaTech Awards, introduced in , further recognize diverse entrepreneurial efforts through competitive evaluations yielding incubation support and funding pathways. Investor matchmaking operates through specialized formats like the Investor Lounge and Reverse Pitch sessions, where over 3,600 global investors from more than 170 countries engage with 14,000 startups. This setup includes private meeting areas, tailored panels on topics such as generative AI and investing, and investor-led presentations of funding theses, resulting in 75% of startups connecting with aligned backers and facilitating over 640,000 business interactions overall. These elements underscore a focus on causal linkages between innovation and capital deployment. Product launch components enable companies to debut hardware, software, and integrated solutions via world-premiere demonstrations, often integrated into halls and stage events. This facilitates immediate stakeholder feedback and commercialization acceleration, distinguishing Viva Technology as a testing ground for deployable tech rather than conceptual showcases.

Historical Editions

2016–2018: Inception and Early Growth

Viva Technology was established in 2016 by Groupe and Les Echos-Le ien as a dedicated platform for startups, technology innovation, and , aiming to position as a key European hub amid U.S.-dominated events like CES. The inaugural edition, held from June 30 to July 2 at Expo Porte de Versailles, drew over 45,000 visitors across three days, with the first two reserved for professionals and the third open to the public; it featured around 5,000 startups and global speakers discussing emerging tech trends. This private-sector initiative rapidly built credibility by emphasizing practical demos and corporate-startup matchmaking, fostering early collaborations without overt government direction, though it aligned with France's broader push for tech competitiveness. The 2017 edition, occurring June 15–17, marked significant expansion with over 60,000 visitors, more than 6,000 startups and exhibitors from over 50 countries, and 500 international speakers, reflecting increased global draw and a focus on scaling European innovation ecosystems. French President used the event to announce the "French Tech Initiative," promoting talent attraction and investment, yet the program's success stemmed primarily from private partnerships like those with and , which enabled verifiable startup-corporate deals through targeted challenges. Attendance growth underscored Viva Technology's role in countering transatlantic dominance by highlighting international participation, with sessions covering and other frontiers to drive cross-border connections. By 2018, held May 24–26, the event surpassed 100,000 visitors—a 47% rise from the prior year—alongside over 9,000 startups, 300 speakers, and representation from 125 nationalities, solidifying its status as Europe's premier tech gathering amid surging interest in . AI emerged as a core spotlight, with dedicated sessions on and ethical applications, leading to heightened investor engagement and prototype demos that spurred follow-on investments, as evidenced by post-event surveys showing positive professional impacts for 79% of participating startups. The years' trajectory demonstrated effective private-led scaling, overcoming initial skepticism toward European events by prioritizing over protectionist barriers, with attendance metrics from organizer reports confirming organic momentum.

2019–2022: Expansion Amid Challenges

In 2019, Viva Technology achieved its pre-pandemic peak with over 124,000 attendees representing 125 nationalities, marking a 24% increase from the prior year and underscoring robust demand for the event as Europe's leading tech gathering. The edition featured more than 450 speakers and over 13,000 startups, alongside a 50% rise in participation to 3,300 firms, including many of the world's most active investors, which facilitated heightened networking and deal-making opportunities. The 2020 edition, originally scheduled for June 11–13, was cancelled due to escalating restrictions and confinement measures in , reflecting the broader disruption to in-person events amid the . Organizers shifted focus to virtual support for startups, including ongoing challenges and digital outreach, to mitigate impacts on participants while postponing the full event to spring 2021. Recovery began in 2021 with the first hybrid format from June 16–19, attracting 140,000 total visitors—26,000 in-person under strict health protocols and 114,000 online—demonstrating adaptability and sustained interest despite lingering restrictions. By 2022, the event returned stronger with 91,000 in-person attendees at Porte de Versailles and over 300,000 online visits, complemented by more than 100 challenges that connected startups with corporates for potential partnerships. This expansion amid challenges evidenced market resilience, as hybrid models preserved scale and engagement, countering expectations of diminished European tech momentum post-pandemic.

2023–2025: Maturity and Focus on Emerging Tech

The 2023 edition of Viva Technology, held from June 14–17, drew a record 150,000 visitors from 174 countries, underscoring its maturation as Europe's premier tech event with a pronounced emphasis on (AI). Over 500 speakers addressed generative AI alongside climate tech and scaling innovations, positioning AI as the dominant theme amid its rapid commercial adoption. This focus reflected broader industry shifts, with sessions highlighting AI's potential to enhance productivity while navigating ethical deployment challenges. In 2024, attendance rose to 165,000, a 10% increase from the prior year, with 13,500 startups participating and sparking global debates on . Key sessions examined the tensions between technological independence and , critiquing dependencies on non-European providers while advocating balanced approaches to avoid stifling . These discussions occurred against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties, emphasizing trusted and AI governance as inflection points for sovereignty without excessive regulatory barriers. The 2025 event, conducted June 11–14 at Expo Porte de Versailles, achieved a new high of 180,000 attendees, reinforcing Viva Technology's relevance amid escalating global trade tensions. Strong tracks on AI and climatetech dominated, with executives expressing 87/100 confidence in per the VivaTech Confidence survey of over 1,700 leaders in and . Outcomes included heightened cross-border deals, such as U.S.-EU collaborations enabling startups to access diverse markets despite regulatory hurdles like rules. Sessions critiqued EU , arguing that open-market strategies—rather than insular measures—accelerate by fostering and , as evidenced by warnings that protectionist policies risk hindering Europe's competitiveness.

Themes and Innovations

Evolving Focus Areas

In its early iterations from 2016 to 2018, Viva Technology centered on broad digital disruption, highlighting nascent technologies like , , augmented and , drones, and demonstrations. This focus mirrored the era's emphasis on foundational tech adoption, with events featuring world-premiere demos of disruptive innovations without narrowing to crisis-specific applications. From 2019 to 2022, thematic priorities evolved toward resilience and post-pandemic recovery, incorporating areas such as the future of work—shaped by remote tools and labor market shifts—the mobility rebound addressing vulnerabilities, and initial efforts like net-zero emissions pathways. These shifts responded to empirical disruptions from global lockdowns, prioritizing technologies enabling operational continuity over purely speculative advancements. Since 2023, the event has sharpened its lens on high-stakes, market-validated domains including , , and cybersecurity, driven by accelerating enterprise adoption rates and investment flows. In 2025, explicit themes encompassed AI integration, cybersecurity paired with , and targeted applications, reflecting data on tech's role in growth strategies amid geopolitical risks like digital sovereignty threats. This progression favors areas with quantifiable ROI, such as AI's demonstrated productivity gains in sectors like and , over unproven "impact" initiatives lacking causal evidence of scalable returns.

Key Technological Spotlights

Viva Technology consistently spotlights AI applications with practical demonstrations of scalability, such as virtual try-on systems showcased in 2025, where NUVA's AI technology enabled precise digital fitting using body scans to reduce returns by simulating garment behavior on diverse avatars. Similarly, Fliption's AI tool processed single product images to generate virtual models, cutting brands' photoshoot costs by 80% through automated rendering, with pilots demonstrating conversion rate improvements in real retail trials. These innovations prioritize empirical accuracy over speculative features, incorporating graded pattern data and inclusive body models to achieve fit precision exceeding 90% in controlled tests, countering earlier virtual try-on limitations tied to generic avatars. Climatetech prototypes at the event emphasize measurable environmental impacts, including AI-optimized vertical farming systems like L'Oréal's BioPods in partnership with Interstellar Lab, which use machine learning to control growth conditions and achieve 30-50% higher yields in resource-constrained setups compared to traditional methods, as validated in operational pilots. Quantum AI applications for climate modeling were also highlighted, with algorithms improving pattern predictions by integrating data to forecast extreme events with up to 20% greater accuracy than conventional models, grounded in datasets from ongoing European research deployments. These spotlights favor prototypes with quantifiable metrics, such as energy efficiency gains in agritech, rather than unproven concepts, reflecting a shift where tech overtook as the dominant category in 2024 exhibitor data. Health tech demonstrations focus on pilots with clinical validation, exemplified by Emobot's AI platform, which analyzes facial expressions to detect indicators with 85% sensitivity in user trials, enabling early intervention through integrated apps. Buddyo's AI companions provided real-time monitoring for elderly users, with deployment data showing reduced hospital readmissions by tracking and behavioral patterns in home settings. Such applications underscore viability through pilot outcomes, like AI-driven predictive algorithms flagging heart disease risks via wearable data, achieving cost savings of 15-25% in preventive care models based on aggregated trial results. Discussions on sovereignty centered on security-grounded demos, with presenting European cloud infrastructures compliant with GDPR and national regulations, reporting zero incidents in sovereignty-focused audits and enabling that cuts latency by 40% for AI workloads compared to non-sovereign alternatives. These sessions highlighted trusted cloud architectures supporting AI sovereignty without ideological overreach, using metrics like compliance rates exceeding 99% to demonstrate resilience against geopolitical risks. By featuring over 60 startups from ecosystems like Orange's, Viva Technology fosters among diverse AI developers, evidenced by pavilions from and Korea showcasing independent models that challenge big-tech concentration, with investment data indicating 25% of 2025 deals going to non-dominant players.

Participants and Showcases

Notable Speakers and Leaders

, co-founder and CEO of , delivered the opening keynote at VivaTech 2025 on June 11, outlining the evolution toward agentic AI systems powered by accelerated computing infrastructure, predicting a shift from retrieval-augmented generation to autonomous agents capable of multi-step reasoning. His address highlighted hardware innovations like the Blackwell architecture, which enable real-time inference at scale, influencing subsequent discussions on Europe's lag in AI chip production compared to U.S. dominance. Huang's emphasis on open ecosystems for AI development contrasted with EU regulatory frameworks, such as the AI Act, which he implicitly critiqued by stressing the need for computational abundance to foster innovation without bureaucratic constraints. Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral AI, represented European ambitions in foundational AI models during VivaTech 2025 panels, advocating for sovereign tech stacks to reduce dependency on U.S. providers while acknowledging talent shortages and funding gaps that hinder scaling large language models. Mensch detailed Mistral's hybrid open-source approach, releasing models like Mixtral that outperform competitors on benchmarks with fewer parameters, yet warned of over-regulation stifling experimentation, drawing from France's push for national AI champions amid transatlantic tensions. His insights spurred follow-on investments in European AI infrastructure, including government-backed initiatives to bridge the inference gap observed in U.S. deployments. Earlier editions featured Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, in a 2022 fireside chat addressing tech regulation, privacy safeguards, and principles for device sustainability, where he defended policies as essential for user protection against risks prevalent in less curated ecosystems. Cook critiqued fragmented global regulations for complicating innovation, using Apple's carbon-neutral goals by 2030 as a case for voluntary corporate standards over mandates, influencing debates on digital markets acts. Similarly, Yann LeCun, Meta's Chief AI Scientist, spoke at multiple VivaTech events, including 2025, on paradigms that enable efficient AI training without vast labeled datasets, challenging reliance on energy-intensive scaling laws and promoting architectures resilient to adversarial attacks. LeCun's advocacy for countered black-box models, fostering collaborations like those with French institutions on multimodal AI, though he noted regulatory hurdles in usage that slow Europe's progress relative to U.S. . , founder of xAI and CEO of Tesla and , appeared in 2024, discussing neural interfaces and transitions, emphasizing first-mover advantages in integrating AI with hardware for autonomous systems, while critiquing subsidy-dependent green tech models. Musk's talks highlighted causal bottlenecks in policy, such as permitting delays impeding builds, which resonated in panels comparing U.S. to EU caution, leading to cited accelerations in French battery projects post-event. These leaders' contributions underscore VivaTech's role in bridging transatlantic divides, with empirical data from their sessions informing reports on innovation velocity, where U.S. firms consistently outpace EU counterparts in AI patent filings by factors of 3:1.

Startup Ecosystem and Investments

VivaTech serves as a key platform for startups to connect with investors through dedicated programs such as the Investor Lounge, Connection Hub for pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings, and Investor Office Hours offering 15-minute pitches to leading funds. In the 2025 edition, over 14,000 startups participated, engaging with more than 3,600 investors and capital funds, including prominent players like Accel, KKR, Lightspeed, and Sequoia. These matchmaking initiatives have facilitated tangible outcomes, with 20% of exhibiting startups reporting that they raised funds directly attributable to their VivaTech participation. Examples include Inbolt securing €15 million in Series A following its 2024 Female Founders Challenge win, and another participant closing a €2.2 million seed round in 2023 to scale production. The event generates 25% of startups' annual leads, underscoring its role in building deal pipelines for ventures demonstrating traction and . Empirical data indicates stronger efficacy for and Series A-stage companies, which align with preferences for proven growth metrics, as seen in programs like the Top 100 Rising European Startups requiring €5 million+ in annual recurring revenue and 40% year-over-year growth. While pre- startups benefit from exposure and initial networking via bootcamps and reverse pitches, funding conversion rates appear lower absent such validation, prioritizing causal links to scalable innovations over nascent ideas. Overall, 94% of startups express satisfaction with these interactions, reflecting positive contributions to investment flows without overstatement of universal applicability.

Impact and Reception

Contributions to Innovation and Economy

Viva Technology has facilitated extensive networking and deal-making opportunities, establishing over 640,000 business connections in its 2025 edition alone, which supports investment flows and partnerships in Europe's tech sector. With 3,600 investors attending alongside 14,000 startups, the event enables direct engagements that have led to funding for 20% of exhibiting startups. These interactions underscore a market-driven mechanism for capital allocation, drawing from private funds like Accel and Sequoia, and contributing to the diffusion of technologies such as AI, where 85% of surveyed companies plan increased investments within the next year. The event's scale has reinforced Paris's position as Europe's second-largest tech hub after , attracting exhibitors and participants from over 120 countries and fostering spillover effects for non-French EU startups from nations including , , and . By hosting 171 nationalities in 2025, Viva Technology enhances the export of European innovations through international collaborations, amplifying their global adoption and economic value. This international dimension, combined with France's 2.24% GDP allocation to , positions the event as a catalyst for sustained tech ecosystem growth beyond national borders. Empirical indicators from participant surveys reveal high satisfaction and tangible outcomes, with 79% of startups in earlier editions reporting positive professional impacts from attendance, including enhanced visibility and leads that translate to real-world deployment. The 2025 edition's record 180,000 attendees and 3.6 million social interactions further accelerating momentum in tech confidence and adoption, particularly in AI and deeptech, driving productivity gains across sectors.

Criticisms and Limitations

Critics have questioned the return on investment (ROI) for early-stage startups participating in VivaTech, arguing that the event favors more established companies with or Series A seeking visibility rather than nascent ventures needing foundational connections. A 2017 analysis by startup founder Adelina Mihala concluded that early-stage exhibitors often struggle to secure meaningful engagements amid the competition, recommending alternatives for bootstrapped teams. Similarly, attendee feedback on platforms like highlights the challenge of gaining attention in a sea of exhibitors, likening it to broader issues at crowded tech conferences where alpha-stage startups compete unsuccessfully for investor focus. The event's scale has drawn complaints of that diminishes interaction quality, despite record attendance figures such as 180,000 visitors in 2025. Reports describe sessions and booths as overwhelmed, leading to superficial networking and reduced opportunities for substantive discussions, with one observer calling the atmosphere "brutal" for passionate entrepreneurs navigating the chaos. AI-focused sessions have faced accusations of prioritizing hype over practical substance, exemplified by 2024's "overwhelming frenzy" where exhibitors promoted tenuous AI integrations, such as in clubs and pet bowls, without demonstrating clear value. Reflections from the 2025 edition underscore a gap between promotional narratives and commercial realities, with some panels emphasizing transformative potential while glossing over implementation hurdles like demands and . External factors, including trade uncertainties from U.S.- tensions in 2025, have impacted exhibitor participation and deal-making, as noted by EY's global managing partner during the event, contributing to a cautious atmosphere amid broader economic headwinds. Additionally, the influence of corporate sponsors and organizer Groupe has raised concerns about content skewing toward established players' agendas, potentially marginalizing diverse or contrarian viewpoints on topics like regulatory burdens, though direct evidence of remains anecdotal.

References

  1. https://vivatechnology.com/about
  2. https://vivatechnology.com/media/press-releases/viva-tech-2025-a-record-setting-edition-with-180-000-visitors
  3. https://www.france24.com/en/business/20250611-paris-vivatech-fair-spotlight-applied-artificial-intelligence
  4. https://www.publicisgroupe.com/en/the-groupe/viva-technology
  5. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/publicis-groupe-groupe-les-echos-122301407.html
  6. https://meetings.skift.com/2023/06/14/startups-fuel-growth-of-paris-tech-show/
  7. https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/01/vivatech-concentrates-frances-booming-tech-scene-and-its-minds/
  8. https://www.publicisgroupe.com/en/news/press-releases/artificial-intelligence-sustainability%252C-mobility-the-best-in-tech-to-meet-at-vivatech-in-may-2024
  9. https://www.welcometothejungle.com/en/companies/viva-technology/culture-1
  10. https://vivatechnology.com/presskit-2025partners
  11. https://www.publicisgroupe.com/sites/default/files/press-release/Viva_Tech_London_070317_EN.pdf
  12. https://vivatechnology.com/investors-at-vivatech
  13. https://vivatechnology.com/partners-wall
  14. https://vivatechnology.com/
  15. https://www.viparis.com/en/our-venues/paris-expo-porte-de-versailles-en/case-studies/realisation-43
  16. https://www.publicisgroupe.com/sites/default/files/press-release/20160705_030716_VivaTech_Close_EN_DEF.pdf
  17. https://vivatechnology.com/media/press-releases/vivatech-secures-its-place-as-the-worlds-leading-tech-and-startup-event
  18. https://vivatechnology.com/new-in-2023
  19. https://vivatechnology.com/media/press-releases/another-record-setting-edition-of-viva-tech
  20. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/europes-largest-tech-event-lemo
  21. https://vivatechnology.com/climate-tech-and-energy
  22. https://vivatechnology.com/practical-information
  23. https://vivatechnology.com/challenges
  24. https://vivatechnology.com/sessions
  25. https://www.kadonetworks.com/blog/viva-technology
  26. https://www.publicisgroupe.com/en/news/press-releases/viva-technology-an-even-bigger-success-for-2017
  27. https://www.publicisgroupe.com/en/news/press-releases/viva-technology-over-100-000-people-from-all-over-the-world-at-the-rendezvous-for-innovation-and-startups%2521
  28. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vivatechnology-2018-highlights-technology-means-enable-matagne
  29. https://www.publicisgroupe.com/sites/default/files/press-releases/2019-08/press-release-post-vivatech-2018-startups-survey-results.pdf
  30. https://www.publicisgroupe.com/en/news/press-releases/viva-technology-bigger-and-better-ever-more-124000-people-attending-around-world
  31. https://vivatechnology.com/media/press-releases/the-fifth-edition-of-vivatech-will-take-place-in-spring-2021
  32. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/viva-technology-2021-big-success-for-the-first-hybrid-event-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic-301316272.html
  33. https://vivatechnology.com/news/viva-recap-the-best-of-2022
  34. https://group.bnpparibas/en/news/vivatech-2023-7-tech-trends-to-remember
  35. https://vivatechnology.com/news/the-behind-the-scene-numbers-of-vivatech-2023
  36. https://vivatechnology.com/sessions/session/ade314f7-4442-f011-a5f1-6045bda07d25
  37. https://vivatechnology.com/sessions/session/d6d76d9b-7835-f011-a5f1-6045bda07d25
  38. https://vivatechnology.com/media/press-releases/2025-viva-tech-confidence-barometer-tech-and-business-in-the-usa-are-confident-while-europe-moves-at-different-speeds
  39. https://www.forrester.com/blogs/what-to-expect-at-viva-technology-2025/
  40. https://news.rice.edu/news/2025/rice-houston-shine-global-stage-vivatech-2025
  41. https://stefanfritz.com/en/digital-sovereignty-why-protectionism-weakens-europe-rather-than-strengthening-it/
  42. https://datainnovation.org/2025/02/europe-should-not-be-protectionist-if-it-wants-innovation-led-growth/
  43. https://www.forrester.com/blogs/viva-tech-2018/
  44. https://vivatechnology.com/media/press-releases/vivatech-preview-2022
  45. https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/06/15/vivatech-2022-green-tech-and-web3-are-this-year-s-key-themes-with-a-recession-on-everyone-
  46. https://vivatechnology.com/themes
  47. https://group.bnpparibas/en/news/ai-digital-sovereignty-cybersecurity-health-four-key-trends-at-viva-technology-2025
  48. https://vivatechnology.com/news/global-tech-confidence-soars-amid-divergent-approaches
  49. https://vivatechnology.com/partners/nuvatech-limited
  50. https://vivatechnology.com/media/press-releases/discover-k-startup-s-pavilion-at-vivatech-2025
  51. https://vivatechnology.com/sessions/session/33b3fbec-f936-f011-a5f1-6045bda07d25
  52. https://www.theinterline.com/2025/06/26/beauty-longevity-and-ai-what-loreals-vivatech-showcase-says-about-the-future-of-beauty-tech/
  53. https://vivatechnology.com/news/understanding-climate-change-through-quantum-ai
  54. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forrester/2024/05/24/vivatech-where-ai-meets-green-tech/
  55. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/06/11/vivatech-mental-health-innovations-take-centre-stage-at-europes-largest-tech-fair
  56. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vivatech-2025-highlights-novable-novable-ea4yf
  57. https://vivatechnology.com/news/intelligent-healthcare-systems-patient-care-in-the-age-of-ai
  58. https://www.dynamo.cloud/dynamo-at-vivatech-2025-pioneering-europes-digital-sovereignty/
  59. https://newsroom.orange.com/orange-at-viva-technology-2025-for-open-high-performing-and-trusted-innovation-serving-our-customers/
  60. https://vivatechnology.com/news/canada-country-of-the-year-a-spotlight-on-tech-talent-and-ai
  61. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9cHONwKkn4
  62. https://www.nvidia.com/gtc/
  63. https://vivatechnology.com/speakers
  64. https://www.montersonbusiness.com/entreprise/why-vivatech-paris-most-important-tech-event/
  65. https://vivatechnology.com/news/8-speakers-not-to-miss-at-viva-tech-2025
  66. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAEeLVUGoVU
  67. https://vivatechnology.com/speakers/past
  68. https://vivatechnology.com/news/10-must-see-speakers-at-viva-tech-2024
  69. https://vivatechnology.com/speakerslineup
  70. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFku28ckG18Irlo4C8lJctXvvVGIGU2X-
  71. https://techukraine.org/events/viva-technology-2025-explore-the-new-frontiers-of-innovation-in-paris/
  72. https://vivatechnology.com/startups-at-vivatech
  73. https://vivatechnology.com/news/viva-tech-2025-delivers-biggest-edition-yet
  74. https://vivatechnology.com/news/raising-funds-closing-deals-thanks-to-viva-tech-s-ffc
  75. https://vivatechnology.com/top-100-rising-european-startups
  76. https://tech.eu/2025/06/24/vivatech-2025-a-landmark-celebration-of-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/
  77. https://vivatechnology.com/news/ahead-of-berlin-and-behind-london-paris-as-the-2nd-largest-tech-hub-in-europe
  78. https://www.frenchexpertinireland.com/blog/what-we-learned-from-vivatech-2025-sovereignty-ai-and-strategic-ambitions/
  79. https://www.quora.com/What-s-the-real-value-of-attending-global-tech-events-like-Web-Summit-or-VivaTech-as-an-early-stage-startup
  80. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jeromebloch_3-take-aways-from-vivatech-vivatech-is-so-activity-7338803755322097665-wyeN
  81. https://www.ccsinsight.com/blog/vivatech-2024-an-overwhelming-frenzy-of-ai-and-start-ups/
  82. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vivatech-2025-reflections-beyond-hype-we-witnessing-crossroads-ling-hlkre
  83. https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/business/20250611-trade-uncertainty-weighs-on-paris-s-vivatech-fair
  84. https://www.maddyness.com/uk/2025/06/16/vivatech-what-takeaways-from-the-2025-edition/
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.