DigitalMara attended the June 17-20 tech and innovation festival VivaTech 2026 in Paris, France. This year marked the event’s 10th anniversary, offering a larger scale, more experts, and even more opportunities. The conference focused strongly on artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, and the future of technology in the modern business ecosystem. Here’s a brief follow-up.
Key facts
VivaTech 2026 set new benchmarks for Europe’s largest technology event, welcoming over 200,000 visitors from 165 nationalities to Paris Porte de Versailles. The 10th edition brought together more than 15,000 startups and 4,500 exhibitors, of which 61% were international. Over 1,155 speakers took the stage. This edition opened a new three-floor Hall 7, adding more exhibition space and seats. capacity.
The main theme “Artificial intelligence: impact, not illusion” underscored a confident shift from hype to measurable results, with AI agents, quantum computing and robotics emerging as central topics across the exhibition floors. The main idea of the 10th edition of VivaTech illustrates that AI race is no longer about who builds the best models, but about who can deploy them safely, at scale, and on their own terms. The conference marked a shift from experimentation to execution, from hype to measurable impact.
For example, Databricks introduced Genie One, an AI “collaborative colleague” that helps finance, marketing, and sales teams get answers from enterprise data, alongside a coding agent called Genie Code. IBM presented its “quantum chandelier”, a cooling system for quantum computers capable of solving mathematical problems impossible for classical supercomputers. While Airbus showcased developments in quantum sensing and navigation systems for aviation and industrial applications. Chinese robotics company Unitree demonstrated a humanoid robot in collaboration with French neuro-AI company HABS, featuring brain-activity-controlled interaction where participants wore EEG headbands to command robots through thought rather than spoken commands.
Headline speakers included Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Blue Origin, French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault, Turing Award winner Yann LeCun, and World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
Startup competition
VivaTech 2026 offers enormous opportunities for startups, including competitions in multiple categories. It’s recognition of excellence across innovation, leadership, technology, and social impact. This year’s competition attracted a record-breaking number of applicants from over 100 countries. Finalists were selected through a rigorous multi-stage process, pitching before panels of venture capitalists, corporate executives, and industry experts. Beyond the trophies, winners gained access to exclusive investor networking sessions, tailored acceleration programs and extensive media coverage across Europe’s leading tech publications.
- Global Deep Tech Battle — AI Category: NunoX Tech (Taiwan). An AI-driven fashion-tech startup that converts real fabric textures into high-fidelity digital materials.
- VivaTech Awards — Female Founder Award: Endolith (USA). A deep-tech biotechnology company harnessing engineered microbes for the sustainable extraction of critical minerals and metals.
- VivaTech Awards — AfricaTech Award: Surgia. A medtech startup leveraging AI to enhance diagnostic accuracy and surgical planning.
- VivaTech Awards — Innovation of the Year: Hodor (France). An AI-infrastructure startup providing an identity and permission engine for AI agents.
- VivaTech Awards — Tech for Change Award: Alithea Bio (Germany). A biotech startup pioneering the characterization of HLA-presented peptides and AI-powered solutions for target validation, off-target toxicity prediction, and immunogenicity risk assessment in immunotherapy development.
- VivaTech Awards — Next Startupper Award: AssisTech Smart Shower. (USA) An assistive-technology startup developing an intelligent, automated shower system for individuals with reduced mobility.
DigitalMara
The DigitalMara team attended the conference for all 4 days, visiting the exhibition area, side events, discussions, and having many meetings.
“VivaTech 2026 left a strong impression on us with its sheer scale and remarkable diversity. The exhibition floor was filled with interactive and engaging stands. The event brought together a truly multinational and multilingual community of attendees, founders, and investors. Beyond the main conference, side events added great value to the overall experience.”
