Viva Technology 2019 Preview

In three short years Viva Technology has become an unmissable European stop on the global tech calendar, drawing more than 100,000 participants in 2018. Viva Technology stands out for its ability to bring together startups and established companies, providing a one-of-a-kind platform where professionals can do business and where the general public can preview new products and see how tech will impact the future.

Viva Technology is back with a 4th edition that’s bigger and better than ever: more space, more startups, more innovations, and more opportunities to grow your business and accelerate your digital transformation. More than ever before, Viva Technology is the place to make sense of the most important trends in technology and innovation and to take advantage of them today.

The Main Stage will welcome nearly 5000 attendees in the Dôme de Paris (formerly the Palais de Sports) across from Hall 1. More than 450 speakers from around the world and some of the biggest names in tech will be featured: Young Sohn (Samsung) - SY Lau (Tencent) - Dr Kai Fu Lee (author) - Amnon Shashua (Mobileye) - Gillian Tans (Booking.com) - Garry Kasparov (Avast Ambassador and former world chess champion) - David Kenny (Nielsen) - Jean-Laurent Bonnafé (BNP Paribas) - Philippe Wahl (La Poste) - Bernard Arnault (LVMH) - Stéphane Richard (Orange) - Sébastien Missoffe (Google) - Jean-Paul Agon (L’Oréal) - Fatoumata Ba (Janngo) - Ankiti Bose (Zilingo) - Flora Coleman (Transferwise ) - Daniel Dines (UiPath) - Tanya Harrison (Arizona State University) - Casper Klynge (Danish Government) - Carine Magescas (AngelPad) - Frédéric Mazzella (BlaBlaCar) - Carlos Moedas (European Commission) - Pierre Moscovici (European Commission) - Emily Orton (Darktrace) - Françoise Soulié-Fogelman (Hub France IA) - Roxanne Varza (Station F).

The latest tech innovations and spectacular immersive experiences will be on display in the Hall of Tech, in the heart of Hall 1 and in the various Parks: Robotics, VR, GreenTech, and Mobility. Citroën will present two concept cars, one of which will be unveiled as a world premiere at VivaTech.

AI everywhere – 5G rollout – Cryptos crumble, blockchain booms – The quantum computing era begins – Connected healthcare and genetic modification – The new space race – Mobility and autonomy in view – GreenTech – Unscailing.

More international than ever before
The VivaTech Tour, 40 meetups in 23 countries, enabled us to access the world’s most dynamic tech ecosystems. More than 30 country pavilions (Germany, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland, Algeria, Brazil, Morocco, Senegal, Taiwan and Tunisia) are expected at VivaTech this year along with numerous international personalities and the return of AfricaTech.

United Tech of Europe: A European focus for VivaTech in 2019
Surveying a landscape where the USA and China rule the roost, Viva Technology shines a spotlight on Europe’s place and role in the technology sector. What is being done to create and promote European scaleups, given that Europe is home for only 30 unicorn companies out of a total 265 in the world (source: CB Insight) How to make the European tech ecosystem a reality and enable European companies to attain sufficient scale to compete in the global market? These questions will be central to our discussions this year, with a dedicated program track, pavilions hosted by numerous European countries, and the creation by VivaTech of the “Next European Unicorn Award” in partnership with Accel Partners.

Open Innovation: Sparking business synergy between startups and established companies
This 4th edition welcomes back major business leaders, among them those who have helped make Viva Technology a success out of the starting gate, eager to showcase their innovation strategy and their spirit of cooperation. Specifically, 21 major international companies will host more than 1000 startups at their Open Innovation “Labs”, helping to boost their digital transformation while providing the startups with opportunities for growth.
Platinum Partners: BNP Paribas - Google - La Poste - LVMH - Orange,
Gold Partners: AccorHotels - Amazon Web Services (AWS) - Cisco - EDF - EY - HPE - Huawei - L’Oréal - ManpowerGroup - RATP Group - Région Centre Val de Loire - Région Sud - Sanofi - SAP - SNCF - Sodexo - TF1 Groupe - Thales - Valeo - Vinci Energies

The Ile de France Region will again be the Hosting Partner, thus renewing their support for the event while underscoring the region’s appeal for an international audience.

• 2 days reserved for professionals (16 and 17 May) and 1 day open to the general public (18 May)
• 2 halls (Hall 1 and Hall 2.2)
• 1500 startups showcased
• 100 startup Challenges - 4000 applications, with 60% from outside of France
• 9 program tracks and 5 stages, including the Main Stage (Dôme de Paris, almost 5000 seats) with 180 sessions and 450 speakers
• Focus on 2 geographic regions: AfricaTech and United Tech of Europe
• 40 meetups in 23 countries during 6 months for the VivaTechTour

1/ Prioritizing Tech For Good
Today innovation is part of a wider reflection on positive impact, particularly in the areas of education, the environment, the workplace, and gender parity. A new space, Better Life Avenue, will gather positive impact initiatives in Hall 2.2. Among the highlights are sessions such as the Impact Forum conference and prize ceremonies such as the FAMAE Challenge awards. For the second consecutive year, at the instigation of French President Emmanuel Macron, the Tech For Good Summit will bring together French and international tech leaders on the eve of VivaTech’s official opening 15 May.

2/ Women in Tech: Women gain a solid foothold
Viva Technology has been actively committed to the cause of gender parity since our first edition. Driven to remedy the persistent underrepresentation of women in the tech sector, VivaTech has set a goal of total gender parity among our speakers in the next two or three years (in 2018 40% of our speakers were women). Partnering with more than 25 French and international organizations promoting gender parity, we have invited some 3000 women to attend VivaTech free of charge this year. VivaTech is launching the Female Founder Challenge to help women-led startups get financing. A major Girl Power Conference will be held on Saturday, when VivaTech is open to the general public. Salesforce renews its commitment to diversity with the Equality Lounge. Finally, European Commissioner for Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas will present at VivaTech the EU Prize for Women Innovators.

3/ Talents at the heart of the digital transition
Viva Technology helps to orientate people towards digital professions and encourages the recruitment of young talents by facilitating meetings with startups and major partners in the Talent Center in partnership with ManPowerGroup. On the developer side, the partnership with TechCrunch has been renewed with the organization of a 36-hour Hackathon that will bring together 1,000 hackers and the creation of a «Developers Lounge».

French and International Media Partners
Covering VivaTech in 2019: African Business - Bloomberg Media - CNBC - CNN - EuroNews/AfricaNews - Financial Times - GruenderSzene - i24News - Le Temps - TechCrunch - TechEu - The Wall Street Journal - The Washington Post - AFP - France Info - Konbini - Le Parisien - RFI, France 24, France Media Monde - RTL - TF1/LCI - and Les Echos, co-organizer of VivaTech

Béatrice Germain - bgermain@vivatechnology.com
Léa Roos - +33 (0)1 44 82 45 49 - vivatech@publicisconsultants.com
Elsa Perretti - +33 (0)1 44 82 45 54 - vivatech@publicisconsultants.com