Present at VivaTech 2025, Jérôme Malzac, Director of Innovation at Micropole, a Talan company, returned with a clear vision of what's emerging. Far from the effects of fashion, this year's edition shows an innovation that is rooted in reality, assumes its complexity and structures itself around new balances. Here's a look back at the most striking signals observed at the show.
Generative AI: away from spectacular demonstrations, towards value in use
AI remains at the heart of debates and stands, but it is evolving profoundly. Vapid promises are giving way to concrete applications, focused on precise, measurable use cases. In France and Europe, technological sovereignty is a major issue. Initiatives such as Mistral AI, with its sovereign cloud equipped with 18,000 Blackwell cards, demonstrate the desire to increase local computing capacity while reducing dependence on American players.
On the ground, French startups are innovating with high value-added solutions boosted by AI: Neuralk AI improves tabular data management for commerce, Nicely optimizes team planning with an AI assistant, while @projeQtor offers augmented project management. Even more impressive are Konverso and TALKR.ai, which are revolutionizing multi-channel no-code AI agents & voicebots.
Robotics: tangible advances for increased industrial adoption
Robotics has become an essential part of major technology trade shows, and VivaTech 2025 is no exception. While stars such as Ameca, Tesla's Optimus and Unitree robots were present, the real novelty lay in the diversification and specialization of solutions. The French Cobot One industrial cobot stands out for its modularity and enhanced safety, ideal for light production and logistics.
Innovations such as Baddy Plume, an open-source robot for distributing badminton shuttlecocks, bear witness to creativity in this sector. More generally, robots are making clear progress in terms of agility, mobility and autonomy, paving the way for increasingly efficient and safe industrial applications, particularly in warehouses and factories.
Multisensory immersion and augmented reality: towards new experiences
Metavers and Web3 disappeared from the radar this year. Instead, multi-sensory immersive experiences were highlighted, combining mixed reality, haptics and even scent diffusion. Impact, in partnership with Valeo, offers a road safety awareness program combining immersion and interaction.
Connected glasses are also evolving, with innovations such as LEION HEY2, an ultra-light device capable of instantly translating over 100 languages, alongside the classic Ray-Ban Meta. And on a different note, startup Frogans NOW is revolutionizing web browsing with a new protocol for exploring the Internet in a different way.
Mobility reinvented around utility and safety
Mobility was less present than usual, marked by the absence of major traditional manufacturers. Tesla was the exception with its autonomous CyberCab, while players such as @AEMotion presented hybrid vehicles combining motorcycle agility and automotive safety.
AI also plays a role in urban safety, notably with interactive calendars capable of projecting light signals to pedestrians.
Health, well-being, green tech: professional and responsible innovations
In healthcare, solutions are increasingly aimed at professionals - medical simulation platforms, digital twins or 3D-printed prostheses, there's no shortage of solutions when it comes to technology and AI for healthcare.
The energy and green tech sector has been a real revelation. Lepty innovates with a generator based on recycled aluminum, Wallace Technologies revolutionizes energy storage with a lithium- and rare-earth-free thermal approach. GenerIA, for its part, offers energy-efficient AI combined with quantum technologies, a vision that already seems to be looking to the future.
VivaTech 2025 is much more than a trade show: it's a milestone where technology moves out of laboratories and showcases and into the real world. It's no longer a time for observation, but for concrete, responsible action, with a tangible impact on industry, society and the environment.
Want to find out more about this new era of innovation? Dive into Jérôme Malzac's expert view and explore the trends shaping our future.
