VivaTech: in Paris, ONLYLYON Invest highlights AI for industry

Scaling AI Through Industry: Key Takeaways from the ONLYLYON Invest Event

On June 18, 2026, ONLYLYON Invest welcomed around fifty investors, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, researchers, and members of the ONLYLYON Ambassadors network to an evening event hosted at the Paris offices of our partner EPSA, a consulting firm specializing in industrial and financial performance. Well represented in the French capital, these ambassadors play an important role in promoting Lyon’s influence and attractiveness.

At the heart of the discussion was a strategic question for both companies and innovation-driven regions: how can artificial intelligence move beyond experimentation to achieve large-scale industrial deployment?

Following a keynote by Olivier Riou, Director of the Siemens Digital Experience Center, on the integration of AI into industrial processes, the conversation continued with a panel discussion featuring Thomas de Longvilliers (EPSA), Héloïse Limauge (Odoo), and Julián Tachella (CNRS, ENS de Lyon, and Blur Labs), moderated by ONLYLYON Ambassador Julie Sahakian. The discussion focused on the key factors required to scale AI successfully: access to talent, innovation financing, technology transfer, and collaboration between research institutions and businesses.

The speakers shared a common conclusion: the challenge is no longer to develop AI for its own sake, but to leverage it as a driver of transformation that addresses real-world business challenges. Whether it is helping SMEs digitalize, optimizing industrial processes, or commercializing scientific research, success depends on effectively connecting research labs, startups, SMEs, and large corporations.

The evening concluded with a keynote from entrepreneur, author, and AI expert Flavien Chervet, who emphasized that AI should be viewed first and foremost as a strategic lever capable of transforming industrial and economic models over the long term.

VivaTech: Ten Years at the Heart of Global Innovation

The event took place alongside the 10th edition of VivaTech, which has become one of Europe’s largest gatherings dedicated to technology, startups, and innovation.

Each year, the event brings together leading technology companies, international investors, major corporations, entrepreneurs, and public decision-makers looking to identify the innovations that will shape tomorrow’s industries.

For ONLYLYON Invest, VivaTech is a key opportunity for both business development and territorial promotion. Throughout the event, the agency’s teams engaged with numerous French and international companies interested in the opportunities Lyon offers for business expansion, investment, and innovation.

Lyon-Based Companies Show Up Strong at VivaTech

As every year, many companies from the Lyon region were present throughout VivaTech, illustrating the dynamism of one of France’s leading technology ecosystems.

From innovative startups such as Faactopi to global companies like Sanofi, as well as technology and industrial SMEs, businesses from the region leveraged the event to showcase their solutions, build new partnerships, and increase their visibility among investors and prospective customers.

Founded in Lyon, deeptech company Faactopi exemplifies the region’s ability to generate breakthrough industrial innovation. The company develops reconfigurable manufacturing platforms that help startups and industrial firms accelerate and secure the industrialization of new technologies. At the other end of the spectrum, Sanofi highlights Lyon’s strategic importance in life sciences through the presence of its third Digital Accelerator focused on industrial digital transformation, along with several major research, production, and innovation sites dedicated to vaccines and biotechnology.

Together, these companies demonstrate the diversity and maturity of an ecosystem capable of delivering practical innovations across a wide range of industries.

Lyon: A European Hub for Applied AI

What sets Lyon apart in the international race around artificial intelligence is not only its ability to develop cutting-edge technologies, but also its capacity to rapidly transform those technologies into practical applications that create value for the real economy.

As France’s leading industrial region, Greater Lyon benefits from a unique concentration of major corporations, mid-sized companies, industrial SMEs, research centers, and world-class academic institutions. This proximity fosters collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs, and industrial leaders, accelerating the transfer of innovation from the lab to the marketplace.

The Paris roundtable highlighted the strength of Lyon’s research ecosystem, driven by internationally recognized institutions such as ENS de Lyon, CNRS, INSA Lyon, and Centrale Lyon. Speakers also emphasized the role of organizations such as Pulsalys and Inria Startup Studio in supporting innovative projects and bringing scientific breakthroughs to market.

This momentum is already evident across several strategic sectors identified as priorities for AI development in the region:

• Healthcare and life sciences
• Industry and advanced manufacturing
• Mobility and transportation
• Chemistry and advanced materials

Across each of these sectors, AI technologies are helping improve performance, accelerate innovation, and address critical industrial challenges.

More broadly, a shared vision is emerging among stakeholders across the region: positioning Lyon as a leading European hub for applied artificial intelligence, built on a pragmatic, collaborative, and responsible approach to innovation. This ambition is supported by the unique combination of academic excellence, industrial expertise, and technological entrepreneurship that defines the Lyon ecosystem.