VivaTech 2026

10th Anniversary: Europe's Largest Tech Edition Yet

Since its first edition in 2016, VivaTech has grown by 300%, with visitor numbers rising from 45,000 to more than 180,000 and startups tripling while investors have multiplied twelvefold. The 2026 edition marks this growth with a major infrastructure expansion: a new three-floor Hall 7 adding 40% more floor space, doubled world premieres and two first-ever public events taking the VivaTech brand beyond the exhibition centre and onto the Champs-Elysees and into a dedicated festival day.

Jensen Huang Delivers Nvidia GTC Paris Keynote

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang returns to Paris to deliver the GTC Paris keynote at VivaTech 2026, framed around AI factories, agentic AI and physical AI. At VivaTech 2025 on the same stage, Huang committed to building more than 20 AI factories across Europe and named Mistral AI as the continent's sovereign-compute champion.
• The 2026 keynote is positioned as a progress report on those commitments, with the programme describing it around what comes next in the new industrial revolution powered by AI infrastructure. Mistral has since secured $830 million in debt financing for a Nvidia-powered data centre near Paris, expected to come online in 2026.

Yann LeCun Returns as Co-Founder of AMI Labs

• Yann LeCun returns to VivaTech in a new role, speaking as executive chairman and co-founder of AMI Labs rather than as Meta's chief AI scientist. He left Meta in November 2025 after 12 years and co-founded AMI Labs, which raised $1.03 billion at a $3.5 billion pre-money valuation in March 2026 in what TechCrunch described as the largest seed round in European history.
• Backers include Bezos Expeditions, Cathay Innovation, Greycroft and Nvidia. AMI Labs is building world models as a direct contrast to the large language model approach, and LeCun's appearance at VivaTech marks his first major European keynote under the new company.

Germany Named Country of the Year 2026

Germany is VivaTech's Country of the Year for 2026, represented by the largest national delegation in the event's history. The German presence covers 200 startups, 14 Lander, 12 government entities and two federal ministers on the main stage: Karsten Wildberger (Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation) and Dorothee Bar (Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space). The delegation occupies an 800 square metre booth and represents a deliberate statement about the Franco-German innovation partnership and Europe's shared ambition on AI and deeptech sovereignty. Details of the German programme are at germany-vivatech.de.

VivaTech in the City: Free Champs-Elysees Takeover

On Sunday June 14, the Champs-Elysees is pedestrianised between Rue Arsene Houssaye and Rue de Berri for a free, open-to-all public technology experience from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. VivaTech has partnered with the Comite Champs-Elysees to make the world's most famous avenue an open-air showcase of innovation ahead of the main event. The day is designed to bring AI, robotics and climate tech demonstrations directly to the general public, including families, students, tourists and first-time visitors to the VivaTech universe. The official announcement is at vivatech.com/news.

TechCrunch Partnership and Startup Battlefield

VivaTech has partnered with TechCrunch for the 10th anniversary edition. On June 19, TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield Director Isabelle Johannessen will host the VivaTech Startup Prizes ceremony. The VivaTech Innovation of the Year winner will also secure a place in the Start Up Battlefield 200, with potential eligibility to present at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in October 2026.

VivaTech Bloomberg Awards Announced

The VivaTech Bloomberg Awards launch as a new format for the 10th anniversary edition, recognising outstanding achievements across the global technology ecosystem. The awards are described by organisers as the Tech Oscars and sit alongside the startup competition programme as a major new recognition platform at the event. This is the first time a dedicated tech awards ceremony of this scale has been built into the VivaTech programme.

Confirmed Founding Partners and Sponsors

Founding partners for VivaTech 2026 are BNP Paribas, Google, La Poste Group, LVMH and Orange. Platinum Partners include G42, AWS, Aramco, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, ManpowerGroup, Nvidia, PwC, Verizon and VusionGroup. Gold Partners include AXA, EDF, ENGIE, EY, L'Oreal Group, Microsoft, McKinsey QuantumBlack, Salesforce, Sanofi and TotalEnergies among others.

AI and Productivity

AI sits at the centre of every conversation at VivaTech 2026, not as an emerging topic but as the shared grammar of the event. Dedicated tracks cover model deployment at enterprise scale, responsible AI governance, and the integration of AI into business workflows across every major industry. Keynotes from Jensen Huang, Yann LeCun and Arthur Mensch represent three distinct poles of the current AI landscape: infrastructure and compute, world models and open research, and European foundation models built for sovereign deployment.

Deeptech and Robotics

Deeptech is a full programme pillar covering quantum computing, advanced robotics and biotech. Among the confirmed world premieres is a live telepathy experience between a human and a humanoid robot using non-invasive Neuro-AI, developed by HABS and Unitree. Sessions address how physical AI is moving from controlled environments into real industrial and consumer applications, with robotics demonstrations running throughout the four days across the exhibition floor.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has its own dedicated track at VivaTech 2026, covering AI-powered threat detection, zero-trust architectures and data sovereignty. The German national pavilion brings a strong government-level cybersecurity dimension to the programme, with sessions addressing how European institutions and enterprises are building resilience into AI systems and critical infrastructure from the design stage rather than as an afterthought. This track is more prominent in 2026 than any previous edition given the geopolitical backdrop of the conference.

Energy and Greentech

The energy and greentech track focuses on climate technology, sustainable infrastructure and the power demands of AI at scale. Nyobolt is showcasing an ultra-fast charging solution capable of bringing a battery to 80% in under five minutes, and Bienesis is presenting an intelligent crop control system as part of the agritech dimension of the track. The intersection of AI compute demand and energy sustainability is a recurring theme across the programme given the scale of datacentre investment being discussed across European AI factory projects.

European Tech Sovereignty

Nineteen European countries are attending with national pavilions, each showcasing their ecosystem and approach to technological sovereignty. The Franco-German innovation partnership sits at the heart of the programme, combining the strengths of both countries across AI, energy, life sciences and digital infrastructure. VivaTech organisers have framed 2026 as the edition where European tech stops talking about sovereignty and starts demonstrating it at scale.

Theater Stage: Plenary Keynotes

The Theater stage hosts the full plenary programme across all four days, including the Nvidia GTC Paris keynote with Jensen Huang, Yann LeCun on world models and AMI Labs, Arthur Mensch on Mistral AI and European AI infrastructure, Bernard Arnault on luxury and technology, and the German federal minister sessions on AI policy and European sovereignty.

Thematic Tracks: AI, Deeptech, Cybersecurity, Greentech

Dedicated thematic tracks run parallel to the main stage across all four days, covering the full programme depth across AI and productivity, deeptech and robotics, cybersecurity, and energy and greentech. Sessions are designed for technical, commercial and policy audiences, with content calibrated to practitioners rather than spectators.

Startup Competition and VivaTech Startup Prizes

The startup competition programme includes a masterclass for VivaTech startups on May 26-27, a final round on June 18, and the VivaTech Startup Prizes ceremony on June 19 hosted by TechCrunch's Isabelle Johannessen. The VivaTech Innovation of the Year winner secures a place in TechCrunch's Start Up Battlefield 200 and potential eligibility for TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in October 2026. Jury members include Tatiana Jama from Sista Fund and Caroline Ramade, CEO of Q7Leader.

Connection Hub: Structured B2B Meetings

The Connection Hub provides structured one-on-one business meetings between startups, investors, corporate decision makers and ecosystem partners. With 4,000 investors and 15,000 startups under one roof, the matchmaking system is designed to convert attendance into concrete partnerships and funding conversations rather than general networking. This format is one of the primary reasons enterprise buyers and investors travel to VivaTech each year.

Immersive Labs and World Premieres

The 10th anniversary edition doubles the number of world premieres versus any previous VivaTech. Immersive labs host interactive product demonstrations across the exhibition floor, including the HABS and Unitree world-exclusive live Neuro-AI telepathy experience between a human and a humanoid robot.

VivaTech Bloomberg Awards

The VivaTech Bloomberg Awards launch as a new recognition format for the 10th anniversary, positioned by organisers as the Tech Oscars of the European technology calendar. Awards recognise outstanding achievements across the global technology ecosystem and are held during the main conference days.

VivaTech in the City: Champs-Elysees

On Sunday June 14, the section of the Champs-Elysees between Rue Arsene Houssaye and Rue de Berri is pedestrianised and transformed into a free open-air innovation showcase from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The day runs in partnership with the Comite Champs-Elysees and brings AI demonstrations, robotics and climate tech to a public audience before the main conference begins.

VivaTech Festival: June 20

The VivaTech Festival on June 20 is a separate public-facing event at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles targeting 18-35 year-olds. The programme includes robot demonstrations, influencer sessions, a career fair, AI ethics discussions, creator economy content and a hackathon. Tickets are EUR 20 with a reduced rate of EUR 15 and free entry for children under 10. Festival details and tickets are at festival.vivatech.com.

For AI and Engineering Teams

The combination of Jensen Huang on AI factories and compute infrastructure, Yann LeCun on world models and AMI Labs, and Arthur Mensch on Mistral AI and European foundation models makes this the highest-concentration AI keynote programme in Europe in 2026. Engineering and technical teams tracking where AI infrastructure, model architecture and enterprise deployment are heading will find direct answers on the VivaTech main stage.

For Founders and Startups

With 15,000 startups, 4,000 investors and a structured B2B meeting system, VivaTech offers early-stage companies unparalleled access to the people making funding and partnership decisions across Europe and globally. The startup competition programme adds a direct pathway from VivaTech to TechCrunch Disrupt for the Innovation of the Year winner.

For Enterprise and Product Leaders

Sessions on enterprise AI deployment, responsible AI governance and digital transformation connect product and strategy teams to the practitioners and decision makers building and buying AI at scale. Speakers from LVMH, Alibaba, Arm Holdings, Instacart and Isomorphic Labs represent the full range of enterprise AI use cases across luxury, commerce, semiconductors and drug discovery.

For Investors

The combination of 15,000 startups and 4,000 investors in one location, structured via the Connection Hub matchmaking system, makes VivaTech the single most concentrated deal-flow environment in European tech each year. The thematic spread across AI, deeptech, greentech and cybersecurity covers the primary investment themes of the current cycle.

For Policymakers and Government Teams

The German Country of the Year delegation brings two federal ministers to the main stage, 19 national pavilions are present across the halls, and the programme is explicitly framed around European tech sovereignty. VivaTech 2026 is the primary venue in Europe for tracking where government-level AI and deeptech policy is heading in the second half of 2026.

For the Global Tech Ecosystem

More than 170 countries are represented across 180,000 attendees, 15,000 startups and 4,000 investors, giving VivaTech a global reach that puts it in a category of its own among European technology events. The Champs-Elysees takeover and VivaTech Festival extend that reach further by bringing the programme to a mass public audience for the first time.