Paris-Saclay SPRING 2024 at HEC Paris: 24 hours in Europe’s first Deep Tech Cluster

A couple of weeks ago, the entire Paris-Saclay ecosystem gathered at the HEC Paris campus to celebrate innovation. The 7th edition of Paris-Saclay SPRING, dedicated to CleanTech, brought together key innovation players in France's leading deeptech cluster ‘Paris-Saclay’ to tackle global challenges. The event featured conferences, roundtables, innovation villages, etc. Among the highlights were the traditional HEC Paris Demo Day–our traditional pitch contest–and the SPRING50 contest!

2024 Paris-Saclay SPRING, the innovation event of France’s #1 deeptech cluster

Every year since 2018, Paris-Saclay SPRING has been serving as a unique platform for networking, learning, and exchanging ideas with international investors and experts, promising French start-ups, and research academics. For the second year, HEC Paris hosted the first day of the event, including its annual Demo Day, which showcases promising students projects and startups from the HEC Paris ecosystem, and the SPRING50 pitch contest organized by the Paris-Saclay cluster. 

HEC Paris Demo Day: Meet the 2024 Winners

Each year, the end of the academic year at HEC Paris is an opportunity to celebrate one of the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute’s greatest achievements: the Demo Day, a unique event that brings together its entire community!

“We are bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, industry, government, but also our students on the campus." - Inge Kerkloh-Devif, Senior Executive Director, HEC Paris Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute

Now part of the Paris-Saclay Spring event, the Demo Day features the best student entrepreneurship projects or startups from our ecosystem. This year, five promising startups  from the Creative Destruction Lab - Paris program pitched in front of a stellar jury composed of Priya Bohra (Capgemini), Inge Kerkloh-Devif (HEC Paris - Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute), Fernando Diaz Lopez, Ph.D. (HEC Paris Sustainability & Organizations Institute (S&O)), and Michel Safars (Education Track Professor, Department of Strategy at HEC Paris), with Aymeric Penven, Director of Deep Tech Center at HEC Paris as moderator.

This year’s selection included 5 startups: 

• DeepHawk: Utilizes computer vision AI for visual quality control in manufacturing, detecting anomalies in live images or videos on production lines.
• Biomemory: Offers storage solutions using synthetic DNA data storage, enabling sustainable, efficient, and secure data storage for data centers.
• Meddenovo Drug Design and Consultancy: Provides a drug design platform to predict successful drug candidates accurately, reducing costs and increasing success rates for researchers.
• Everdian: Information platform detecting influential global events, offering critical insights to risk management teams in corporations and governments.
• Heliup: Specializes in lightweight photovoltaic solutions for building roofs, using patented technology to reduce panel weight while maintaining performance and durability.

Congratulations to Biomemory who won the Audience Prize, and HELIUP, from CDL - Paris program, who participated in both programs from our Deep Tech Center: HEC Challenge + and CDL - Paris - for winning the Jury Prize.

Demo Day Jury composed of Priya Bohra (Capgemini), Inge Kerkloh-Devif (HEC Paris - Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute), Fernando Diaz Lopez, Ph.D. (HEC Paris Sustainability & Organizations Institute), Michel Safars (HEC Paris Associate Professor) and Aymeric Penven (Director of the Deep Tech Center at HEC Paris) 

SPRING50: Celebrating the 50 most innovative startups from Paris-Saclay deeptech ecosystem

The SPRING50 is an annual award ceremony recognizing the 50 most innovative and promising startups from the Paris-Saclay deeptech ecosystem. It aims to boost visibility for these startups in the media and by connecting them with investors, industrial leaders, and broader innovation stakeholders in France and abroad.

At the Paris-Saclay SPRING event, 25 out of the 50 startups pitched their groundbreaking solutions. These startups operate in five categories: FoodTech, Health-Biotech, CleanTech, Digital Tech, and Industry & Services.

Among the designated participants, a dozen of startups from our HEC Paris ecosystem had the opportunity to pitch their projects : 

• DigitalTech: Ako.ai, Corma, LumiSync, Histia, Floware
• CleanTech: Circlechain, Econautik, Fingreen.AI, Rewake
• FoodTech: Fayo, L’Officine du Monde
• Health-Biotech: Exhalon.io
• Industry & Services: Tetmet, Iris Lab 

and two laureates are HEC Alumni and one of them emerged from our HEC Paris Startup Launchpad:

• Rewake, founded by Alban Catoire, won the Spring50 Contest in the Cleantech category
• LumiSync, founded by Alexis Joinville, won the Spring50 Contest in the Digital Technologies category

The other laureates in their respective category were:

• FoodTech: Jabu
• Health-Biotech: Vitropep
• Industry & Service: Highcast
• HEC Deep Tech Demo Day Jury's Prize: Heliup
• HEC Deep Tech Demo Day Audience's Prize: Biomemory

Heliup: Winner of the Paris-Saclay Spring pitch contest (Jury's Prize)

This year’ edition of the contest was sponsored by HEC Alumni Cécile Villette (M.16), President and co-founder of Altaroad, specializing in the traceability of materials and waste in the building and civil engineering sector. 

After her HEC Paris MBA in Entrepreneurship, she founded her innovative company, selected in French Tech 2030, the list of the 125 startups that act to France’s tech independence by 2030. > Learn more about Cécile Villette pathway

Michel Safars (HEC Paris Associate Professor) and our HEC Alumni, Cécile Villette (M.16)

Conferences, keynotes and discussions also set the pace for the day. Experts shared their insights and visions on various topics, including collaboration with accelerators, talent retention, fundraising, CleanTech innovation, climate challenges and more!

CleanTeach: Tackling climate change through innovation

Energy, decarbonation, research-industry collaboration… How can innovation and research address the immense challenges posed by climate change?

Our HEC professors took part in a thought-provoking plenary conference “CleanTech Horizons: Innovation shaping a sustainable future”, organized by the HEC Paris Society & Organizations Institute (S&O).

François Gemenne, Academic Director of the Master in Sustainability and Social Innovation, and Fernando Diaz Lopez, Executive Director of the HEC Paris Climate & Earth Center, alongside Laurence Petit, Deputy Director for Innovation at CEA Paris, and Abdelilah Slaoui, Deputy Scientific Director at CNRS Engineering, stressed the need for stable regulations and detailed planning to facilitate effective technology transfer.

Paris-Saclay SPRING 2024 Aftermovie