The A.I. and Digital industries in Paris Region boast impressive figures. With nearly 85,000 businesses and 710,000 employees in these fields, Paris Region has the largest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) workforce in Europe. 

Key players across the value chain have found the perfect ecosystem that supports and facilitates their business activities in industries such as IT for business, telecommunications, digital content production, defense & security, artificial intelligence, optics and electronics. This is also why major multinational corporations such as Dassault Systèmes, Orange, Motorola, Criteo, Ubisoft, Accenture, Atos, Capgemini, etc. have headquarters in Paris Region.

Europe’s Leader for ICT Research & Development

10,000+ public and private sector researchers and engineers work in the Region, which is also home to many private laboratories run by industry leaders such as Orange Labs, Fujitsu, Thales, Nokia Bell Labs, Google, Microsoft, Huawei, Samsung, Facebook AI Research and IBM.

Globally renowned state-funded research entities such as CEA List, INRIA, LIP6, CNRS and Institut Électronique Fondamentale lead the way with their research, alongside 70 higher education institutions which train more than 20,000 ICT students annually. These world-class schools include elite “Grandes Écoles” such as Centrale Supélec, Telecom ParisTech, ENS Paris-Saclay, and more.

A Momentum Boosted by Paris Region’s Local Government

Paris region's “2021 AI plan” is made to support players investing in artificial intelligence in Paris Region where 40% of French R&D expenditures in A.Ii is already invested.

This strategic plan includes 3 AI challenges per year with €1M each, to develop innovative solutions with large companies and local research labs in three fields: Industry, Health and Citizen’s life. The 2021 AI plan also funds AI proofs of concept in local SMEs and Mid-Caps, thus enabling a fast, digital transformation in Paris Region’s ecosystem and creating more opportunities to generates deals.

“Our goal is to make the Paris Region the world capital of A.I." said Valérie PECRESSE, President, Regional Council of Paris Region in 2018.

Clusters, Incubators and Accelerators to Support Your Growth in Paris Region

Two main clusters in the Region offer services with a strong focus on Information and Communications Technology:

Systematic Paris Region focuses on digital B2B complex systems. Since its creation in 2005, it has been engaging a community of about 900 members, which includes 600 startups and SMEs, 140 corporate groups, 140 academic members, investors and local governments.

It hosts 6 Deep Tech hubs centered on: Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Cyber & Security (& Defense), Digital Engineering, Digital Infrastructure & IoT, Optics & Photonics and open source. 

So far, Systematic Paris Region has supported 626 projects towards their funding. This represents a total spending of 3.18 bn in R&D and 620 products launched as a result. Learn More.

Cap Digital Paris Region is a cluster focusing on digital B2C and services industries.

Its mission is to promote Paris Region as one of the world leaders in digital contents, creative industries and services. The cluster covers 6 major fields of activity including technology, data and AI.

The cluster works with its 1000+ members (including VSEs/SMEs, major groups, research and training organizations and venture capitalists) to help them find the support, connections and financing they need for their innovative projects. 

Since the creation of Cap Digital, the cluster has invested more than €1.7 bn in R&D. Learn More.

Tailored Incentives for Your Projects

In addition to Paris Region’s AI Challenges, the Paris Region 2021 AI plan gives priority subsidies to AI innovation projects through its INNOV’UP program. This covers the whole development cycle from research, innovation and market introduction.

Your future Paris Region-based R&D center would be eligible to local and national funds for research and innovation. One incentive is the French R&D Tax Credit that “refunds” roughly 30% of all R&D expenses of a company, even if the company does not pay income tax. It can be doubled if the company hires young PhDs. 

Digital and A.I. Events in Paris Region

Big Data & AI Paris, Paris, September – With over 20,000 visitors, 300 business workshops and 370 sponsors and exhibitors, this event is the place to engage with the key players of both the Big Data and the AI scenes. Learn More.

Hello Tomorrow Global Summit, Paris, October-November – Bringing together 1,000 startups, 1,000 corporates, 300 investors, 400 researchers and technology transfer experts and 300 incubators/accelerators, the event is a unique opportunity to leverage collaborative power to drive forward innovation  helping solve the many crises our planet is facing, as well as those that are yet to come. Learn More.

Viva Technology, Paris, June – With 124,000 attendees, 13,000 startups, 3,300 investors, VivaTech has become the biggest annual getaway in Europe for innovation players from across the world. It brings together startups, corporates and VCs to ignite growth, business transformation and spark positive change. Its mission it to help startups and major corporate groups become digital champions, succeed in their digital transformation, and innovate together for the greater good. Learn More.