- 6 hours ago
The VivaTech Startup Prizes will celebrate the brightest entrepreneurs and groundbreaking innovations shaping the future of technology. This prestigious event will reveal and honour the winners of VivaTech’s renowned startup competitions: the Female Founder Award, the AfricaTech Award, the Next Startupper Award, the Tech for Change Award & the Innovation of the Year.
The event promises to be a vibrant showcase of the world's most promising startups and exciting innovations, one of the key highlights of VivaTech 2026.
The event promises to be a vibrant showcase of the world's most promising startups and exciting innovations, one of the key highlights of VivaTech 2026.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:17Hello, hello everyone. Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here and welcome to the VivaTech
00:25Startup Prize Ceremony. We are so excited to have you all here today. My name is Isabel Johannesson
00:31from TechCrunch, and I came all the way from San Francisco to be here with you today. I'm absolutely
00:36honored to be your host, and today we are going to be celebrating inspiring, bold, and game-changing
00:41startups from all around the world. So from June 17th to June 20th, VivaTech brings together the
00:48entire tech ecosystem, from investors, entrepreneurs, corporates, institutions, all united by a shared
00:56goal to innovate for impact. So today, we're celebrating five bold startups with visions to save
01:03our future and change the world. They're redefining their industries, they're solving tomorrow's
01:08challenges, and they're turning their bold ideas into real-world impact. But before we get started,
01:14I would love to get to know you all in the audience a little bit better. So the rules are
01:19simple. If it
01:20applies to you, make some noise, okay? How many of you are having a great time at VivaTech? Yeah.
01:28Good. Me too. And make some noise if this is your first time at VivaTech. Okay, okay. Well, welcome.
01:37Buckle up. It's going to be a wild ride. I hope you're enjoying it so far. So make some noise
01:42if you are
01:42hoping to take home a trophy today. Yes. All of our finalists are seated up in the front here
01:50somewhere. Let's give all of our finalists a big round of applause. Absolutely. So make some noise if
01:59you're a finalist for the Female Founder Award. There they are. All right. Get it. Girl power. We love to
02:07see
02:07it, ladies. And make some noise if you came all the way from Africa to be here with us today.
02:15Yes. Fantastic. Y'all, the African tech ecosystem is booming, and they are here. So we love to see
02:21that. All right. Thank you all for being with us today. And now to kick things off and to tell
02:26you
02:26more about our prizes, please welcome to the stage Francois Bituze, Managing Director at VivaTech.
02:42Hello, hello. Hello, everyone. Francois, tell us about the awards this afternoon.
02:48So it's a great moment. I'm very happy to be here with you because, you know, it's VivaTech 10th
02:54anniversary and all the awards that you will see. It's something that is so important to us. When we
03:00created the awards, the idea was to spotlight, to put the light on people who are super promising
03:07because of their startup, because of their vision, because of the value proposition they bring on the
03:14table. We have been so lucky for so many years. And I can tell you something. This year, the winners
03:23are even better than ever. So it's the award power by 10. Let me tell you some element about what
03:33kind
03:33of award you will see today. First of all, you said it, the Femmel Founder Awards, one of my favorite
03:40one. It's for the woman, the inspiring woman in entrepreneurship. And we know how hard it is
03:48sometimes in tech. So girls' power. Yeah, rock on. Keep some energy. After the Africa Tech Award, and it has
04:00been a long journey together with Africa, and we are very proud to give this award once again. And you
04:07know at
04:08VivaTech, Africa, it's not a question of development. It's a question of leadership. Your startups, your
04:15innovation, they are as good as everywhere else in the world. And here at VivaTech, you have the platform
04:22to make the world know about it. Third one. Ah, it's something new from last year. Innovation of the
04:30year. You have seen all the innovation at VivaTech. And so we decided to pick up one among all of
04:37the
04:37other to say, this is the best at VivaTech this year. Another one that has been invented last year,
04:46it's the Tech for Change Award. It is to recognize an innovation at VivaTech, once again, which is
04:55focused on sustainability, on impact. And you know how important it is today to make sure that this kind
05:02of topic is at the top of the attention and the agenda. And last but not least, the next Startupper
05:11Award, it's for the talent. It's for the young people. It's for the ones that want to become an
05:18entrepreneur and that bring new ideas. And we want to help them. We want to empower them. I said it
05:25was
05:25the last. But as it is the 10th anniversary, we have a new award. We have a surprise. And this
05:32is what
05:32we call the People's Choice Award. Who are the people? It's you. And you will vote among the people
05:42who have won today to define which innovation, which person is the best and deserve to win this
05:50People's Choice Award. Thanks to our QR code. So all the winners, please, you have to be good
05:57because everyone will vote. And maybe you can win twice with this new award.
06:04Fantastic. Thank you so much, Francois.
06:06Thank you. And I'm looking forward to see who are the winners.
06:10Me too.
06:11All right. We'll see you later in the ceremony then.
06:13Big round of applause for Francois.
06:16All right. Well, you heard the man. Listen closely this evening because you will be voting
06:21for your audience choice favorite at the end of this ceremony. So, but before we get into our very
06:26first winner, let me tell you about what is at stake today. So the winners will receive a startup
06:32corner at the 11th edition of VivaTech in 2027. They will receive huge visibility and brand exposure
06:39across both VivaTech and TechCrunch's global platforms. They will get introductions to VC.
06:45from our investor networks. And we'll also have specific additional prizes for each award.
06:50And I'll share details as we go along. Are you ready? Yeah, because I am. All right.
06:55So let's begin with the Female Founder Award. And for this, I would like to invite on stage
07:00our sponsor for this award, Sylviane Freon from Forvis Mazar.
07:17Hi. Hello, hello, Sylviane. So our first award this evening is one that's close to my heart. It's the
07:24Female Founder Award that celebrates extraordinary women who are building the future of tech and who
07:30too often go unrecognized. Do you agree? I do agree. And I have the honor to start with the
07:37Female Founder Award. And that's something which is very important for us and which is deep inside
07:45our value at Forvis Mazar. We have one conviction that I believe we all share. The future of tech
07:52will not be built by half of the talent, but by all the talents. And in our company, we support
08:00women founders with our accelerator, supporting more than 70% of our founders who are female
08:09founders to develop their startup. We help them totally free. We support them for a five-month
08:14period. And we are here behind them. We are here today on stage to say that we will always support
08:20them until we have equality and we have all the talents represented by men and women to develop tech.
08:27That's fantastic. Thank you so much. I could not agree more. And thank you for your commitment to this
08:32award and to fostering women in entrepreneurship. Big round of applause for our sponsors.
08:39I also want to take this opportunity to thank our knowledge partners for this award, Forvis Mazar
08:45and Eris, for carefully screening over 500 applications for this award. They're narrowed
08:51it down to the top 30 and then our top five finalists who are here this evening. And the winner
08:57of the
08:57Female Founder Award will receive a five-month business development program mentorship with Forvis Mazar's
09:04X-Factory, as well as fundraising coaching from Eris, which includes a pitch deck revamp and
09:10introductions to VCs. So ladies and gentlemen, let's meet our five finalists for the Female Founder
09:17Award. First up, we have Robote. Oh, here are our five finalists, but let me read them too quickly.
09:26Arc Climate, we have Endolith, ExoMatter, Vvolti, and Robote. So let's give a huge round of applause for
09:32all five of our finalists. All right, Sylvian, the time has come to unveil the winner of the
09:42Female Founder Award.
09:47So congratulations to all the founders. It was an amazing pitch yesterday. And the winner of the
09:54Female Founder Challenge is Endolith. Congratulations.
10:17All right. How does it feel? Come on over here and grab the mic. So you have one minute to
10:24tell us
10:25why your innovation is the Female Founder Award of the Year and what you're building. Take it away.
10:30I actually want to use at least part of that minute to acknowledge the rest of my founders,
10:34because there are so many problems that are being solved. And the common thread is that all of us are
10:39up here devoting our lives to some of the hardest problems on work, on the planet. At Endolith,
10:44we are using microbes to get more copper out of low-grade ore. Every time you think data center,
10:49wind turbine, copper is the fundamental backbone. And right now,
10:53our technology gets about half of it. The rest of us is left in the ground and turns into acid
10:58mine
10:58drainage, which disproportionately hurts marginalized communities. At Endolith, to date,
11:03we are working with five of the largest mining customers. Our technology is being deployed in the
11:08field. And we are using nature's oldest miners, bacteria, to get more copper. We've been able to get
11:16significantly more in all of our lab trials. And we have a team of over 20 people that are more
11:21than
11:2265% female. In the next 12 months, we're continuing our field deployments. And right now, we are
11:27eventually fundraising. If you have access to a copper mine, we would love to hear from you.
11:32But I would also love to highlight my other fabulous founders out there.
11:36Fantastic. Thank you so much.
11:40I have one question for you. So what would you say to a young woman in the room here who
11:45wants to build
11:46a company?
11:47The best founders are not those that are obsessed with anything other than solving a problem.
11:54And so if you wake up and feel that insatiable drive inside of you, that you are the only person
11:59who can found it, cancel everything else in your life and do it. There is no one better to solve
12:04that
12:04problem than you. And that actually goes for men, women, non-binary people, everyone out there.
12:08That's fantastic. I love that. That's the spirit. All right. A final round of applause. Thank you so
12:12much. Congratulations. Thank you to our sponsors. All right.
12:20Okay. Well, let's keep this party going and moving on to our next award. Our next award takes us to
12:28a
12:29continent that is bursting with talent, ambition, and innovation. So I'm delighted to welcome back to
12:35the stage, Francois Bituze, Managing Director at Viva Tech.
12:57Welcome back, Francois. I'm back. I'm back. So, you know, the Africa Tech Award honors the African
13:02startups that are solving real world challenges and driving sustainable, inclusive growth across
13:07the continent. So please tell us more about the award. I think that maybe you have listened to it
13:13when I said a few words a little bit earlier. The Africa Tech Awards for me, it's one of my
13:19favorite
13:19awards at Viva Tech. Really, I like the idea that the purpose is to bring all the discussion that can
13:26happen in Nairobi, in Cairo, in Dakar, here at Viva Tech, which is a global platform. It is amazing to
13:35see
13:36the quality, the momentum, the energy that is in the African continent. And it is our mission to make
13:45the whole world listen to it. So this is why we are so involved and engaged to supporting the African
13:55tech ecosystem. And now. And now. Well, quickly, before we jump to the big moment here, we also want
14:03to thank Deloitte, our knowledge partner for this award. They tirelessly screened applications from
14:07across the continent. So huge. Thank you to Deloitte. And now it's time. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh,
14:14my God.
14:14Oh, my God. Where are you? The African Tech Award. There we are here in the front row.
14:23And the winner is Sergio. Congratulations, Sergio. Come on up here.
14:38Congratulations. Congratulations. You get in the middle there, will you?
14:48All right. Congratulations. You have one minute, my friend, to tell us why your innovation is going
14:54to change the world. Take it away. Hello, everyone. We are in the mission to
15:01solve the problem of the crisis of healthcare supply chain in Africa. We are fixing this by
15:11connecting the healthcare providers and hospitals and polyclinics and doctors with the global suppliers
15:16to make sure they have an access to a wide range of authentic medical supplies instead of the fake
15:22medical supplies. Actually, we already have more than 15,000 doctors are using our platform
15:31in five countries, trading six million patients in a monthly basis. So it's not about a vision. It's proven
15:38and profitable. We are profitable for the last two years, making post of EBITDA. And also, we are moving now
15:45to develop the first AI agent to seamless the procurement process and to help every single healthcare
15:53provider provider in Africa have an access to modern medical techniques and treatments.
16:00If you have, if you believe in our vision, so come and talk to us. We are raising around series
16:06A right now.
16:06Thank you. All right. Thank you. And congratulations again. One quick country, one quick question for you. So what does
16:17it mean to you personally to be here today representing not only your country, but your continent?
16:21Yeah. Actually, it's a part of our mission to connect the African content with the global. So this is a
16:28global stage to do this mission. Yeah.
16:31That it is. Congratulations once again to Sergio. All right. And thank you, Francois. Thank you so much. All right,
16:41my friends. We are moving on to our next award of the afternoon. And this one is the innovation of
16:48the year award. So to present this award, we are moving on to our next award of the afternoon.
16:51So to present this award, I would like to welcome to the stage Olivia Arvi, the chief ecosystem officer at
16:57VivaTech.
17:09Hi.
17:18Dance party break. So Olivia, as you know, the VivaTech innovation of the year award is given to a startup
17:24with a breakthrough solution that defines, redefines what is possible. So tell us more.
17:29Yeah. So thank you for being here with us today. Yeah, really happy to present the innovation of the year
17:36award for the second year. So actually, this prize is really special to us at VivaTech because it highlights the
17:45startups who are exhibiting at VivaTech this week.
17:48The competition is for them only. And it really captures the spirit of VivaTech breakthrough ideas, bold innovations and game
17:58changing solutions.
17:59So here it's all about disruptive innovations and startups who are really pushing the boundaries of innovation.
18:08And actually, before announcing the winner, I'd like to say a big, big thank you to Isabel and TechCrunch because,
18:14yes, please.
18:18Because TechCrunch is not only our ceremony partner, this is also the knowledge partner of this prize.
18:25So meaning that they reviewed more than 500 applications to make the shortlist of finalists.
18:32And actually, the winner of the innovation of the year will join the next TechCrunch startup battlefield in San Francisco
18:40in October, I guess.
18:42October, yes.
18:42Yes, yes.
18:43OK, so now it's time.
18:44Fantastic.
18:45Thank you so much, Olivia.
18:46And on behalf of myself and the TechCrunch team, we are absolutely thrilled to welcome the startup to San Francisco
18:51in October.
18:53And now, before we begin, let's review who our finalists are for the Innovation of the Year Award.
18:59So, first up, we have CIT, we have Hodor, we have Temano, Time Teller, and last but certainly not least,
19:16we have White Lab Genomics.
19:18Huge round of applause for all five of our finalists.
19:24All right, Olivia, let's hit it.
19:27And the winner is Hodor.
19:31Hey.
19:32Hodor.
19:34Come on up here.
19:38Congratulations.
19:40Come on over, Olivia.
19:44We'll take a quick picture.
19:46Don't stop, yes, I have a good time.
19:49I don't want to stop at all.
19:51Oh, right.
19:52Congratulations.
19:54You have one minute, my friend, to tell us why you are the Innovation of the Year.
19:58Stage is yours.
19:59Thank you very much.
20:00I assume you can see the slides.
20:02Well, first of all, congratulations to everyone who's here today and thank you all for attending.
20:06The problem is fairly simple.
20:08Today, people are starting to deploy AI at scale with no governance tool and no real way to manage it.
20:13It's expected that by 2029, 50% of cyber attacks will come via AI agents.
20:19And therefore, we built a solution, a control layer between AI and your applications.
20:23We seek to govern, secure all of your agents.
20:27In a nutshell, we've been live for the last three months.
20:29We've signed over 30 customers and a partnership with Dell.
20:33So far, 100% of all, AI actions are logged.
20:36And what's important is we've blocked 30% by internal policies.
20:41To conclude, basically, we're working on a proprietary model on agentic behavior.
20:46But overall, we're looking basically to hire top talent.
20:49So if there's anyone here, don't hesitate to reach out.
20:52And also, we're looking for basically to scale.
20:55But thank you very much.
20:56All right.
20:58You heard them if they're hiring.
21:00That's always a good thing to say on stage.
21:02Question for you.
21:03So, I mean, every innovation starts with a spark.
21:05Where were you when you had yours?
21:08I might disappoint a few people, but it's a personal experience.
21:11Basically, I tried to create my own agent.
21:13Very excited over a year ago.
21:15Built my own agent.
21:16Gave it my permissions, the rules, and basically gave it to my colleagues.
21:20Realized they had access to my emails, HubSpot, and could delete everything I did.
21:24And this is when I thought, this is not just a gap.
21:27We need to solve that.
21:27And this is when we started basically working on Hodor.
21:30Yeah, that's a good problem to solve.
21:32All right.
21:32Thank you so much.
21:33Congratulations, Karim.
21:35Thank you, Olivia.
21:40All right, all right, friends.
21:41We are trucking along through these awards.
21:43How are we all doing?
21:45Make some noise.
21:46Come on.
21:46Are we alive out there?
21:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:48Okay, good.
21:50So, this next award looks beyond profit and recognizes technology that makes a real difference
21:56for both people and the planet.
21:58So, ladies and gentlemen, I'm thrilled to announce the Tech for Change Award.
22:03And I'm also thrilled to announce a true champion of purposeful innovation and invite her to the stage.
22:09Please welcome Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet.
22:30Hello, hello. Hello.
22:33So, Kate, Tech for Change Award recognizes startups building technologies that create measurable positive impact across many categories.
22:41But for the purpose of this award, we have environment, society, and health.
22:45And I also want to quickly give a shout out to our partners for this.
22:48Envision, UNESCO, WWF, and Le Groupe Les Écoles Parisiennes.
22:53Hopefully, I didn't butcher that.
22:54As well as our knowledge partner, Accionable.
22:57But, Kate, we're thrilled to have you with us today.
22:59And as the ambassador for this award, what does Tech for Change mean to you?
23:04Yes.
23:04Hello, everyone.
23:05So, I'm CEO of 1% for the Planet.
23:07And that's a global movement builder engaging companies around the world in impact-driven business activities.
23:15So, what I think about all day is how do we engage those new and existing companies to engage in
23:22meaningful impact at scale.
23:24So, Tech for Change is such a great opportunity to bring in companies to build that new economy of great
23:32ideas that transform business not only into a force for innovation and for doing well, but also for doing good
23:41for the planet.
23:42That's fantastic.
23:43Thank you so much for the work you're doing and for supporting this award.
23:46Really inspiring.
23:47So, are you ready to see who our finalists were for this?
23:50So ready.
23:51All right.
23:51So ready.
23:52Let's see.
23:52Who are the five companies, actually six companies, turning ideas into impact?
23:57First up, in the environmental category, we have Data Green.
24:01We have Starfish.
24:04In the society category, we have Dots for Africa and Circle Mind.
24:10And finally, in the health category, we have Athelia Biotechnology and Exolumen.
24:17A big round of applause for all of our finalists.
24:22All right.
24:23They're proving that technology and impact can and must go hand in hand.
24:27So, Kate, time to tell us who the winner of this award is.
24:30All right.
24:31And the winner is Alithia Biotechnology.
24:35Alithia.
24:45Congratulations.
24:47Thank you so much.
24:48Thank you so much.
24:49Woo.
24:50Yes.
24:54Huge, huge congratulations.
24:57Deep breaths.
24:58All right.
24:59Are you ready to tell us what you're building and why it's changing the world?
25:02You have one minute, my friend.
25:03Take it away.
25:05Thank you so much.
25:07The finalists were all fantastic and they were all also valuable to come on the stage.
25:13We are tackling the problem of cancer.
25:17And I thank you also, the jury, for making cancer speakable on stage.
25:23We have fantastic therapies.
25:24We believe in a world without cancer.
25:26But patients don't get them because they might not be safe.
25:32That is what we change.
25:33We start from the patient and we have a technology to look on the tumor cells what the immune system
25:39sees.
25:40We revolutionize immunotherapies so that in some years from now we don't have cancer anymore.
25:46We have grown bigger in the last years and now we are growing our team of 15 fantastic expert
26:00scientists who want to change the world from 11 nationalities and with equal gender representation.
26:06We are raising money to generate even more data to represent our mission to have the most diverse
26:13data set.
26:14All nations, all genders, all cancer types represented to save cancer.
26:21Wow.
26:25All right.
26:25So I have a couple of questions for you.
26:28You ready?
26:29So how has Tech for Change transformed your journey at VivaTech so far?
26:34That was fantastic.
26:35I gave my first interview, live interview, but that's like my own.
26:41We got visibility.
26:42We got people asking and being interested, having hope, patients or people who know patients
26:49who ask me, tell me about it, tell me, give us hope, give us possibilities.
26:54And that's, I would say, the biggest gain for us that we make, that we give hope and
27:00we make possibility of tech having impact for patients around the world possible.
27:06And what would be your biggest piece of advice for any people out here who are thinking about
27:12starting an impact-driven company?
27:16Guys and girls, just start.
27:19Because you cannot do anything wrong.
27:22Impact has to be your driver.
27:24And seeing every day, changing lives, changing our environment, changing society to better,
27:32is the best driver to wake up every day and see direct impact.
27:36And you can have this by founding your own company.
27:39So just do it.
27:41Awesome.
27:43Wow.
27:44Thank you both so much.
27:46I have goosebumps.
27:48That was phenomenal.
27:48Another round of applause for our Tech for Change Award.
27:51Congratulations.
27:56Y'all, deep breaths.
27:57That was amazing.
27:58Okay.
27:59We have saved a very special award for last.
28:02This award is for the dreamers and the doers and for the young folk out there.
28:08Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Next Startupper Award.
28:11And for this, I am delighted to welcome on stage the godfather of this award, Cyril Chiche,
28:18CEO of Lydia Sumeria.
28:37Hello, hello.
28:38Hello.
28:39Hi, everyone.
28:40Thank you so much for having me.
28:44They called me the godfather of this award.
28:47I don't know what that means.
28:49But I wanted to say one thing.
28:51This award is about student entrepreneurs.
28:54And student is precisely the population that made the Lydia story happen.
29:00Lydia exists thanks to student and we are grateful for what they did for us.
29:05I am so grateful to be here to give back and to present this award to the winner.
29:10I have to say it was like extremely impressive.
29:14400 projects were submitted to this award, then shortlisted to 30, then pitch on Wednesday
29:24of six companies all super well prepared and accurate so much more than when we created the company.
29:32I was like, I don't know how they did it, but they do it.
29:36And yes, it's an immense pleasure to present that award today to the winner.
29:42That's fantastic.
29:43I mean, I'm always so inspired by the young people that are building companies.
29:47And, you know, the next great idea is not going to wait for a diploma.
29:49So get your hands dirty today and start building.
29:52One quick thing before we announce the winner, that the next startup award will not only receive a trophy today,
29:58but they will also receive a 5,000 euro check as well as a corner at Viva Tech 2027
30:06and a media and creative support package by Do You Like to take their startup to the next level.
30:13All right, that's a pretty good prize there.
30:16Okay, are we ready to meet our finalists?
30:19So for this award, we have six companies.
30:22And first up is ShiftElect.
30:24Woo!
30:25Woo!
30:26And we have Neptune.
30:27Cheer up, please.
30:28Come on.
30:28Each of them.
30:29They deserve it.
30:29We have Assist Tech Smart Shower.
30:32Woo!
30:32And Notex.
30:35And we have GeoFresh.
30:38Woo!
30:39And we have, last but not least, Xatoms.
30:42Woo!
30:43Round of applause for all of our finalists.
30:46My cheerleader up here.
30:47We love it.
30:48All right.
30:49So, are we ready, Cyril, to announce the winner?
30:51We are.
30:51All right.
30:52And as they say in Los Angeles, the winner is Assist Tech Smart Shower.
30:59All right.
31:06All right.
31:09Congratulations, Sasha.
31:10Well deserved.
31:13Congratulations.
31:13Congratulations.
31:15Let's take a quick pick before we start the pitch.
31:18If you wanna ride, come ride with me.
31:21All right.
31:23Are you ready?
31:24One minute to tell the world what you're building.
31:26All right.
31:27I just wanna thank all my competitors.
31:29Everyone is so brilliant and so bright.
31:32Everyone, we are the future.
31:34We, the youth, are the future.
31:35But, I'm here to explain Assist Tech Smart Shower in the short minute that I have.
31:40So, I made Assist Tech Smart Shower for my uncle.
31:44He's been mobility impaired since birth from legs down completely immobile.
31:48And I realized as tough of a guy as he was, he was unable to remain in privacy and autonomy
31:57in showers especially.
31:58So, I made a voice automated shower head fixture for him and people like him.
32:04I realized that disabled, elderly, and mobility impaired individuals need help in this area.
32:10And there's nothing to be done that tackles this issue directly.
32:13So, what this is, is basically a shower head fixture.
32:16It connects to your Amazon Alexa speaker.
32:18And it's very convenient, very easy to install.
32:23I am so early on in my company, but I am ready to take on the challenges that come with
32:27the future of Smart Shower.
32:29So, basically, I'm preparing for a retail launch later this year.
32:33And I'm currently raising capital all through non-dilutive funding.
32:36And I've generated over 30K in my second year of college.
32:40I'm ready to take this to the next level.
32:42And I want to make the world a better place.
32:44And I'm determined to do just that.
32:46Smart Shower isn't just a tool.
32:49It's a device that preserves independence.
32:52What began as a solution for my uncle now has the potential to improve the quality of life of millions
32:59of people around the world.
33:00Join me in Assist Tech's mission to empower independence and enhance safety in every shower.
33:06Yes.
33:09Wow.
33:11Sasha, I am so impressed with you.
33:13For any student in the room that's thinking of building a company, what's one thing you wish you knew before
33:18diving into this?
33:19Something that I wish I knew.
33:22Rejection is hard.
33:23And entrepreneurship is, for sure, rejection therapy.
33:26But what I wish I learned sooner was that rejection is fuel.
33:32You can use rejection to learn, to grow.
33:35It's not a criticism of your idea that's rejected.
33:38You just fail to communicate it in some way, and you can tweak and iterate it on the idea to
33:44make it something great.
33:45And that's what I've done.
33:47What fantastic advice.
33:49Yes.
33:50Congratulations.
33:53All right, my friends.
33:54That's it for our next Startupper Award.
33:56One more round of applause.
33:58Take your trophy.
33:59Take the trophy.
34:05All right, let me tell you something, ladies and gentlemen.
34:07This is not the last time we see Miss Sasha up here.
34:09I am so, so impressed with our young people.
34:12All right.
34:13So, today we have celebrated five awards, five winners, and five extraordinary visions for a better future.
34:20So, remember their names, because I don't think this is the last we'll see of any of them.
34:23So, but this is also not our last award tonight.
34:27As you see, we still have one more trophy sitting on up here.
34:30And as Francois mentioned earlier on, we actually have a sixth award today, and that is the People's Choice Award.
34:37So, as you can see, there's going to be a QR code up here in a second, so get your
34:41phones ready.
34:42But in the meantime, I'll tell you what our People's Choice Award winner will receive.
34:46They will get two tickets to the 11th edition of VivaTech in 2027.
34:51They will have a highlight in an article by TechCrunch.
34:54And they will also receive an invitation to the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 in San Francisco this October.
35:01So, I am personally very excited to see who you all choose, who stole your hearts and minds today.
35:06So, let's get voting, people.
35:08Get your phones out, scan the QR code, and tell us who you think deserves to be the People's Choice.
35:19And they will have a status for you, guys.
35:41See you next time.
35:42Bye.
35:43Bye, guys.
35:43Bye, guys.
35:51all right are we voting people who do you think deserves to take home yet another a second trophy
35:57today okay my friends the results are in i have a little bug in my ear that's telling me secrets
36:13up here are we ready to hear who wins the people's choice award 2026
36:23all right and the winner is alithea
36:38come on up here huge huge congratulations
36:43you stole the hearts and minds of the audience
36:50fantastic huge congratulations my friend you can stay on up here for a second actually because
36:55we're about to uh wrap this thing up so it's been an absolute privilege to be your host this evening
37:00and to witness such extraordinary talent in this room the five winners you came to viva tech from
37:06all around the world with ideas that can genuinely change the future so thank you for building thank
37:11you for being dedicated to your craft you've been recognized and rightly so but this is just just
37:16the beginning and we cannot wait to see what you all continue to build so a final round of applause
37:20for all of our startups this evening
37:25all right and with that i would like to invite all of our finalists our winners our sponsors our partners
37:32to come up on stage right now and celebrate with me and take one last group photo together so
37:37come on up flood the stage and while they're all moving around i just want to thank everyone else
37:42here in the audience the founders who pitched the investors the partners innovation is a team sport and
37:48you are all an essential part of it so on behalf of viva tech on behalf of tech crunch and
37:54all of our
37:55partners we really thank you please keep building keep dreaming keep disrupting and we'll see you back
38:00here next year for viva tech 2027 thank you all good night
38:05so
38:06so
38:08so
38:16so
38:18so
38:26so
38:34so
38:39so
38:42so
38:55all right congratulations everybody
Comments