With just days to go until the third edition of Viva Technology — held at the French capital’s Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, May 24-26, 2018 — event organizers Publicis Groupe and Groupe Les Échos have unveiled the official program for this global event for innovation, startups and digital transformation. Here’s a look at what’s in store.
This year’s edition of Viva Technology will by far be the most international to date, with more than half of the 1,800 startups attending hailing from outside of France. Startups from some 20 countries — including Israel, Japan and South Korea — will be showing off their latest technology at the event, which this year also focuses on AfricaTech in particular. Young entrepreneurs and tech industry figures from the continent will be heading to the Paris event, along with Rwandan president Paul Kagamé.
Some incredible innovations will be on show at Viva Tech 2018, including IBM’s quantum computer, Airbus’s flying car mock-up, a life-sized spatial module and a host of domestic robots, including live demos.
Former executive chairman of Alphabet, Eric Schmidt — now a company technical advisor and board member — has been a Viva Technology attendee since the show’s first edition. He will return in 2018, joined by an impressive lineup of speakers from around the world, to discuss the latest innovations, breakthroughs and new technologies. These include Facebook CEO and chairman Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, IBM chairman, president and CEO Ginni Rometty, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
While the first two days of Viva Technology are reserved for professional attendees, the show opens to the public Saturday, May 26, giving everyone a chance to check out the 150 innovations presented in world premieres at the event. This year’s three major themes are latest-generation robots (watch out for robot battles held during the event), the future of mobility (with self-driving, electric and even flying vehicles) and virtual reality (with virtual group visits of Egypt’s famous pyramids).
The event also has a host of fun events and attractions celebrating technology, including an eSports tournament featuring “Fortnite” experts and a virtual artwork by artist Miguel Chevalier. Young visitors can try their hand at an initiatory hackathon (for 6-to-12-year-olds) or take part in workshops exploring the future of mobility.