VivaTech 2026 marks its 10th anniversary with a record-breaking edition

From June 17 to 20, 2026, VivaTech welcomed more than 200,000 visitors at Paris Porte de Versailles, setting a new attendance record for its 10th anniversary edition. Held under the joint presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the show confirmed its position as one of Europe's leading events dedicated to innovation, tech, and startups, and as one of the most influential tech events in the world.

A decade of scale: the numbers behind the milestone

The 2026 edition stretched VivaTech's footprint further than ever before. Over four days, the event brought together 200,000 visitors from 165 nationalities, hosted 60 country pavilions, and gathered more than 1,155 speakers on stage. More than 15,000 startups participated, alongside over 4,500 exhibitors, 61% of them international. The cumulative social media audience surpassed 5 billion, reinforcing VivaTech's role as a global conversation driver around innovation.

To mark its decade in style, VivaTech also took the experience outside the venue: on Sunday, June 14, in partnership with the Comité Champs-Élysées, the world's most famous avenue was transformed into a large open-air technology showcase, opening innovation to the wider public ahead of the trade days.

A program built around the defining themes of the decade ahead

This anniversary edition was structured around five strategic themes shaping the next wave of technological transformation: AI & Productivity, Cybersecurity & Defense, GreenTech, Space, and DeepTech.

The speaker line-up reflected the breadth of these topics. Among them: Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon & Blue Origin and Co-CEO of Prometheus; Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin; former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino; Yann LeCun, Executive Chairman of AMI Labs; Shantanu Narayen, Chair & CEO of Adobe; Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; and Thibault Sottiaux, Head of Core Product & Platform at OpenAI.

European institutions were also strongly represented, with Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission, and Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation. French and international business leaders, including Bernard Arnault (LVMH), Patrick Pouyanné (TotalEnergies), Christel Heydemann (Orange), Catherine MacGregor (ENGIE), Marie-Ange Debon (Groupe La Poste), Rodolphe Saadé (CMA CGM), Roland Busch (Siemens), Joe Tsai (Alibaba), Valérie Baudson (Amundi) and Mohamed Kande (PwC), joined the conversation.

Germany was named Country of the Year 2026, with a strong ministerial delegation including Karsten Wildberger, Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernization, and Dorothée Bär, Federal Minister for Research, Technology, and Space. Building on the AI Summit in New Delhi, India was present as AI Country Partner 2026, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

From conversations to business: new formats for acceleration

True to its DNA, VivaTech 2026 doubled down on its business utility. New dedicated spaces were introduced, including the Business Plaza, designed to turn connections into concrete commercial opportunities, and Investors Office Hours, a privileged meeting format between startups and investors. With more than 15,000 startups connecting to companies from over 30 sectors, the event continued to position itself as a deal-making hub for the European and global tech ecosystem.

New flagship exhibitors joined the show for the first time, including Samsung, Envision, SAP, and Adobe.

Innovations that defined the edition

VivaTech 2026 served as a launchpad for hundreds of announcements and product premieres. Standout innovations included XPANCEO's smart contact lens, designed to replace screens as the leading interface of the AI era; Lifepods' autonomous protection capsule for extreme-risk situations; Lattice Medical's 3D-printed resorbable implants for soft tissue reconstruction after cancer treatment; Tetmet's automated robotic solution for producing stainless steel mesh for the automotive, defense and aerospace industries; and a striking demonstration by Unitree x HABS of a humanoid robot controlled by human brain activity.

Honoring tech's leaders: the VivaTech x Bloomberg Awards

For the first time, the VivaTech x Bloomberg Awards recognized the world's top tech leaders. The Visionary Award went to Sir Tim Berners-Lee (Inrupt), the Leadership Award to Joe Tsai (Alibaba), the Momentum Award to Yann LeCun (AMI Labs), the Breakthrough Award to Peter Steinberger (OpenClaw / OpenAI), the Investor Award to Jeannette zu Fürstenberg (General Catalyst), the Rising Star Award to May Habib (WRITER), and the CitizenTech Award to Ukraine.

The VivaTech Startup Prizes spotlighted impact-driven entrepreneurs: Liz Dennett (Endolith) received the Female Founder Award, Fanny Giannou (Alithea Biotechnology) the Tech for Change Award, Ahmed Yahia (Surgia) the AfricaTech Award, Sasha Ovalle (AssisTech Smart Shower) the Next Startupper Challenge, and Karim Boussetta (Hodor) the Innovation of the Year Award.

Opening the next decade

On Saturday, June 20, VivaTech opened its doors to the general public for a day dedicated to AI, robotics and career encounters, with French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet as special guest.

As underlined by Maurice Lévy, Co-President of VivaTech and Emeritus Chairman of Publicis Groupe, Michèle Benbunan, Co-President of VivaTech and CEO of LVMH's Press division, and François Bitouzet, Managing Director of VivaTech, this 10th edition was not designed as a celebration of past years, but as the opening of a new decade of innovation.

Next stop: VivaTech 2027, from June 16 to 19, at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.