In the sense that they can have a lasting impact on our society, innovations resulting from “deeptech” (disruptive technologies in French) attract our full attention. What should we know about them? What are the latest trends in this area? We take stock.
Deeptech: what is it?
The term “deeptech” encompasses all breakthrough innovations, that is to say, which are revolutionizing our habits. These can relate to many fields, from global warming to the fight against cancer, via robotics, biology or even artificial intelligence. Projects and the resulting innovations generally require a long research and development (R&D) phase.
Several decades ago, only large groups had enough means and resources to take an interest in “deeptech”. From now on, start-ups are also mobilizing to meet the challenges of tomorrow by offering products capable of sustainably transforming our lifestyles.
“Deeptech”: zoom in on Bpifrance’s investment
The Generation Deeptech plan
To help them emerge and become central players in innovation, Bpifrance, Banque Publique d’Investissement, launched in early 2019 the Generation Deeptech plan, accompanied by a dedicated support and financing system, taking into account the specificities of this type of project. The latter aims to double the number of “deeptech” start-ups by 2023 and to make France a world leader in this field. Various projects are currently supported by the business finance and development body, including more efficient satellites, natural biostimulants and herbicides, robot valets, personalized voice assistance devices using artificial intelligence…
The Deeptech Tour
As an extension of this plan, Bpifrance has even launched a national tour of campuses, the Deeptech Tower, in order to make students, doctoral students, researchers and laboratories aware of the creation of start-ups that bring breakthrough innovation and have a strong societal impact. A dedicated platform was also created, the aim being to supplement existing awareness-raising mechanisms and to facilitate the career of researchers and project leaders in the sector.
News from the world of deeptech
As part of the France 2030 program, the means allocated to “deeptech” should be reinforced. As a reminder, this plan, endowed with 34 billion euros deployed over 5 years, aims to develop industrial competitiveness and future technologies. For his part, the Startups and industrial SMEs plan should mobilize, between 2022 and 2026, 2.3 billion euros through aid, loan and investment schemes, throughout the life of startups to enable them to industrialize their breakthrough innovations and eventually create 100 industrial sites per year. At the same time, “deeptech” startups in the fields of health and “greentech” (environmental technology in French) will benefit from multiple synergies through the Climate Plan and La French Care, the movement of health actors.
In addition, faced with the growing shortage of skilled labor in the sector, the European Union (EU) intends to train 1 million Europeans in “deeptech” by 2025. In any case, this is what unveiled the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) in October 2022. The Deep Tech Talent Initiative was launched for this purpose, the aim being to make the EU a true center of excellence in innovation and technology. Thus, European citizens who join the program will be able to benefit from training in all cutting-edge and disruptive technologies: from “blockchain” to quantum computing and robotics.
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