PARIS, France: VivaTech 2025 is heating up with a surge of groundbreaking ideas, as 30 visionary startups have been shortlisted for the prestigious Innovation of the Year Award. Known for spotlighting bold creators and future-focused thinkers, this award isn’t just about buzz, it’s about game-changing potential backed by real technology, creativity, and scale.
This year’s selection spans the globe, from Nigeria to Switzerland, Taiwan to Canada, highlighting a diverse range of pioneers redefining what’s possible in industries like healthcare, energy, artificial intelligence, and space tech.
The judging panel had no easy task. Startups were assessed on their level of innovation, disruption to existing markets, and scalability. Among the highlights? Romania’s .lumen, which has turned smart glasses into AI-powered guide dogs. There’s also snap DISCOVERY from Germany, making waves with brain-computer interface (BCI) tech that reads neural activity to control devices.
Healthcare featured heavily on the list, with France’s Oncoelectronics and NeuralTeks developing tools to fight cancer and other neurological conditions. Over in Taiwan, Anivance AI is pushing health AI to new frontiers. Meanwhile, Blue Skies Minerals from Canada is tackling environmental waste by transforming mining by-products into carbon sinks.
The final five startups will pitch live on June 11 in front of an elite panel of investors, tech giants, and press. The winner will be revealed on June 12 at the VivaTech Global Awards Ceremony. Along with the title, the winner scores a pitch slot at the event, a free Startup Corner at VivaTech 2026, and a highly coveted place in the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200.
“This isn’t just about good ideas,” said a VivaTech spokesperson. “It’s about the courage and execution behind those ideas — the kind of stuff that can rewrite how industries work.”
France dominated the shortlist with entries like Phigi, LumiSync, Kumulus, and La Touche Musicale, touching on everything from telecoms to culture-tech. But global entries were equally compelling. Nigeria’s Zeeh Africa stood out in the finance and legal tech space, while Italy’s InSimili and Spain’s Onkos Molecular Diagnostics offered promising med-tech solutions.
Energy startups also stood tall, Switzerland’s Enerdrape SA, France’s Stellaria, and the UK’s Werover are working on cleaner, smarter ways to power the planet. Whether it’s space-ready microrobot swarms or AI-powered safety analytics, this top 30 represents the bleeding edge of innovation.
What tied these startups together was boldness. These teams aren’t tiptoeing into the future , they’re charging at it full force. With technologies that challenge the limits of biology, mechanics, and design, this year’s Innovation of the Year contenders are more than startups. They’re signals of what’s next.
Here are the VivaTech 2025 Innovation of the Year Award top 30 startups, as chosen by VivaTech in partnership with TechCrunch:
- Chipiron: France, health
- Virtuosis AI: Switzerland, information technologies
- Enerdrape SA: Switzerland, energy
- snap DISCOVERY: Germany, deep tech, BCI
- NunoX Technologies: Taiwan, software development/cloud services
- Phigi: France, industry
- Noxon: Germany, health
- .lumen: Romania, mobility/transportation
- HUA TEC International: Taiwan, health
- Video Analytics for Safety: Singapore, information technologies
- Geolinks Services: France, energy
- Moonlite Labs: Canada, media/entertainment/culture
- Stellaria: France, energy
- Mendo: France, software development/cloud services
- NeuralTeks: France, health
- Vita325: Ukraine, health
- Blue Skies Minerals GmbH: Canada, industry
- Anivance AI: Taiwan, health
- La Touche Musicale: France, media/entertainment/culture
- InSimili: Italy, health
- Nellow: France, information technologies
- Oncoelectronics: France, health
- Zeeh Africa: Nigeria, banking/finance/insurance/legal
- LumiSync: France, telecom/connectivity
- Onkos Molecular Diagnostics: Spain, health
- Wisp Solutions: France, mobility/transportation
- Werover: United Kingdom, energy
- BeyondMath: United Kingdom, information technologies
- Kumulus: France, industry
- FireTracking: New Caledonia, software development/cloud services
If you’re in Paris this July, make sure your VivaTech pass is booked. You won’t want to miss the future being built in real time.
