VivaTech 2025: Canada's AI is Open for Business
Canada Makes Historic Impact with Largest Delegation at Europe's Largest Tech Event
PARIS, June 16, 2025 /CNW/ – Following a dynamic four-day showcase of innovation and global collaboration from June 11–14, VivaTech 2025 wrapped up with Canada in the spotlight as Country of the Year. Canada, led by Scale AI, its global innovation cluster in artificial intelligence (AI), brought the largest delegation to VivaTech 2025, with over 600 delegates representing more than 230 organizations from 7 provinces. The country showcased its innovation ecosystem to more than 180,000 participants from 171 countries.
Canada's presence at Europe's leading tech and startup event came at a pivotal moment for international trade cooperation. In the context of ongoing global uncertainty, including trade disruptions, VivaTech took on critical economic significance for Canada's business leaders.
At the heart of the event, the Canada Pavilion showcased hundreds of export-ready companies presenting solutions in artificial intelligence (AI), clean technology, digital health, fintech, cybersecurity, and more. Featured companies included Airudi, CGI, Cohere, Farpoint Technologies, IVADO Labs, Mappedin, Pontosense, Trusting Pixels, Videns, Vooban and ZeroKey.
Political Endorsement Fuels Canada's AI Momentum
Canada's presence at VivaTech 2025 was bolstered by the participation of The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, as well as The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Québec Regions.
Evan Solomon took the stage at VivaTech in front of more than 1,400 participants for his first international conference as Canada's Minister of AI. He reiterated the Canadian government's commitment to making AI a driver of economic growth. Minister Joly emphasized her desire to strengthen ties with European partners to support Canada's innovation and industrialization strategy.
Minister Solomon also welcomed President Emmanuel Macron to the Canada Pavilion, where the French President engaged with leading Canadian innovators, showcasing the country's world-class innovation.
Premier François Legault of Québec also joined the delegation, reflecting a strong provincial commitment to innovation and underscoring the importance of Québec—France collaboration in the tech sector. During the mission, he met with several Québec-based companies exhibiting at VivaTech, spotlighting the province's dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem and Montréal's stature as a global AI capital.
They were accompanied by Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation for British Columbia; Rick Glumac, Minister of State for Trade for British Columbia; and The Honourable Steve Crocker, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology and Minister Responsible for Trade Opportunities for Newfoundland and Labrador.
A Showcase of Canadian Talent and Technology
Canada's thought leaders were also front and centre on VivaTech's main stages, presenting to thousands of international leaders. Notably, Martin Kon, President of Cohere, and Sasha Luccioni, AI Climate Lead at Hugging Face, represented Canada's unique strengths in ethical, applied, and environmentally responsible AI.
The Canada Pavilion was also a platform for several exclusive announcements that reinforced Canada's role as a global AI leader, including:
Montréal's Hypertec announced a $5 B+ initiative to build one of Europe's largest sovereign AI infrastructure networks, with over 2 GW of data centre capacity and nearly 100,000 GPUs planned. Backed by partners 5C Group and Together AI, this move includes major projects across France, Italy, Portugal, and the UK, while also investing $250M+ in Québec to build next-gen server facilities and R&D centres that will power the future of sustainable AI and create over 100 specialized jobs in high-impact AI-related fields.
Led by Université de Moncton and French tech firm Dassault Systèmes, a $500,000+ innovative digital twin project was announced, focusing on housing, urban densification in Dieppe and Moncton, and a wildlife corridor in southeastern New Brunswick.
RegenEAU and La Ciec, an ENGIE Solutions company, unveiled a groundbreaking project in energy efficiency: recovering heat from residential wastewater to warm clean water or power thermal grids, with France's first demonstrator set to launch in Paris in 2025.
Designed to showcase Canada's AI, the pavilion attracted thousands of visitors over four days. Numerous foreign delegations, including those from the European Union, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, sought out Canada's leaders and companies to explore investment, joint research, and business opportunities.
Canada's mission at VivaTech was supported by over 70 partner organizations, including Alberta Innovates, Global Affairs Canada, Mila – Québec AI institute, IVADO Labs, and Québec Tech—reflecting Canada's collaborative, cross-sector approach to innovation.
Building on the momentum from VivaTech, Canada's AI ecosystem will regroup this fall in Montréal at ALL IN, Canada's largest AI event, taking place September 24–25, 2025. It will be a prime opportunity to continue the conversation with international partners and welcome global tech leaders on Canadian soil.
Quotes
'Our government's strategic framework is to scale our AI industry by championing our innovation leaders, to drive AI adoption rates to spur economic growth, to ensure that Canadians have trust in the responsible use of AI, and to build a more secure digital Canada with sovereign data centres and secure cloud. On my first international visit, I focused my efforts on championing our Canadian ecosystem to drive companies into new international markets. By engaging with trusted partners, we will create value out of shared values.' — The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
'Canada's engagement as Country of the Year at VivaTech was about showing the world what we're made of. With Scale AI by our side, we're backing our startups, building global partnerships, and proving that Canadian innovation can lead – and win – on the world stage.' — The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Québec Regions
'Québec has everything it needs to succeed on the international stage, and these agreements show that our businesses are ready to make their mark across Europe, particularly in strategic sectors like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, energy efficiency, and digital infrastructure. We'll keep supporting them as they expand into new markets.' — François Legault, Premier of Québec
'VivaTech is a great opportunity to highlight the strength of British Columbia's tech sector on a global stage and foster new connections that will help our knowledge economy grow. In partnership with Scale AI, our Canadian delegation proudly showcased our tech leadership—proving why we were named Country of the Year. The world is quickly realizing that B.C.'s growing talent pool of 200,000 technology innovators, our research prowess, and our more than 11,000 tech companies have the expertise and solutions to help solve today's complex global problems.' — Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, British Columbia
'Newfoundland and Labrador was pleased to participate in VivaTech 2025 as it offered a timely and valuable platform to pursue partnerships, investment opportunities and new markets in Europe for our growing technology sector. Our province is strategically located between Europe and the rest of North America, thereby offering an attractive base for doing business in Europe.' — The Honourable Steve Crocker, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, and Minister Responsible for Trade Opportunities, Newfoundland and Labrador
'Building bridges between France and Canada is about more than business—it's about uniting two ecosystems that share a common vision of innovation. Together, we can accelerate discovery, strengthen economic resilience, and shape a more sustainable future.'— Hélène Desmarais, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors, SCALE AI
'VivaTech was an exceptional platform to showcase the strength of Canada's artificial intelligence ecosystem, and we are proud that Scale AI was able to lead this unprecedented delegation. Together, we put startups in the spotlight, fostered business exchanges and built bridges with international innovation leaders. Our presence in Paris illustrates the momentum of AI in Canada. We have a strategic role to play on the world stage.' — Julien Billot, CEO, Scale AI
'Canada's participation in VivaTech 2025 has positioned our AI ecosystem where it deserves to be: at the heart of global conversations. By leading the largest delegation, we have not only demonstrated the richness and diversity of our expertise, but also multiplied opportunities for collaboration, investment and visibility for our companies, startups, research institutes and support organizations. The visibility we gained here in Paris marks a historic moment for the future of our ecosystem.' — Isabelle Turcotte, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice-President Ecosystem Relations, Scale AI, and Head of the Canadian Delegation at VivaTech 2025
About Scale AIAs Canada's AI Global Innovation Cluster, Scale AI acts as an investment and innovation hub that accelerates the rapid adoption and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and contributes to developing a world-class Canadian AI ecosystem. Based in Montréal and funded by the federal government and the Québec government, Scale AI works with more than 500 industry partners, research institutes, and other players in the field of AI. The organization develops programs to support investments in companies that implement real-world applications of AI and encourage the emergence of future Canadian flagships in the sector, all while facilitating the development of a highly skilled workforce. SCALE AI is also behind the ALL IN event, the largest AI event in Canada. More information is available at www.scaleai.ca.
About VivaTechVivaTech accelerates innovation by connecting startups, tech leaders, major companies, and investors responding to our world's biggest challenges. Each year, over four exciting days in Paris, VivaTech creates Europe's biggest startup and tech event, exploring the most disruptive topics in tech with world-premiere demos, launches, and conferences in a collaborative ecosystem. For more information, please visit https://vivatechnology.com/media.
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