Viva Technology, the worldwide rendezvous for game changers will take place from June 15th to June 17th 2017.
With more than 250 sessions, panels, keynotes and fireside chats, we are pleased to unveil the ten top highlights from the jam-packed programme of events!
The schedule has been carefully selected to resonate what’s hot in the tech scene right now: AI, robotics, civictech, cybersecurity, education, energy, entertainment, fintech, food and agriculture, health and well-being, hospitality, HR and talent, industry, lifestyle, luxury, communication, media, mobility, retail and ecommerce, smart cities, telcomms and big data – to name a few!
Below are our top picks from this year’s themes!
1/ China at the forefront
As China surges forward as a digital superpower in today’s dominated tech space, it’s imperative that they can share their unique perspective and insights on a global platform. Which is why Viva Tech have invited China’s biggest players to prove how and why China is making great strides. Yang Yuanqing, CEO of the hardware titan Lenovo, will discuss their strategy for success, while Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba, billed as one of this year’s main stage highlights will be sharing secrets from inside Alibaba, and Tencent will be explaining how and why WeChat is taking over the world.
2/ ‘AI and data everywhere’
Artificial Intelligence has become the newest and most exciting horizon for the application of big data. But can it live up to its promise to better predict the future and disrupt all sectors? And what of the ethical challenges that it will inevitably create? Hot on the agenda include topics covering both the macro and micro levels of the debate – from discussions around the important interventions being put in place by the likes of Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Alphabet and of David Kenny, SVP IBM Watson & IBM Cloud to ensure the world’s safety and security, to exclusive analyses by McKinsey, and insights from the many startups working on AI applications (in the fields of cybersecurity, sports, healthcare and many more).
3/ What’s next for Fintech?
Beyond the hype, we ask what the respective role of banks, neo-banks and fintech will be in the coming years. As such, Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, CEO of BNP Paribas will provide his expert opinion, and in association with the Paris Fintech Forum, 11 dedicated sessions will cover the different sectors of finance: insurtech, P2P models, wealth management and many others.
4/ Will robots take our jobs?
Workplacces around the world are now facing the same future-proofing dilemma – from major companies to small start-ups, everyone has become torn between automating jobs and attracting the best talent, leaving the outlook for human employment in constant fluctuation, especially for younger generations.
By showcasing how robots connect emotionally with humans, Hanson Robotics will seek to provide at least some of the initial answers, and probably more than a few more questions along the way.
5/ Virtual, augmented: towards a different reality?
VR is on the verge of becoming a mass market product and its applications are more and more widespread, not only in media and entertainment but also in HR and industry. Thanks to our partnership with Laval Virtual we will be showcasing some of the most cutting edge developments in VR and AR. We also have Ambarish Mitra, Unicorn-Founder and CEO of Blippar, lined up to explain how augmented reality can enhance our world.
6/ Mobility as a service
Autonomous cars, autonomous trucks and clean vehicles – the transportation industry is under enormous pressure to innovate and the jury is still out as to who should take the lead, from automakers, to startups and technology titans. Jacques Aschenbroich, CEO of Valeo and Paul Eremenko, CTO of Airbus, will be joining us to share their insights about the future of mobility.
7/ Media and advertising: the challenge of the truth
Technology’s promise to advance the field of media, marketing and advertising is being challenged: its transparency has been put into question and the lines between fact and fiction have become blurred, while the biggest players in the industry gain more power every day. Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL and Jonah Peretti, CEO of Buzzfeed, will explain how they try to navigate this complicated landscape and how new technologies such as AI, VR and 5G are set to impact their companies.
8/ The Internet of Everything
Everything that can be connected will be connected, which raises new questions surrounding the interoperability of various new systems, ensuring the best level of security for this huge network of smart tech being created and how the masses of data collected should be handled. John Chambers, executive chairman of Cisco will try to tackle these questions and present his vision for this new interconnected world.
9/ Startups: how to accelerate?
More than 30 sessions have been created for this year’s startups joining us at VivaTech to bring their founders and executives the most useful and impactful advice to accelerate the growth of their startups. Among the headliners, John Collison, founder of Stripe will provide his advice. There will also be conferences to address the various stages and aspects of startup life, from fundraising, to talent management and collaboration with large corporations, including a dedicated Accelerator summit which will gather the “creme de la creme” of worldwide accelerators, incubators and venture capitalists.
10 / The ‘next tech’
At VivaTech we pride ourselves on being able to present to the world the newest technologies, including some that people won’t even hear about for the next 5 years. Among the discoveries we hope to uncover, include the possibility of Quantum computing, which is already becoming a reality and is about to disrupt the cybsersecurity world. As well as CRISPR-Cas9 as an open source solution to hack our DNA. Former founder of Braintree, Bryan Johnson will be on hand to walk visitors through the tech of tomorrow and explain how his new start-up Kernel is looking to the next, most advanced interface: the human brain.
About Viva Technology
Viva Technology Paris, an international event co-organised by Publicis Groupe and Groupe Les Echos is dedicated to the growth of startups, digital transformation and innovation. The event allows the startups and large companies to be connected in the same unit of time and place, in order to facilitate meetings, develop collaborations and present the latest innovations.
For more information visit our website www.vivatechnology.com and on Twitter @VivaTech
Press Contact
Michelle Johal: Michelle.johal@mslgroup.com
