VivaTech 2025: Where AI Took Center Stage – But Is It Too Much?

Bienvenue a Paris. We're at VivaTech, Europe's largest tech event. And guess what? AI was everywhere. But it comes as no surprise, as we've seen many events where booths have AI written on them, all to catch the eye of those walking past and start a discussion on the technology that's on everyone's minds. The trend is dominating all technology industries. Artificial intelligence was the centerpiece of many solutions at VivaTech. From booking meetings and automating outreach to speeding up internal workflows with private or specialized LLM. One notable example was at the booth of SNCF, France's main railway operator. According to its director of transports, the company has deployed an internal LLM designed to help employees boost productivity while maintaining confidentiality. This project is quite recent and only 10% of staff uses the LLM. The low use translates into just 1 or 3 hours a week saved per employee that uses it. Surprisingly, Estonia, often hailed as a digital government pioneer, presented a counter-narrative. They didn't have any AI or big tech at their booth. Instead, they had bet on exhibiting low tech products, including green materials for construction. Could this be a sign of a future AI backlash? The event was one for big names, with L'Oreal showcasing its AI enabled tools to help customers choose a cream or Meta displaying products like VR headsets or their technology integrated Ray-Bans. Big names, even for the panels with French President Emmanuel Macron or Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang. The vibe at the event was electrifying, and we could see many eye catching solutions like humanoids and industrial robots. But this edition proved that VivaTech is a very B2C focused event, where it's hard to find smart city and utility innovators. Although we did see Meersens, Viziosense Altaroad, Jooxter or Molluscan for instance. VivaTech was impressive in terms of the event floor and big names, but like we've seen lately or better yet, haven't seen, no new striking trends. It was all about AI. In health, beauty, social networks or e-commerce. The potential of AI is incredible, and it's still difficult to put it into words because each week we see something new come out. But with so many companies with AI in their name, or focusing primarily on AI, what happens if there's a backlash or if they oversell it and then don't live up to the expectations? Now, more than ever, it is key for companies to focus on the use case, on the problems they solve and use that as a differentiator. Because I can tell you, from what I've seen at different events and at VivaTech, AI is no longer a differentiator.