Launch of the "IA Montpellier Méditerranée" association – A new major player in the artificial intelligence landscape

[Press release] - Published on September 18, 2025 in Press Room, Major Programs

On Thursday, September 25, six founding members joined forces to create the "IA Montpellier Méditerranée" association and pursue a bold ambition in artificial intelligence for Montpellier and Occitanie. Announced last February at the IA Connect conference, this ambition is rooted both in the mathematical and computer science foundations of artificial intelligence, but also as a tool that is now indispensable in the fields of life sciences and the environment. The six founding members are: the Occitanie Region, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, the University of Montpellier, Montpellier University Hospital, Digital 113, and French Tech Méditerranée.

Earlier that same day, the University of Montpellier will bring together the academic community and its partners for a day dedicated to the theme "AI and health – global health in the age of AI" to explore advances, challenges, experimental frameworks, and concrete solutions in training, research, and innovation. The program (registration required) includes an opening ceremony with official speeches, followed by several conferences and round tables throughout the day. A conference open to the general public will be held at 5:30 p.m., followed by the official launch of the AI Montpellier Méditerranée association at 6:30 p.m.

Significant strengths in Montpellier and exemplary alignment of players

The Montpellier site is characterized by a strong commitment to the digital sector and interfaces with living organisms, health, and the environment. With its startups, companies, universities, and research organizations, Montpellier is also home to the MEDVALLE initiative, which is closely aligned with the University of Montpellier's "Feed, Care for, Protect" projects.

Montpellier is recognized for its many achievements in research and innovation through its international rankings, whether for its university (ranked among the top 200 universities in the world in the Shanghai ranking, first place among French institutions in the THE Impact Ranking, first place in France in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) ranking for "health and well-being") or for its BIC incubator (a pioneer among technology incubators in France and Europe, ranked since 2014 in the top five of the world's best public incubators in the UBI Global ranking). Montpellier University Hospital is a pioneer in transformation through generative AI. Like the Occitanie region, which has recognized the challenge posed by AI by adopting a €60 million plan for the period 2024-2028 to structure a responsible and reliable "AI Occitanie" sector, local authorities are investing heavily in the digital and artificial intelligence sectors.

For years, stakeholders have been working in a recognized manner, supported by government agencies, notably the DREETS, which assists in structuring strategic sectors and supports innovation and skills development at the regional level.

The alignment of stakeholders is reflected in the composition of the association's board, with Anne Laurent (University of Montpellier) as President, David Morquin (Montpellier University Hospital) as Vice-President, Arnault Ioualalen (French Tech Méditerranée) as Treasurer, Françoise Nauton-Inglis (Digital 113) as Assistant Treasurer, Manu Reynaud (Métropole) as Secretary, and Marc Sztulman (Occitanie Region) as Assistant Secretary.

An ambition and a roadmap

The association aims to promote ethical, sovereign, and responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects.

It works on behalf of all stakeholders at the site to: Promote AI Research development projects, Develop initiatives related to education, training, and awareness of AI, particularly the link between science and society, promoting the AI community and its events through the Halles de l'IA, promoting collaboration in AI, instilling and disseminating a culture of ethics and regulation in AI, and supporting calls for projects from one or more of its members.

To achieve this ambition, the association is committed to continuing and expanding its efforts to coordinate stakeholders in order to promote the pooling of expertise around calls for projects and support for responses, and to contribute to outreach to expert and non-expert audiences. The association already supports flagship projects led by stakeholders on the site: AI Marketplace, tools for compliance with European AI regulations and AI testing (AICET, sandbox, etc.).

A call for participation in actions and membership

All stakeholders are called upon to contribute to the strong momentum in Montpellier: contributing to collective projects, contributing to specific working groups (e.g., for sharing information on AI project calls), participating in AI Hall events, certifying events, etc.

Membership is open to legal entities (research institutions, companies, associations, etc.). A reduced rate (50%) applies in several cases. Membership applications are subject to approval by the association's board.