Montpellier's PUI Showcases Its Startups at VivaTech 2025
The University Innovation Hub made its debut at the VivaTechnology trade show, known as“Vivatech,”which took place June 11–14, 2025, in Paris. The event provided an opportunity to showcase four startups supported or incubated by the PUI at the Occitanie region.
“The goal of the PUI is to promote collaborative research, technology transfer, and the creation of startups in the Montpellier area. With this in mind, we offer, for example, a support program specifically dedicated to innovative deep-tech projects. So it was obvious to us that we should participate in this trade show,” explains Kate Rivière, head of the University of Montpellier’s incubator, Initium. She was present alongside Philippe Combette, Vice President for Partnerships and Innovation at the University of Montpellier, and the four startups participating in the event: Scanorhize, Terratis, Kervalion, and Ai-Stroke.
Emerging Technologies
Launched in 2016, this trade show has become one of Europe’s largest events dedicated to startups and emerging technologies. “This trade show allows us to stay informed about the latest trends and to engage with key players to understand the challenges they face. Our goal is to bring our technologies out of the lab so they can address specific needs that benefit society,” says Kate Rivière.
Alongside it, four startups—either nurtured or founded within the various structures of the Montpellier University Innovation Hub—took turns manning the booth over the course of the four days. “These companies exemplify the key themes we want to focus on, in line with our motto ‘Nourish, Care, Protect,’ and they’ve reached a certain level of maturity with products or services to showcase,” explains Kate Rivière.
Sterile mosquitoes
On the first day, the startup Terratis provided a detailed overview of its project to release sterile mosquitoes to limit their spread in the region. Incubated at Initium and later at the Montpellier Business Innovation Center (BIC), the company has just moved into a pilot plant that is the only one of its kind in Europe, before rolling out its technology for the first time in two municipalities and a campground.
Observing Soil Life
Born out of a project by SATT AxLR and co-incubated at Initium and Le Bic, the startup Humeos unveiled on the second day the details of a new technology called Scanorhize, which allows users to monitor soil life through buried sensors coupled with an AI-powered software analysis solution. This is a crucial step toward promoting sustainable agriculture…
Dental Implants
On the third day, it was Kervalion’s turn. The company develops technology for manufacturing dental implants using 3D-printed bone grafts. In 2022, 703,420 dental bone graft procedures were performed in major European countries, highlighting substantial demand on the continent, according to Global Data.
Recognizing Strokes
On the fourth day, Ai-Stroke took the stage to present its app capable of detecting the early signs of a stroke. According to the Stroke Alliance for Europe, approximately 1.1 million strokes occur each year in Europe, making it the leading cause of neurological disability.
“The event allowed them to engage in high-quality discussions. Not everyone had the same goal: some were targeting future clients, others were looking for suppliers, product feedback, investors, or institutional support to launch their initiatives,” continues Kate Rivière, who also moderated a roundtable discussion on the role of PUI incubators in the development of these startups. At the same time, the Initium team also established fruitful contacts with the University of São Paulo and Canadian institutions, with whom new collaborative projects could emerge in the coming years. For now, it’s difficult to assess the impact with precision, but the outlook is positive. “We can’t wait to do it again!”
