VivaTech 2017: Startups to Showcase New AI-based Solutions Built with IBM Watson

PARIS, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) is introducing several innovative partner startups at VivaTech 2017, the international tech event dedicated to developing collaboration between startups and global businesses, taking place in Paris on June 15-17. During the event, nine startups will showcase the solutions they have built with IBM Watson to deliver value in various industries.

France is one of the most dynamic countries in the international market, with a 30 percent increase in the number of startups created between 2012 and 2015*, and the second largest startup funding in Europe in 2016, amounting up to EUR2.2 billion**, boosted by the French Tech initiative.

IBM has introduced several initiatives in France to help business partners enable their technologies and capture business opportunities with Watson services:

- Since 2016, the IBM Bluemix Garage, established in the European Business Innovation Center of Nice Metropole, has helped dozens of clients, startups and enterprises each month accelerate the development and design of next-generation apps using the IBM Cloud, like Advansolar, a green tech startup, who quickly introduced a new electric bicycle rental service to his customers leveraging Watson IoT services and others from the Bluemix catalog.

- More recently, at the beginning of 2017, IBM announced the creation of Scale Zone, a dedicated area at IBM France headquarters near Paris where IBM experts work with startups to help them industrialize and deploy their most innovative projects. Eleven startups are currently participating in the first wave of Scale Zone, focused on Internet of Things (IoT) projects.

"IBM is leading in the cognitive era, empowering industries and businesses to achieve long-term value outcomes, and we are working with a strong ecosystem of startups and developers who are critical for driving the next era of innovation. The startups present at VivaTech will showcase Watson-based solutions that improve the lives of citizens and professionals globally, seizing the power of Watson and Cloud technologies to improve the way the world works," said David Kenny, SVP, IBM Watson & Cloud Platform, who will be hosting a fireside chat on the impact of AI on the future of business at VivaTech 2017.

Among IBM partners, the following startups will showcase their Watson-based applications:

    --  Skiply specializes in real-time client satisfaction measurement through
        buttons, SMS and web interfaces. Skiply's "Smilio" connected sensors
        gather real-time customers feedback on their user experience: when they
        are using points of sale, when they leave a restaurant, when they are on
        the bus or in parking lots. The data is then analyzed in real-time with
        visualization tool such as Watson Analytics, and with Watson APIs such
        as Language Translator, Natural Language Classifier and Natural Language
        Understanding. Skiply gives its customers clear and real-time feedback
        on quality of service, and triggers appropriate actions when necessary.
        Skiply, created in 2015, designs and assembles its products in France.
        Skiply has customers in various industries such as banking, retail,
        restaurants, airports and facility management.
    --  Myxyty is a 10-year old French startup engaged in developing smart home
        connected solutions. IBM and Myxyty have created MyxyPod and Myxy Voice,
        two smart home voice assistants which use Watson's Natural Language
        Processing abilities, as well as the Speech to Text, Natural Language
        Understanding and Conversation APIs, combined with the highest data
        security levels.
    --  Pop&link, a startup based in France and in the USA, has developed a
        worldwide patented technology that enables users to connect background
        physical objects to create new digital spaces and services. It provides
        the right information at the right place and the right time seamlessly
        for the end-users through a simple tap of their smartphone. Pop&link
        solutions offer a new experience between the physical and the digital
        world to help create more engagement and new revenue sources. This
        technology is based on Watson Conversation, Language Translator, Natural
        Language Understanding and Personality Insights.
    --  Hoomano, a pioneer in social robotics, develops software that enables
        real-world interaction between robots and humans. With activities in
        France and Japan, Hoomano enhances social robots with artificial
        intelligence so that public and robots can interact instinctively
        arousing emotion.
    --  Natural Talk, based in the Paris area and founded in 2016, specializes
        in artificial intelligence solutions based on cognitive matching. Used
        in client relationship centers, Natural Talk enables better
        understanding of customers' personalities and emotions, allowing
        businesses to find the agent that will best fit the customers'
        disposition and the engagement situation. Natural Talk's solutions are
        based on various Watson APIs such as Personality Insights, Natural
        Language Understanding, Tone Analyzer, Document conversion, Twitter
        Insight, and Natural Language Classifier.
    --  Victor and Charles has developed an artificial intelligence technology
        for hotel employees that provides real-time customer insights based on
        public data that can be used to personalize their clients' experiences.
        Victor and Charles technology is based on a number of Watson APIs such
        as Personality Insights, Natural Language Understanding, Tone Analyzer,
        Document Conversion, Natural Language Classifier and IBM Insights for
        Twitter. The company was established in 2014 and is based in Paris.
    --  Intesens, located near Toulouse, deploys connected maintenance solutions
        for industrial applications. Their solutions are based on a cloud
        solution reporting the states and events of the physical industrial
        assets, using a connected and autonomous sensor and a wireless
        connection with an IoT network.
    --  MediaWen designs secure and modular on-line solutions for multilingual
        video and audio content processing. Mediawen technology includes Watson
        APIs such as Speech To Text, Language Translator, Text To Speech and
        Conversation to allow captioning, subtitling, dubbing in synthesized
        voice and broadcast through web, mobile and television. Based in Paris,
        the company was founded in 2014.
    --  Umanlife, established in 2012, has developed an app dedicated to health
        and wellness improvement. Part of their technology are built with Watson
        Conversation, Speech to Text and Weather integration APIs. It aims to
        influence healthy behaviors by tailoring the user's personal and
        relevant recommendations.

About IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing

Watson represents a new era in computing called cognitive computing, where systems understand the world in a way more similar to humans: through senses, learning, and experience. Watson continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. With the help of Watson, organizations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges.

As part of IBM's strategy to accelerate the growth of cognitive computing, Watson is open to the world, allowing a growing community of developers, students, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts to easily tap into the most advanced and diverse cognitive computing platform available today. Watson solutions are being built, used and deployed in more than 45 countries and across 20 different industries.

For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/Watson. Join the conversation at #ibmwatson.

About Viva Technology

Viva Technology Paris, is an international event organized by Publicis Groupe and Les Echos Groupe. It is dedicated to the growth of startups in the areas of digital transformation and innovation. The event connects startups and large companies under one roof, to showcase the latest innovations and help develop the networks of attendees.

For more information, please visit www.vivatechnologyparis.com and @VivaTech

*Rapport d'activité 2015-2016 de l'Agence du Numérique (The 2015-2016 annual report of the French Digital Agency)
**Baromètre EY du capital risque en France - Bilan annuel 2016 (EY Barometer on capital-risk in France - 2016 annual report)

IBM External Relations Contact

Gaelle Dussutour, IBM
+33 1 58 75 17 96
Dusga@fr.ibm.com

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SOURCE IBM