This year, we have received over a hundred applications. 80 were reviewed by local pre-selection committees (06, 83, 13, 84) to create a shortlist of 12 nominees, four per category, all competing for the Heart Stroke Award.
The theme of trust was chosen because it motivates entrepreneurs who take risks and build, investors who support demanding trajectories, and a global environment that encourages innovation and growth. In a more selective context where performance must align with sustainability and execution, trust becomes a strategic lever.
Two major trends emerge this year, with a significant evolution in innovation over the past year: significantly fewer startups are being funded today than a year ago. The second trend is that there are slightly fewer new innovative startups in the region compared to previous years, with a strong push towards extremely high levels of innovation.
Yes, partly. But there are also many companies in the healthcare sector, with top-level innovation. They have replaced the sustainable development sector, which is slowing down.
Yes, most of them are long-term projects, a little less visible until now than their counterparts in fast hypergrowth, who have already found their market, but less innovative, more focused on usage or technique: those who are currently struggling, which is why deeptech is gaining more attention, strengthening with researchers capable of coming up with incredible technologies.
We have managed to gather around forty funds, mostly French. Olivier Raybaud, co-founder of Blue Ocean in 2018 (300M€) and who joined SWEN Capital Partners in 2021, one of the largest venture capital managers in the world focusing on ocean protection, was there, a good sign for a region strategically positioning itself in bluetech. Some funds are regular attendees, but many others are new. It is encouraging to see more and more of them coming to our event to scrutinize our ecosystem. To attract them, there must be two constants: they must meet investors and encounter innovations that are part of their DNA. With our Trophies, we combine the two. There was a meeting at the CCI Aix-Marseille-Provence in the morning, dedicated solely to investors, business angels, institutions, funds. It is during these periods when the consequences of the instability observed on a macroeconomic scale are felt that we need to highlight our startups and investors. Our trophies are an opportunity to celebrate all the economic actors in the region, around companies that exemplify good values.
Rise Partners focuses on building strong partnerships to reach other sites. Rise is physically present in the US, near Washington, targeting companies in the South region wishing to address the North American market, with the support of CMA-CGM and Bpifrance.
The team has been strengthened with the arrival of several “seniors” to drive international and investment banking, now coupled with strategy consulting (and investment if appropriate) for startups, to tackle the mergers/acquisitions segment, led by a new partner, Olivier de La Meslière, himself an investor.
The headquarters are still in Sophia Antipolis, with a branch in Aix that has recently been transferred to Marseille, and an office in Paris. The next goal after the US is Europe and Singapore.
