Sorbonne Université Selects 5 R&D Companies for Its Cité de l’Innovation
PARIS, Feb. 20, 2025 -- Sorbonne Université has selected Biomemory, HyVibe, Qubit Pharmaceuticals, Tortoise, and Welinq as the first research and development companies to join the Cité de l'Innovation de Sorbonne Université. Set to open in early 2026, this facility in France will foster collaboration between academic research and industry.
Credit: Sorbonne Université
The Cité de l'Innovation de Sorbonne Université will be an incubator, a business center and a demonstrator. Sorbonne Université is the first university to offer a 15,000 m2 space on one of its campuses bringing together research, entrepreneurship and the student community.
The selection committee has chosen the first five companies to set up in the business center of the Cité de l'Innovation de Sorbonne Université. The center is intended to accommodate R&D companies that work closely with Sorbonne Université and have already succeeded in securing initial rounds of funding for their projects.
The selected companies have been active in their fields for an average of six years: molecular computing, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and quantum physics, innovative solutions in acoustics, analysis of mechanical failures. These start-ups, whose technologies originate from the university laboratories, have all presented, in their application and then during their hearing, a project of scientific cooperation and development of their relations with the student community of Sorbonne Université. Other companies are expected to join the business centre in the near future.
Learn more about these five winners here.
The Cité de l'Innovation de Sorbonne Université will provide dedicated spaces for research and development companies founded within or in collaboration with Sorbonne Université laboratories, fostering a direct connection between academic research and industry. As the first university to establish an innovation hub of this scale within its education and research campus, Sorbonne Université is creating a model for integration between academia and business.
The facility will enhance collaboration, with laboratories benefiting from closer ties to the companies they helped create through research chairs and contracts. Students will also gain valuable opportunities through the Pépite cluster, which will be based at the site, along with access to internships, job offers, and entrepreneurial support.
"We wanted a place where fundamental research and innovation meet and mutually enrich each other," commented Nathalie Drach-Temam, President of Sorbonne Université. "A space where new ideas take shape and where fledgling companies flourish within an unprecedented collaborative ecosystem. Start-ups from Sorbonne Université research laboratories have raised an impressive €1.5 billion over the past ten years. This success testifies to the effectiveness of our unique innovation ecosystem. A comprehensive ecosystem covering activities ranging from the pre-maturation phase to the creation and support of start-ups, which will now be visible within the Cité de l'Innovation de Sorbonne Université."
Learn more about the Cité de l'Innovation de Sorbonne Université here.
Source: Qubit Pharmaceuticals
