The start-up TheraPanacea wins the 2018 Paris Region AI Challenge first prize

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Publish on 17/01/2020
Launched in January 2018 by the Île-de-France regional authority, on Monday 15 October the 2018 Paris Region AI Challenge revealed the competition's four prize-winning start-ups. The company awarded first prize was TheraPanacea, created by researcher and professor Nikos Paragios, for its AI project applied to the healthcare sector and, more specifically, oncology.

TheraPanacea is a medical technology company created in 2017, originating from Inria and CentraleSupélec research laboratories,  and which lies at the crossroads between research in applied mathematics, statistical learning and high performance scientific computing.

Based in the Île-de-France, this company develops and commercialises a new generation of software for radiation oncology . Used in radiation therapy, its solutions assist with the planning, preparation and execution of treatments with artificial intelligence technologies that enable more effective treatment, a reduction in side effects and increased efficiency of the operations . 

 

First international conference on artificial intelligence

 

In total, 104 start-ups - 30% of which were from abroad - applied for the first international conference on artificial intelligence launched by the Région (regional authority), all thanks to the canvassing work by Paris Region Entreprises, the Région's promotional agency.

At the end of the application process, a jury of 15 people, co-presided by Bertrand Braunschweig, director of the Inria Saclay Île-de-France centre , and made up of the partners and scientists, named the 10 first winning start-ups, including three foreign companies, specialising in the sectors of mobility, industry 4.0 (infrastructures, applications, platforms), healthcare, etc.

Making Île-de-France the first "start-up region" in Europe

The objectives of this exceptional competition are:

  • to position the Île-de-France on the international arena as a key region in the field of AI, in order to demonstrate that the Région is open to international collaborations in this field, and that all the conditions to achieve this are present in Île-de-France
  • to develop and capitalise on a leading regional AI innovation ecosystem
  • to participate in the acceleration of the digital transition of the Île-de-France economy's stakeholders, in particular those from industry

These prize-winners will benefit from three months of support from all of the competition's partners. The foreign companies will also be advised by Paris Region Entreprises on their connection with the innovation ecosystem and on questions regarding setting up their businesses.

The third month of assistance will be an opportunity for the candidates to take the initiative of calling on the partners, mentors and experts mobilised within the framework of the Challenge with regard to issues they deem strategic for making their product and developing their company (technical expertise, recruitment, market, etc.).

In addition to the selection criteria already taken into account for the selection of the 10 companies (business model, consistency of the application with the AI theme, company progress provided by the solution, etc.), the final winners were also marked on the progress made during the mentoring period.