Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the study of how to make computers do

things at which, at the moment, people are better1.»After the almost utopian euphoria of the 60s and 70s, and the dashed hopes of the 80s that saw the symbolic approach lose ground, AI managed to rise up from the ashes in that same period, through a connectionist

approach that witnessed the advent of multi-agent systems, content addressable memories, and high-performance artificial neural networks (Anns). Sixty years of research and major advances have made AI a powerful vector for transforming the world, and today it is turning all human activities, the enterprise, and economic models upside down. Oscar Wilde considered progress to be the realization of utopias. It is ultimately this approach that best suits the current developments in artificial intelligence, which promises the greatest of innovations.

Machine Learning Having emerged at the start of the 50s, neural networks form the founding element of automated learning. Thanks to them, a program is now capable of «learning» and improving its responses through experience. It is this capacity to learn (supervized or unsupervized), transferred to a machine, that is revolutionizing digital practices and making AI a success. In fact, advances in AI affect all human activities, from industry to services, from healthcare to teaching, from agriculture to transport, from security to defence. Today, no area of expertise can claim specificities that would make it incompatible with the functional capabilities of AI.

Together with the increase in computational powers (Moore’s law), AI constitutes the main driver of the digital revolution, the primary challenge facing enterprises. It is experiencing a race for innovation on the part of the major players in the field. Whether they be private or public, these players have fully appreciated the «strategic» nature of AI’s development, and so are trying to impose their standards by making available platforms of «Opensource» algorithmic bricks. In general terms, AI enables you to make relevant use of the

megadata (Big Data) coming from sensors and connected objects and all the data produced on the internet and the social networks. Machine learning thus shows itself to be highly effective in numerous tasks: signal processing, process management, robotics, classification, data preprocessing, pattern recognition, image analysis and speech synthesis, cybersecurity, diagnoses and medical monitoring, stock markets and forecasting, loan and mortgage applications, recruitment and the automatic analysis of cvs...

european know-how and a hyperactive French techIn AI, the American GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) giants occupy a dominant position. This leadership should not, however, mask strong European potential and French excellence, both of which are regularly acknowledged internationally. By choosing to set up its GRE research group dedicated to Machine Learning in Zurich, and by entrusting its management to the Frenchman, Emmanuel Mogenet, Google is entirely banking on European excellence. Its London subsidiary, Google Deep Mind, a global flagship in AI, has enjoyed a string of innovation successes, notably with the AlphaGo victories against the world champion, Lee Sedol. Facebook has set up its three «Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR)» laboratories in Paris, managed by the Frenchman yann Le Cun, considered to be one of the world’s leading specialists in Deep Learning.

As the «strategic» setting-up of these operations continues, it is tracing a European AI axis that bears witness to the GAFAM companies’ interest in European know-how. Europe, and especially France, are showing real dynamism when it comes to creating startups focused on Artificial Intelligence. numerous engineering and doctorate students work on an individual project involving AI whilst they pursue their studies, then turn their project into reality by creating a startup supported by the engineering school’s incubator. This way of proceeding (which has shown itself to be successful) allows the company to receive effective support and be steadied during the first months of its existence. Without claiming to be exhaustive, the following table sets out a list of fifteen French startups that have bet on Artificial Intelligence.

It can be noted that several startups in this list have won prizes for innovation in 2015 and 2016. Supported by academic incubators (ParisTech Entrepreneurs, X-uP, the

erIc cOhen

ArtificiAl intelligence or the reAlizAtion

of utopiAs1 Elaine Rich et Kevin Knight – Artificial Intelligence - McGraw-Hill

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French startups*

aLKeMIcs Product Data - Alkemics connects brands and retailers through smarter data to better serve omni-channel shoppers.

BLue FrOGs rOBOtIcs Robotics - Blue Frog Robotics is developing the Buddy robot companion for family use.

carDIOLOGs technOLOGIes Medicine - CardioLogs uses AI to support cardiology, improve and speed up the management of cardiac pathologies. Analyzer of electrocardiograms. ECG interpretation aid.

craFt.aI IOT – Connected Objects Craft is developing "as a service" AI applied to the IOT.

eLuM enerGY AI supporting the smart management of photovoltaic energy.

JuLIe DesK Smart Assistant - Julie Desk offers a virtual assistant that manages appointments through emails.

KhresterIOn Medicine – medical diagnosis support, decision-making support. AI and Big Data.

scOrteX IOT – Connected Objects Scortex wants to give machines intelligence.

sMart Me up Facial recognition in real time - Image recognition.

snIps TrTransport & smart Assistant on smartphones - Snips seeks to integrate AI into theenvironment by making it "transparent".

ArtificiAl intelligence or the reAlizAtion of utopiAs

erIc cOhenFOunDER, PRESIDEnT & CEO OF KEyRuS

accelerator of the École polytechnique, ...), these startups are today showing great dynamism that is likely to inspire the various players in the digital economy and political decision-makers. The major French industrial groups must play their part too, by accepting risk and acquiring these startups when they are put up for sale, so as to prevent concentrations of technological excellence from slipping away. France will not miss the Artificial Intelligence boat. It has no other choice but to support this ecosystem by creating an environment favouring digital innovation. To do this, it has at its disposal a pool of universally recognized skills and areas of expertise that should promote the successful transformation of its enterprises and, therefore, of the French economy!

*non-exhaustive list of French startups prepared by the Keyrus Group’s Scientific & Innovation Department

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