In June 2025, Paris buzzed with innovation as Viva Technology opened its doors from June 11 to 14 and turned the city into the epicenter of digital progress. More than 165,000 people from over 160 countries gathered as 13,500 startups presented their visionary ideas. High-ranking politicians and global tech leaders discussed how technology is shaping our society. Among them was CISPA, taking part in the French-German Tech Lab and demonstrating how cybersecurity research and entrepreneurial spirit can come together to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty.
European Collaboration Meets Digital Sovereignty
The event brought together major players in tech and policy: CEOs of global technology companies, top-level politicians, and decision-makers from across industries. A highlight was the visit of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who announced in Paris the company’s plan to build 20 "AI factories" in Europe — the first of which will be located in Germany, equipped with more than 10,000 GPUs. The world’s first industrial AI cloud is set to fundamentally reshape European manufacturing.
“In the era of AI, every manufacturer needs two factories: one to produce goods, and one to create the intelligence that powers them,” Huang said on the VivaTech main stage.
QuantPi and CISPA: Building Trustworthy AI in Practice
While NVIDIA outlined its infrastructure plans, CISPA startup QuantPi demonstrated how to put trust into practice at the application level. As a member of NVIDIA’s Inception and Connect programs, QuantPi presented its best-practice testing library for safe and explainable AI models — a tool designed to help companies ensure their AI systems are secure, transparent, and regulatory compliant.
This made one thing clear: while NVIDIA is building the factories of intelligence, CISPA startups like QuantPi are ensuring that this intelligence operates reliably and with trustworthiness at its core.
Europe in Dialogue: The French-German Tech Lab
As part of the French-German Tech Lab (FGTL), CISPA joined forces with partner institutions from Germany and France to highlight the innovative strength of the border region. The aim: to showcase cross-border research, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship — particularly in future-defining areas such as AI, cybersecurity, and digital sustainability. CISPA’s involvement underlined its mission to advance European digital sovereignty through cooperation and technological excellence.
“Founding Trust: CISPA’s Startup Ecosystem” – When Research Leads to Entrepreneurship
A thematic highlight was the panel discussion “Founding Trust: CISPA’s Startup Ecosystem,” featuring founders from CISPA’s startup incubator. Speakers included Dr. Sanam Ghorbani Lyastani (CISPA researcher and Fellow Founder), Raafat Hantoush (Founder & CEO of CyberTide), Tim Walita (COO of Detesia), and Mahesh Chandra Mukkamala (Data Scientist at QuantPi). In a candid discussion, they shared what motivated them to transform research into market-ready cybersecurity solutions and reflected on key challenges — from funding and team building to market adoption. They also emphasized the pivotal role of our StartUpSecure program in supporting their entrepreneurial journey.
Career Paths in Cybersecurity: Where Research Meets Emerging Talent
Once again this year, Viva Technology intentionally opened its doors to the next generation of digital professionals: Students, school pupils, and job seekers had the opportunity to explore cutting-edge technologies and engage directly with leading players in research and innovation. At our booth, visitors discovered just how diverse career paths in cybersecurity research can be — whether as an intern, student assistant, PhD candidate, or postdoc. It became clear that anyone interested in digital security will find not only an international research environment at CISPA, but also targeted support along their individual career journey. Direct interaction with young talent was a valuable part of our presence at the event — and a key contribution to making cybersecurity both tangible and approachable.
Viva Technology as a Reflection of Digital Transformation
Trust, collaboration, and forward thinking — Viva Technology 2025 impressively showcased what matters most in the digital transformation. For CISPA, the event served as a stage, a lab, and a network all in one. We look back on inspiring days in Paris and are already looking forward to Viva Technology 2026.
