Turkish Startups Showcase Innovative Products at VivaTech in Paris
Turkish startups and ventures showcased their latest products and capabilities at Europe’s largest startup and technology event, VivaTech, held in Paris from Wednesday to Saturday last week. The “Invest in Türkiye” booth, set up by the Presidential Investment Office, featured 16 startups under one roof. The Turkish ambassador to Paris, Ali Onaner, highlighted the growing Türkiye-France relations and the opportunity to display his country’s capabilities and opportunities to foreign investors. Sanofi also attended the expo, with three startups participating in its entrepreneurship program, PharmUp, which supports innovative solutions in the healthcare field.
$19 Billion Trade Volume between Türkiye and France
Burak Dağlıoğlu, the head of the Presidential Investment Office, spoke about the economic cooperation between Türkiye and France, and investment opportunities. France became Türkiye’s seventh-largest export and eighth-largest import partner in 2022, with bilateral trade volume reaching $19 billion. Since 2002, direct investment inflows from France to Türkiye have exceeded $8 billion, with around 1,700 French companies operating in the country. Dağlıoğlu emphasized Türkiye’s efforts to invite international investors, especially from France, to the country.
Healthcare Startups Make Their Mark
Three healthcare startups accepted into Sanofi’s entrepreneurship program, PharmUp, left their mark at VivaTech. Hekimanne introduced an application that allows families to track their children’s health data and a garment that measures temperature during a fever. Labenko exhibited a robot that eliminates waiting in blood testing laboratories, while Meddenovo displayed molecular and simulation techniques for drug discovery studies in Türkiye. These healthcare startups attracted attention at Paris VivaTech and provided opportunities to meet potential investors and network with other entrepreneurs in the global market.
Revolutionizing Drug Design
Meddenovo, the Turkish initiative focused on long-term drug design and modeling of biomolecular systems, claims to be among the prominent startups in the world. Founded by Ilke Uğur Marion and Antoine Marion, Meddenovo has conducted scientific research in drug design and biomolecular system modeling for over 10 years. Antoine Marion said the company brings together research groups, companies, and high-level computational chemistry and simulation techniques for new drug discovery. Meddenovo plans to introduce its software that enables drug design with a “single click” and open a branch in France by October this year. The bioAIM software, at the core of Meddenovo, was initially developed to meet the company’s requirements in the field of drug development. The company did not compromise on accuracy and kept the speed low, achieving highly accurate results.
Instantly Measuring Children’s Fever
Hekimanne developed the BabyStar mobile health application and the TempStar wearable thermometer to track health data and measure and monitor body temperature during feverish illnesses. Joining PharmUp allowed the company to see the big picture from an external perspective and fill in the gaps it couldn’t notice, turning toward the global market. Pediatrician Görkem Astarcıoğlu said they want to provide a solution that breathes new life into the healthcare system by enabling individuals to take responsibility for archiving their health data.
Error-Free Blood Sample Collection
The Labenko project features a robot developed to prevent overcrowding in blood testing laboratories. The confusion caused by carrying tubes by hand, chaos in units where multiple queues formed, and unpredictable waiting times were causing stress for patients who had to wait for blood tests with an empty stomach. The KANKA robot, which uses artificial intelligence, eliminates errors in sample collection and increases patient satisfaction.
Syntonym, an artificial intelligence-based solutions startup supported by Türk Telekom’s corporate venture capital company, TT Ventures, also participated in the Paris expo. Turkish startups showcased their innovative products and capabilities at VivaTech, attracting thousands of companies and investors to Paris and highlighting the growing Türkiye-France relations.
