First Innovation Center in France

Paris, France – October 8^th , 2015 - The French Minister of Economy, Emmanuel Macron, today opened the new Innovation and Research Center at Cisco headquarters in Paris. The Center will serve as a hub for global open innovation, bringing together start-ups, accelerators, Cisco partners and universities, with the goal of driving Internet of Everything (IoE) innovation and a focus on smart city development.

The opening of the Innovation Center, built in the Paris Innovation and Research Lab (PIRL), follows the “country digitisation” agreement between Cisco and the French government made in February 2015, in which Cisco committed to help accelerate the digital transformation of France through a set of investments in education, start ups, national infrastructure, smart cities and cyber security.

This first Cisco Center for Research and Innovation in France rests on two collaborative pillars: Universities and Research centers, allowing Cisco to strengthen its relationship with the Ecole Polytechnique, and start-up incubators and accelerators such as NUMA.

The Paris Innovation Center will offer a range of environments and technologies, including the ‘Immersive Demo Lab’ – a room equipped with a state of the art immersive TelePresence™ screen as well as an interactive Video wall, from floor to ceiling, allowing business or student groups around the world to collaborate seamlessly on tasks and challenges. It will also include areas for co-innovation between start-ups and a Solution Garage, where entrepreneurs can get their business ideas up and running.

The Paris Innovation Center is one of nine Cisco® Innovation Centers worldwide, including: Perth; Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Songdo, Berlin, Barcelona, Tokyo and London. Cisco Innovation Centers are a place where start-ups, accelerators, developers, researchers, ecosystem partners and the venture community come together to create groundbreaking technology and innovative solutions for IoE.

Robert Vassoyan CEO of Cisco France, said: "This new Center for research and innovation will enable Cisco to successfully carry on its mission with the French government. This unique place in Europe contributes to the excellence of French research and continuous innovation in the field of Internet of Everything and artificial intelligence, thus confirming the attractiveness and the acceleration of France’s digital transformation."

Maciej Kranz, Vice President, Corporate Strategic Innovation Group Cisco, comments: “The opening of the ninth Innovation Center demonstrates our commitment to working with diverse ecosystems around the world. The Center in Paris will provide an extensible platform for French Universities, research community and start-ups to co-innovate, implement their ideas and scale them globally."

Jacques Biot, President of École Polytechnique, adds: “The Cisco Innovation Center is a fantastic resource for French academic institutions such as our own. It promotes the startup ecosystem supported by incubators and accelerators such as X-Tech and X-Up, housed in our new X-Novation entrepreneurship building. In connection with our laboratories and thanks to Cisco’s expertise, this Center will further catalyze and showcase local IoE innovation and development.”

Romain Amblard, Head of Acceleration, NUMA, adds: “We welcome the Cisco Innovation Center, as another proof of Cisco's commitment to French start-ups ecosystem. For 15 years, NUMA strongly believes that innovation is mixing talents, resources, communities and technology. Combined with Cisco’s expertise, this new Center will offer a perfect environment to build the smart cities of tomorrow.”

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Cisco’s Country Digitization Acceleration strategy is focused on long-term partnerships with national leadership, industry and academia to deliver real outcomes faster and more effectively in countries around the world. This global program aims to accelerate the national digitization agenda that a country already has in development to grow GDP, create new jobs and invest in a sustainable innovation ecosystem across public and private sectors. Cisco brings the full breadth of skills, technologies, proven processes, know-how and dedication to accelerate Country Digitization in a meaningful way. Cisco led in the information age by connecting the world, and our sights are now set on leading through the digitization of everything.