Paris, January 23. GICAT (Groupement des industries françaises de Défense et de Sécurité terrestres et aéroterrestres) and the CEA have signed a partnership agreement designed to increase the complementarity and synergies between the CEA's "Magellan" business start-up support program and GICAT's "GENERATE" innovation label and gas pedal.
In an increasingly complex and uncertain environment, where concerns about sovereignty are growing all the time, the development of cutting-edge technologies is essential in the fields of national defense and security. Through this partnership, CEA and GICAT intend to promote French technological and industrial excellence, while consolidating and strengthening the ability to bring research-based technologies to market.
The partnership between GICAT and CEA is a long-term one, with three objectives:
- Exchange information on promising technologies and start-ups;
- Organizing joint events;
- Sharing practices and initiatives to support companies, for example through GENERATE panels or GENERATE's involvement in the CEA's Magellan program.
On this occasion, the stakeholders declared:
" Markets in the defense and security industries are often unfamiliar and difficult for our start-ups to access, even though many of them have a major bearing on sovereignty. This partnership with GICAT GENERATE is essential to complement our own support systems and help them better meet the needs of the sector's manufacturers. "says Laurence Petit, Director of Innovation, Start-ups and Shareholdings at CEA.
" Cutting-edge technology from French research is at the root of the creation of start-ups built around highly qualified, close-knit teams. Defense and security are highly technical fields that require disruptive technologies. This dimensional link-up with the CEA's Magellan program is central to integrating diversified "by design" sovereign technologies into the defense and security sectors. " - says Hubert RAYMOND, head of innovation and GICAT's GENERATE program. Present at the partnership signing were start-ups SNOWPACK (specializing in the cyber sector, admitted to the GENERATE 15 jury), and STEERLIGHT (specializing in the new-generation Lidar sector, admitted to the GENERATE 17 jury), illustrating the natural cooperation between GICAT and GICAT in highlighting and supporting promising young nuggets in the innovation ecosystem.
About CEA's Magellan program
The Magellan program supports all CEA employees with a project to set up a business based on CEA technologies, from the start-up idea through to creation, over a period of 2 to 3 years. Launched in 2020, the program, which is extremely comprehensive and qualitative, aims to strengthen and accelerate the CEA's entrepreneurial dynamic. In 2023, the Magellan program led to the creation of 10 new start-ups, twice as many as in previous years.
About GENERATE
The GENERATE innovation label and start-up gas pedal was launched in 2017. Its purpose is to select and support for 3 years young innovative French players who wish to penetrate the Defense and Security markets, and bring their technological building blocks to armed forces and homeland security services. This program offers start-ups personalized support, and propels them into the industrial environment, offering them essential support for their insertion, and significant visibility.
Press contact GICAT Generate : Delphine SAMPIC: delphine.sampic@gicat.fr Boris Le NGOC: boris.lengoc@cea.fr
