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The IADS attended the 2025 VivaTech conference in Paris to spot interesting startups and key technology trends relevant to the retail sector for our members. This year, the conference welcomed over 14,000 startups, 180,000 attendees and 3,600 investors. Being Europe’s largest start-up and tech event, VivaTech connects startups, technology leaders, large companies and investors.

At VivaTech 2025, Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of the semiconductor company NVIDIA, emphasised the necessity of digital sovereignty for countries and companies alike in his keynote speech. With AI technology driving results and becoming increasingly central to firms’ operations regardless of sector, NVIDIA announced collaborations with beauty conglomerate L’Oréal Group and French startup MistralAI.

Addressing a wide range of tech topics, spanning mobility, retail, defence, climate and finance, among others, startups and established companies provided a comprehensive overview of the key issues in the technology space across sectors. Two takeaways were clear:

-    Every company is looking at enhancing its AI and technology usage as a performance driver in real terms.

-    The significance of technological self-sufficiency was highlighted throughout various talks at the conference.

Digital sovereignty: What does it mean for retail?

Jensen Huang accounted NVIDIA's transformation from a PC-era chip company to an AI industry leader: starting in 1993 during the Windows 3.1 era, the company capitalised on the unique horizontal structure of the PC industry, which separated chip makers from system manufacturers and software developers. This structure, unprecedented in the history of the computer industry, enabled NVIDIA to establish itself as a chip company building sophisticated computing solutions. The company's journey from graphics, physics simulation, to eventually AI highlights the significance of constant innovation and adaptation to fill new gaps. Huang’s leadership philosophy, of setting modest expectations while maintaining rigorous work standards, has enabled NVIDIA’s evolution from gaming graphics to positioning the company at the forefront of the AI revolution.

Huang’s keynote at VivaTech 2025 underscored digital sovereignty as an urgent strategic priority for both nations and businesses in the age of artificial intelligence (i), warning that outsourcing core digital infrastructure risks losing control over economic competitiveness and security. A concept uncommon among big tech companies, yet gaining traction among early-moving startups in the tech sector, digital sovereignty refers to businesses independently controlling and protecting their digital assets according to their own rules. With tighter regulations, such as GDPR, the growing use of AI, and localisation demands, companies must manage their digital assets to comply, avoid penalties, and reduce their reliance on foreign providers. This strengthens resilience against supply chain and political risks, while robust data governance gives businesses a competitive edge as data security becomes a customer priority.

This message resonates powerfully in the retail sector, where the rapid growth of online transactions and the handling of sensitive customer data make comprehensive data management essential. Digital sovereignty is vital as digital transformation accelerates and most transactions move online. Retailers handle large volumes of sensitive data and face frequent cyberattacks. Controlling data storage and processing helps retailers comply with laws, avoid fines, and adapt quickly to market changes. Reducing reliance on external vendors builds trust, loyalty, and a competitive advantage in privacy-conscious markets, making digital sovereignty a strategic necessity for innovation and long-term success. L’Oréal Group’s partnership with NVIDIA, utilising its AI Enterprise platform for the rapid development and deployment of AI, announced at the event, showcases how companies are internalising these processes to maximise impact. L’Oréal-backed startup Noli, an AI beauty matchmaker, also unveiled the AI Refinery, in collaboration with NVIDIA and Accenture, built with NVIDIA AI Enterprise software.

During a separate presentation, Cohere showcased its secure, enterprise-focused AI platform that deploys solutions directly within client environments, prioritising data sovereignty, security, and multilingual support. Cohere’s platform offers flexible usage including Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), on-premises, and air-gapped systems.

IADS note: Recent cyberattacks at major retailers such as Marks & Spencer and the Co-op, and the industry’s ongoing challenges with data accessibility and scaling AI highlight the value of self-sufficient digital infrastructure. For retailers, embracing digital sovereignty not only ensures compliance with evolving regulations but also fosters consumer trust, reduces vulnerability to cyberattacks, and lays the groundwork for innovation and long-term resilience in a fiercely competitive market.

AI hyper-personalisation for online and offline customer experiences

The usage of AI technology for personalisation has been one of the most heralded applications for the retail sector. McKinsey’s Next in Personalisation report found that 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalised interactions, and 76% get frustrated when this expectation is not met (ii). Furthermore, fast-growing companies generate 40% more revenue from personalisation compared to their slower-growing counterparts.

Key retail use cases, many of which are already deployed or being augmented by large retailers, include personalised product recommendations, dynamic pricing and promotions, AI shopping assistants and chatbots, predictive analytics, augmented reality and virtual try-ons, and hyper-localised real-time marketing. As usual at VivaTech, French companies such as LVMH and L’Oréal showcased their latest developments, including

• L’Oréal’s ‘Beauty Genius’ that enabled visitors to experiment with personalised campaigns,
• Lancôme's ‘nano-surfacer’, a beauty device that boosts cosmetic penetration,
• La Roche-Posay’s dermatological suggestion device.

VivaTech 2025 also featured several startups focused on leveraging AI for enhanced online and in-store user experiences. Highly personalised and interactive customer journeys are no longer limited to digital shopping with solutions offering targeted insights irrespective of channel. Most startups utilise advanced technologies, such as machine learning and computer vision, to generate high-quality, hyper-targeted insights.

Here is a selection of interesting startups spotted during our visit:

• Kahoona: The winner of LVMH’s Best Business Prize at its Innovation Awards, Kahoona is a real-time predictive audience segmentation solution for anonymised online visitors.
• JARVIS: Leveraging advanced audio and video analytics software, JARVIS’ GDPR-compliant in-store camera platform delivers real-time insights that can power personalisation strategies for retail by tailoring customer experiences based on nuanced behavioural data.
• PulpoAR: Offering virtual try-ons for beauty products through augmented reality technology, this beauty tech startup enables customers to receive tailored product recommendations and interactive, individualised shopping experiences.
• NeuroPixel: Developing a suite of generative AI tools that use computer vision and deep learning to create photorealistic models and backgrounds for fashion e-commerce, this deep tech startup allows brands to tailor visual experiences and product recommendations to individual customer preferences.

As a result, bolstering AI personalisation to enhance customer experiences across channels for retailers is now a necessity, not an added benefit.

Second-hand categories: catalysts for transformation

IADS insights from recent meetings with its members have found that second-hand categories have emerged as powerful growth drivers in retail, offering brands the opportunity to reach new consumer segments and fuel expansion. The rapid rise of second-hand commerce has outpaced traditional retail, driven by younger, price-conscious, and sustainability-focused shoppers (iii). According to Consumer Edge, shoppers aged 25 to 34 are leading this trend with a large majority opting for pre-owned items due to their affordability, unique styles, and environmental concerns.

VivaTech 2025 showcased a few startups focused on integrating second-hand sales into retail applications. However, the focus on sustainability seems to be tapering off compared to the previous editions of VivaTech with the broader focus this year being on AI applications for user experiences.

• The Cloov: a platform that helps brands integrate resale, rental and repair into retailers’ core businesses.
• The PAAC: a fashion leasing, rental and resale platform that promotes circularity.

Second-hand categories are an untapped opportunity for retailers to access new consumer segments, especially younger, sustainability-focused shoppers, while aiding compliance with increasingly stricter regulations. Ultimately, sustainable startups enable retailers to adopt greener practices while staying competitive.

Conclusion: New technological priorities shaping the retail industry

Since its inception, VivaTech established itself as the European innovation hub for the retail industry and beyond, bringing together startups, tech leaders, investors, and policymakers to address the most pressing digital challenges and opportunities. IADS partner and retail innovation platform, RetailHub underlined the trend among startups at VivaTech 2025 focusing on using AI for operational efficiency and user experience which aligns with broader industry trends.

Digital sovereignty is becoming essential for retailers, as stricter data regulations and the need for secure, independent control over digital assets drive the industry to prioritise data security and reduce reliance on external providers. At the same time, AI personalisation has evolved into a core feature, with advanced algorithms enabling tailored recommendations and real-time online and offline engagement. While sustainability remains important for younger consumers, the current focus for many retailers is on strengthening data protection and harnessing AI to meet operational and customer expectations.

i: A topic also raised in London during the last World Retail Congress by Schwartz Digits, available here.

ii: The value of getting personalisation right—or wrong—is multiplying

iii: Reduce, Reuse, Resell: Resale growth outpaces traditional retail

Credits: IADS (Anchita Ranka)