What happens when ambitious startups, global corporates, and sharp investors sit together, not across the table, but on the same side?
At VivaTech 2025, PwC brought this question to life in a standout session on “The Power of Collaboration Between Corporates and Startups.” My colleague Thierry Picq guided the conversation with his signature clarity and curiosity, no jargon, just real talk.
From the startup side, we heard from Wafaâ Amal, CEO of Prisme.ai, who’s helping large companies industrialize Gen-AI use while keeping an eye on scalability and sustainability. Yosra Farrouj from Krisppy showed how AI agents can slash development time and cost for digital products. And Trinh Joe, founder of PikkoPay, is tackling one of retail’s most frustrating pain points: checkout bottlenecks, with autonomous smartphone-based payment that’s three times faster than traditional lanes.
On the corporate and investor side, Catherine Tonlorenzi from BNP Paribas shared insights from the B!UP innovation program, while Hélène Labeaume from Carrefour showed how their VC fund Dastore fuels hands-on collaboration. Gonzague de Pirey from LVMH offered a masterclass in how a luxury group balances open innovation with brand heritage. And Augustin Sayer, General Partner at OVNI Capital, reminded startups that scaling too early with corporates can kill speed, and that focus is everything.
There were no silver bullets. But there was something rarer: honesty. About the friction. The mismatched clocks. The cultural gap between startup agility and corporate complexity. And still, the message was clear: when it works, it works. Because the right partnership doesn’t just accelerate innovation. It makes it real.
