As a strong believer in innovation through cooperation, Thales is fully committed to the collaborative nature of VivaTechnology. For many years, the Group has pursued a strategy of open innovation with public and private research institutes, innovative SMEs and tech start-ups.

Thales set up 20 joint laboratories with various research institutes worldwide, maintains partnerships with 50 universities across the world and heads the cybersecurity programme at STATION F in Paris, the world’s largest start-up incubator. The identification of start-ups, extraordinary founts of innovation, is one of the Group’s main objectives in terms of innovation.

Over the past three years, Thales has approached more than 500 start-ups in order to their technology, explore opportunities for cooperation. In some cases, taking them on as suppliers, entering into partnerships, or even, acquiring them. These collaborations and synergies with start-ups boost the digital transformation of the Group and its clients and foster the type of technological breakthroughs needed in the digital age.