It is neither an accelerator nor an incubator. HeXplora, Segula Technologies’ hub dedicated to start-ups and SMEs, offers support that varies according to their needs. The engineering group hopes that a dozen start-ups will integrate its hub every year and that some of them will allow it to offer new solutions to its customers.
Segula Technologies takes advantage of the “Imagine Mobility Meetings” event, organized on Thursday, November 21, 2019 by the Mov’eo competitiveness cluster, to announce the launch of its hub dedicated to start-ups and SMEs. Called HeXplora, this structure “industrializes the relationship that Segula already had with the start-up ecosystem “, said at the start of L’Usine Digitale Stéphane Parpinelli, Segula Technologies’ Open Innovation Director.
HEXPLORA, A FLEXIBLE HUB
The consulting engineering firm, which has not yet decided whether it will take shares in start-ups, ensures the establishment of “a platform of support services and acceleration,” according to Stéphane Parpinelli. A hub that is neither an incubator nor an accelerator and whose support period varies according to the needs of the nuggets. Similarly, HeXplora has no physical premises but if, for a given time, a start-up needs to be close to some Segula teams, offices can be made available to them “to follow the progress of the project which binds them “, explains Stéphane Parpinelli.
The engineering group, which wishes to follow a dozen start-ups per year, has selected six priority technology exploration fields: Industry 4.0; mobility, autonomous and connected vehicle; new materials; energy and environment; solutions to improve Segula’s internal processes, such as HR solutions; advanced tools and methods on Segula domains such as simulation, modeling, test benches, etc.
SEGULA IN SEARCH OF INNOVATIONS
On the one hand, Segula wants to support start-up startups that develop hardware solutions that can benefit from its engineering skills. For example, the company helped Novéup finalize the design and build a prototype of its walker robot for seniors. On the other hand, start-ups or SMEs made at an advanced stage of development, or even marketing, are also welcome. Segula is currently working with Asystom, which develops IoT sensors to monitor the proper functioning of industrial equipment according to vibration, ultrasound or temperature.
These start-ups allow Segula to enrich its proposals to its customers. HeXplora is thought of as “an accelerator of innovation “, adds Stéphane Parpinelli. Historically, the first start-up with which the engineering group has been in contact is Dioata, a nugget specialist in augmented reality and computer vision for the industry. A collaboration that has allowed Segula to “earn nearly three years in R & D in this area,” assures Stéphane Parpinelli. And this relationship with Diota led to the creation of a new business unit specializing in augmented reality at Segula.
“Open innovation is also about opening up a new field of business possibilities,” says Romain Guiraud, Mov’eo’s IDF project manager. The Mov’eo competitiveness cluster has been built in a logic of federating innovation ecosystems in all its components (research centers, laboratories, start-ups and SMEs, large groups and territories). “Collaboration in innovation is an essential driver,” adds Romain Guiraud,” large groups need agility and velocity”.
