Supporting next-generation innovation: the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab

We are proud to share that we recently opened our third 3DEXPERIENCE Lab.  Our new site in Pune, India joins our locations in Paris and Boston.

Each location of the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab supports and nurtures visionary projects that have the potential to transform society.   We offer motivated entrepreneurs unique resources to work on disruptive innovations and leverage collective intelligence. Companies who join the program are granted two years of access to Dassault Systèmes’ cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform and technical mentoring, marketing and business development.

Ideal candidates for the program are those looking to accelerate innovation, prototype new products and explore new approaches of ideation.

Frédéric Vacher is the global head of the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab.  We sat down with him to ask a few questions about the program.

3DPerspectives:  Can you describe what the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab is about?

Frédéric Vacher: The 3DEXPERIENCE Lab was founded in 2015 to support up and coming organizations.  We are an open innovation laboratory. We embrace the concept of the social enterprise and draw upon our long history of expertise in virtual technologies to open new perspectives of innovation for a more sustainable world.   The Lab offers a wider range of support services other than software – though program participants can access any software they need from Dassault Systèmes’ 12 brands.  We look to support innovation in the domains of city, life, lifestyle, Internet of Things and ideation.  Our focus is on the mentoring Dassault Systèmes’ experts can offer to nascent companies with amazing ideas.  We also provide these startups access to state-of-the-art Fab Labs in France, the US and India to help them bring their products to life.  The bottom line is that we help startups to digitalize but also give them capabilities to physically produce their ideas.

3DP: How do you identify candidates for your programs?

FV:  We have a selection committee that meets quarterly.  Up to six projects are pitched each time, and we get these candidates from a number of places.  Companies themselves can find us on the web and apply directly.  Many of our employees around the globe are aware of organizations working on cutting-edge ideas, and they nominate those companies for the program.  Our employees can also found their own company and be supported through the Lab.  And we can also ask organizations ourselves that we hear about.  The main requirement is to be an official company that is in the early stage.  Because our work with these companies is intensive, we only take on about 10 companies per year, so it’s a very selective process.

We also go to events around the globe where innovators gather. For example, last month we were a Bronze Partner at the TechCrunch Disrupt, the world’s leading authority for debuting revolutionary startups, introducing game- changing technologies and discussing what’s top of mind for the tech industry’s key innovators. We welcomed attendees into our booth to explain the mission of the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab and encouraged participation in our Startup Challenge.  18 companies from a range of companies and industries participated by giving a two-minute pitch about their innovation to address a challenge.  We selected six to participate in a Q&A and the identified a winner who best met the 3 criteria of the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab: a disruptive product, collective intelligence and positive impact on society: GARBICAN.

3DP: How does an organization apply? And what happens if they’re selected?

FV:  While interested parties must first complete an application, a pitch by a Dassault Systemes employee is required.  Once that employee qualifies the project, they present it at the next quarterly committee meeting.  If selected, we draw up a one-year contract that can be renewable up to five years.

We will be featuring our startups in a series of blog posts in the coming months.  Check back regularly for these stories!

Interested in joining the program?  Submit your project at www.3DEXPERIENCELab.com.