Alcatel-Lucent CEO Michel Combes said the company has demonstrated its commitment to open innovation in the digital sector by partnering with Partech Shaker, the first research campus established by a venture capital company.
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Alcatel-Lucent CEO Michel Combes |
The infrastructure company announced it is partnering with the campus--which was established in central Paris by venture capital company Partech Ventures in 2014--to promote open innovation within Alcatel-Lucent itself, and the broader digital technology industry.
"The opening and mixing of skills, competencies and methodologies is at the heart of our innovation strategy," Combes said, adding that the partnership "perfectly illustrates our spirit of openness."
Combes added that agility is a "key success factor" in the digital economy, and that large companies and start ups "have a shared interest to collaborate" on technology developments.
The Partech Shaker model mixes start-ups with established companies, and has signed up around 40 businesses of all sizes to date. Alcatel-Lucent joins companies including BNP Paribas, Lagardère Active and Saint-Gobain as an innovation partner, and plans to connect Shaker businesses with an Innovation City located to the south of the French capital.
Partech Ventures partner Romain Lavault said Alcatel-Lucent has much to offer the start-up companies the campus is fostering.
"I have no doubt about the multiple synergies that are possible between the company and the start-ups that we house," Lavault said, adding: "Alcatel-Lucent and its Bell Labs already have a lot of experience in open innovation and this partnership will allow them to further broaden the spectrum of their technology partners."
Alcatel-Lucent and Bell Labs staff will have access to a working space within the Shaker campus for testing "innovative new models" with the start-ups. The infrastructure company will also take part in a number of innovation events held at the facility.
For more:
- see Alcatel-Lucent's announcement
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