Taking part in the Innovaday is far more than a simple event appearance. For Optikan, this day is part of a broader journey: that of an industrial deeptech company building, step by step, breakthrough technologies designed for real-world deployment, high throughput, and tangible industrial impact.
In a context where innovation is often reduced to short-term narratives or incremental progress, Innovaday stands out by focusing on technologies capable of reshaping industrial practices. For Optikan, being selected—and ultimately distinguished—during this event carries a meaning that goes well beyond visibility.
A demanding selection process, focused on substance rather than visibility
Optikan was selected following two successive evaluation committees:
- an initial application-based selection,
- followed by an oral defense before a jury composed of experts from innovation, industry, and investment.
Out of more than one hundred applications, only around thirty companies were selected to exhibit at the event. This level of selectivity reflects the event’s focus on technological maturity, clarity of positioning, and credibility of the industrial roadmap.
For Optikan, reaching this stage validated several years of work dedicated to transforming advanced millimeter-wave technologies into robust, deployable industrial tools, capable of addressing concrete field constraints.
An original and demanding format: putting technology and value proposition first
One of Innovaday’s most distinctive features lies in its deliberately anonymized format.
Selected companies provide investors with detailed information about:
- their activities and technological foundations,
- their products and level of maturity,
- their value proposition,
- and their target markets and use cases,
without ever disclosing their company name.
This format fundamentally reshapes investor–company interactions.
By removing brand recognition and reputational bias, it forces all stakeholders to engage on what truly matters:
the relevance of the technology, the strength of the industrial vision, and the realism of the execution path.
Seasoned investors may occasionally recognize certain technological signatures. In the case of Optikan, some may have identified familiar patterns in high-frequency radar imaging and industrial non-destructive testing. Nevertheless, the exercise remains demanding and remarkably fair, rewarding depth, coherence, and long-term thinking.
An edition marked by exceptional investor interest
Following this anonymized matching phase, Optikan stood out very clearly.
The company became the overall winner of the edition, having received the highest number of investor meeting requests.
This interest exceeded the initial format of the event. Meeting slots originally designed for one-on-one discussions had to be reorganized, with up to four investors meeting simultaneously, in order to accommodate demand.
Beyond the numbers, this signal is meaningful:
- it reflects a convergence of interest from investors with diverse theses,
- it confirms the perceived relevance of Optikan’s technological positioning,
- and it highlights the growing appetite for industrial deeptech solutions ready to scale.
Such traction is not driven by promises alone, but by the combination of technological differentiation, industrial applicability, and a clear path toward deployment.
A collective achievement, rooted in long-term work
Naturally, this recognition is a source of great pride for Optikan.
It acknowledges:
- years of deep technical work at the intersection of physics, electronics, and signal processing,
- the consistency between vision, products, and industrial use cases,
- and the commitment of a team increasingly united around a shared ambition.
Behind the scenes, this achievement reflects a continuous effort to reconcile two often conflicting worlds:
advanced scientific innovation and the operational realities of industrial environments.
Optikan’s journey illustrates a fundamental truth of industrial deeptech: impact is built through time, iteration, and field feedback, not through shortcuts.
A brief technical insight: why millimeter-wave imaging matters for industry
At the core of Optikan’s technologies lies millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave imaging, a domain that bridges the gap between conventional microwave inspection and optical or infrared methods.
Operating at frequencies ranging from tens to several hundreds of gigahertz, millimeter waves offer a unique balance between penetration capability and spatial resolution.
Unlike optical systems, they can probe materials that are opaque, dusty, or visually heterogeneous. Unlike lower-frequency microwaves, they provide millimeter-scale resolution, both laterally and in depth.
This makes them particularly relevant for industrial non-destructive testing (NDT), where the objective is not simply to “see,” but to extract meaningful information from complex material stacks, often under strict constraints of speed and repeatability.
A key differentiator of Optikan’s approach lies in its use of frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar architectures. By sweeping the emission frequency over a defined bandwidth and analyzing the reflected signal, FMCW radars provide:
- depth-resolved information,
- sensitivity to internal interfaces and material contrasts,
- robustness to environmental variations.
Crucially, Optikan has designed its systems with industrial cadence as a first-order constraint, not as an afterthought.
Rather than relying on slow mechanical scans, the architecture enables:
- parallelized measurements,
- acquisition rates compatible with moving objects,
- real-time or near-real-time signal processing.
This makes it possible to integrate millimeter-wave imaging directly into production lines or inspection stations, enabling:
- exhaustive quality control instead of sampling-based inspection,
- early detection of process drifts,
- inspection of materials that cannot be reliably assessed using optical methods alone.
These technologies are not intended to replace existing inspection tools, but to act as a complement to established NDT methods, extending visibility where conventional approaches reach their limits.
Beyond Optikan: rebuilding a strong, technological and sovereign industrial France
Beyond the company itself, this edition of Innovaday resonated on a broader level.
Event after event, a collective desire—and necessity—emerges to rebuild a strong industrial France, capable of:
- sustaining economic activity across its territories,
- developing and retaining sovereign technologies,
- competing internationally without compromising technical excellence.
This ambition must be carried collectively:
- by deeptech start-ups translating research into products,
- by small and medium-sized industrial companies anchoring innovation locally,
- by mid-sized enterprises scaling solutions,
- and by large industrial groups structuring markets and supply chains.
This shared vision was strongly reflected in the institutional speeches delivered throughout the day, notably those of Alain Rousset, President of the Region, as well as representatives of the French Directorate General for Enterprises.
These high-quality interventions reiterated a central message: technological innovation only fulfills its promise when embedded in a long-term industrial strategy, aligned with sovereignty, skills, and territorial development.
The role of regions in enabling industrial deeptech
Optikan’s trajectory also highlights the critical role played by regional ecosystems in supporting ambitious technological projects.
The company wishes to express its deep gratitude to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, which has continuously supported Optikan throughout its development—from early structuring stages to industrial maturation.
This support has taken shape through:
- the ADI Nouvelle-Aquitaine,
- as well as through the Region’s own innovation and business support services.
Such long-term, structured support is essential for industrial deeptech companies, whose development cycles are inherently longer and more capital-intensive than those of purely digital ventures.
Looking forward
Receiving the strongest investor interest at Innovaday is not an end in itself.
It is a milestone—one that reinforces Optikan’s conviction that millimeter-wave imaging technologies have a key role to play in the factories and infrastructures of tomorrow.
As Optikan continues to scale its solutions, the company remains guided by a clear principle:
to develop technologies that are not only innovative, but useful, deployable, and impactful.
Innovaday served as a powerful reminder that when substance, ambition, and ecosystem alignment come together, industrial innovation can reclaim the place it deserves—at the heart of economic, technological, and societal progress.
