On April 14, the SATTs received a positive response from the Prime Minister to their joint action project submitted in response to the Booster call for projects launched by the ANR as part of the third Investments for the Future Program (PIA 3). A total of 10% of the overall budget has been allocated to collective actions aimed at strengthening support for innovation projects arising from public research in France and increasing their socio-economic impact. This is a sign of confidence on the part of the State. It is also a great collective dynamic, driven by a strong ambition to be a central player in the economic recovery and deep tech plans initiated by the State and deployed across the country, contributing, through innovation and business creation, to the competitiveness and technological and industrial sovereignty of French companies.
The State renews its confidence in the strength of the collective created by the SATT Network
Created in 2014 to amplify the impact of the 13 Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies (SATTs) tasked with improving the performance of the French public research commercialization system, the SATT Network has since amply demonstrated its effectiveness. With more than 16,000 inventions identified in research laboratories, more than 3,500 patents filed, nearly 1,500 licensing agreements signed with companies, and nearly 700 startups created, the SATTs have a track record of economic growth and have developed a recognized level of professionalism over the past eight years. These results are notably the fruit of a strong collective dynamic built within the SATT Network around the pooling of resources, expertise, and know-how, the sharing of best practices, and the co-construction of collective actions aimed at ever greater efficiency and performance to promote public research in France. With a view to reaffirming the SATTs' mission and strengthening their development, the French government has launched a call for projects for the period 2022-2024, in which pooling plays a role in accelerating performance. Ten percent of the overall budget, or €20 million, has been allocated to strengthen the pooled actions already initiated and enrich them with new structural approaches around business development, startup creation, strategic marketing, operational efficiency, and communication.
Enhanced support for businesses
At the heart of the roadmap defined by the SATT Network is increased support for businesses—SMEs, large groups, and startups—in order to create new bridges between businesses, investors, and public research. In this context, the SATT Network will build on actions already undertaken by the Network, such as the Scouting offer, which gives SMEs and large groups access to the entire SATT portfolio and the expertise of the relevant laboratories, representing 80% of French public research, on innovation topics identified by these companies. More than 20 Scouting initiatives have already been launched since 2019 for large groups such as SPIE Batignolles, Servier, and BASF, which recognize the value of this service. The Network will also build on partnerships established within the regions with SMEs and startups that develop products from the SATT portfolio. As of January 1, 2022, 1,460 licenses had been signed, 45% of which were with micro-businesses and SMEs and 40% with startups created during the project's development. Since the beginning of 2022, these actions have been stepped up, particularly for SMEs. New tools have been developed for them, such as the deployment of deep tech diagnostics, which analyze the specific innovation needs of companies in order to offer them customized solutions that enable them to benefit from the results of public research or the startups that have emerged from it. A dedicated sales team will also be deployed throughout the country on behalf of the 13 SATTs. Initially composed of four experienced individuals, the team will be responsible for promoting the SATT Network's offerings to companies in four key strategic sectors: Greentech, Biotech, Medtech, and Numtech. The goal is to give these companies rapid access to the technologies and startups developed by the SATTs.
Increased visibility for the Network
Today, the work of SATTs is known and recognized beyond France's borders. Since their creation, this model, which is unique in Europe, has attracted considerable interest during presentations in Germany, England, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, Canada, Serbia, and Tunisia. One of the network's strengths is its joint communication strategy, which enhances its visibility. Among the collective actions developed are the strong promotion of the start-ups created, via success stories published each month on the Network's website and in its monthly newsletter, the launch of the industry innovation barometer, which aims to gather valuable information each year on companies' expectations and practices in terms of innovation, and the organization of DeepTech Connect, the SATT Network's 100% business event, which aims to showcase the best of French deep tech. In the coming years, this marketing and communication strategy will be reinforced with, in particular, the organization of an annual event and the promotion of innovations, companies, and startups, all of which are great stories to share with researchers, manufacturers, investors, local authorities, and public authorities.
Continue sharing best practices
The working groups set up by the SATT Network have accelerated their development and boosted their support. The working group dedicated to startups has enabled the sharing of standard practices in business creation. This group is also behind the Tandem tool for recruiting CEOs, available on the lesdeeptech.fr platform deployed by Bpifrance, and a standard term sheet used by all SATTs and now distributed by France Biotech. In order to continue growing the collective, the SATT Network will continue to develop structuring tools. A marketing and economic intelligence unit will be created to share data and capitalize on the unique experience acquired by the SATTs over the past ten years. Among the planned supports: the production of economic intelligence via forward-looking thematic monitoring, business monitoring, and the mapping of technology clusters; the development of operational marketing tools and a shared CRM system, and the deployment of a business prospecting support platform incorporating Artificial Intelligence modules for more efficient matching between innovative companies, or those wishing to innovate, and the SATT Network's technology offerings.