Rice University will take the stage at Viva Technology 2026 in Paris June 17-20 with a portfolio of startups addressing the physical infrastructure of the future, from energy and water systems to artificial intelligence and advanced materials. This marks Rice’s second appearance at Europe’s largest startup and technology event and its first with a dedicated institutional presence.
“This moment reflects the scale and direction of Rice’s global engagement,” said Caroline Levander, vice president for global strategy. “With a permanent presence in Paris and deep partnerships across Europe, we are not simply participating in these conversations, we are helping to convene them by bringing together research, entrepreneurship and industry to address shared global challenges.”
Rice’s return builds on its 2025 participation alongside the Greater Houston Partnership. This year, the university arrives with something more tangible: a pipeline of companies translating research into technologies designed to operate at global scale.
“The most important challenges today don’t recognize borders and they won’t be solved in isolation,” said Adrian Tromel, interim vice president for innovation and chief innovation officer. “What stands out with the technologies our research produces and the startups our community creates is that they are creating solutions to address these global needs head on.”
Rice is ranked No. 1 in the United States for graduate entrepreneurship programs. Its presence at VivaTech reflects a broader push to expand its visibility in Europe while strengthening ties with leading research institutions and industry partners. At the center of that effort is a group of startups working across sectors that rarely operate in isolation but increasingly define the same global systems:
DexMat produces Galvorn, an advanced carbon material that delivers conductivity, strength, light weight and flexibility in a single platform. Engineered for industrial scale applications, Galvorn is manufactured in Houston and shipped globally to customers across aerospace and defense, automotive and energy industries.
Syzygy Plasmonics produces sustainable aviation fuel from biogas sources such as landfills and dairy farms by using renewable power in its fully electric, light-driven chemical reactor. Syzygy’s fuel has been preassessed to be compliant with EU’s clean energy mandates and has a clear path to cost-parity at scale with conventional jet fuel production pathways. Syzygy is building its first commercial plant at a dairy farm in Uruguay.
Helix Earth is commercializing NASA-developed liquid-gas chemistry technology that efficiently transfers moisture and other compounds between air and liquid streams. In commercial HVAC, the company’s retrofit systems remove humidity before it reaches existing air conditioning equipment, improving efficiency and indoor air quality.
HEXAspec is advancing thermal management materials for semiconductor packaging, improving heat dissipation for next-generation computing systems and AI infrastructure.
Solidec is chemical manufacturing simplified. Using air, water and electricity, its autonomous generators produce the world’s most essential chemicals on site, eliminating the costs and risks of chemical distribution.
Resonant Thermal Systems is developing a modular desalination system that converts high-salinity industrial wastewater into clean water and extractable minerals without external energy storage, enabling off-grid operation.
Rice’s entrepreneurial pipeline extends beyond its research labs. Sasha Ovalle, a sophomore business major, will compete at VivaTech as a finalist in the Next Startupper Award, pitching her startup AssisTech SmartShower to leading tech and entrepreneurship experts for a prize of 5,000 euros. SmartShower is a shower accessory that adds Alexa-enabled voice control between a standard shower arm and existing shower head, enabling a completely hands-free experience for users who are elderly, disabled or mobility-impaired.
“This is about how innovation moves out of the lab and into the world,” Levander said. “At Rice, we are building technologies designed to operate at the scale of global systems, and our growing presence in Europe, centered in Paris, allows us to advance that work through deeper collaboration and shared ambition.”
In 2026, the Rice Global Paris Center will host four AI conferences, reinforcing the university’s role as a hub for global dialogue on emerging technologies. At the same time, the university is advancing a partnership between the Rice Brain Institute and the Paris Brain Institute and launching a coordinated bachelor’s degree program in environmental engineering with Université Paris Sciences and Lettres, strengthening academic ties between the United States and France.
With its return to VivaTech, Rice continues to position itself at the intersection of research, entrepreneurship and global collaboration where ideas are built to operate at scale.
For interview requests in advance of VivaTech, please contact media relations specialist Brandi Smith at brandi.smith@rice.edu.
For on-site media inquiries during VivaTech, please contact Mathieu Ellerbach at matthieu.ellerbach@publicisconsultants.com or Clement Borowczyk at clement.borowczyk@publicisconsultants.com.