Anne Le Hénanff, Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, announced on 9 April 2026 at Laval Virtual 13 new laureates from the third wave of the “Innovative Technologies for Immersive Virtual Worlds” call for projects (France 2030), along with the forthcoming creation of around twenty XR ambassadors tasked with structuring and promoting the sector at national level. These announcements mark the entry of the French immersive industry into a phase of consolidation and large-scale deployment of XR use cases.
Laval Virtual, 28th edition: Europe’s immersive technology landmark
Held in Laval, in the Pays de la Loire region, since 1999, Laval Virtual has established itself as one of Europe’s foremost reference events for immersive technologies. The 28th edition took place from 8 to 10 April 2026 at the Espace Mayenne, bringing together researchers, industry players, creators and public decision-makers around the challenges of extended reality (XR). The presence of a sitting minister to make official announcements underscores the growing institutional recognition of the sector.
Anne Le Hénanff: digital sovereignty as the guiding thread
Appointed six months ago as Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Anne Le Hénanff took the floor during a roundtable bringing together stakeholders from the XR industry. From the opening of her address, she set out the framework for her action:
“Immersive technologies are no longer abstract promises. They are today a tangible reality, a lever for transforming our economy, our society and our sovereignty.”
The minister was keen to point out that the French digital industry is not built from Paris alone, explicitly referencing the territorial dynamics of Laval, Angers, Nantes and Saint-Nazaire. She also acknowledged the fragility of the XR ecosystem, flagged by stakeholders she had met before the plenary session: “I have understood the message.”
The concept of digital sovereignty ran as a through-line across the address. Anne Le Hénanff stressed the differentiating value of French expertise on the international stage, while noting that sovereignty does not necessarily mean controlling the entire value chain end to end.
13 New France 2030 Laureates: the third wave of the immersive call for projects
Following an initial announcement made in January at Bercy, the minister unveiled at Laval Virtual the 13 new laureates from the third wave of the “Innovative Technologies for Immersive Virtual Worlds” call for projects, carried under the France 2030 investment plan.
The selected projects reflect the breadth of applications and consortia involved:
- BTRMSA 2 (Inversive / Brain Analytics Technologies / Kalank)
- ARUMO (Solnil & Nexvision)
- AVATAR MEDIVERSE (Avatar Médical / Klabs)
- BRIDGE2VR2 (Widid / Speedernet / UniVr)
- EMERSYA UVI (Emersya)
- IMMERSIVE (GraphicStream)
- METS (Oktal Synthetic Environment)
- Six additional projects not detailed during the address
Among the projects highlighted by the minister: Inversive, which simplifies the creation of immersive experiences integrated into real environments without the technical constraints of headsets; Avatar Médical, with a secure 3D medical visualisation platform accessible across all types of immersive devices; and Uptail, which is developing an interoperable software infrastructure. The Primara project, led by Optive and INSA, focuses on optical engines for higher-performance augmented reality glasses.
These laureates join projects already supported in previous waves, part of a call for projects that, in the minister’s words, “generated remarkable enthusiasm across the entire territory.”
Around twenty XR ambassadors: a new step in structuring the sector
The second major announcement of the day concerns the forthcoming creation of around twenty XR ambassadors, modelled on the AI ambassadors already in place. Anne Le Hénanff confirmed that these appointments will be made within the coming weeks.
Their remit is fourfold:
- Structure and promote the immersive technology sector in France
- Identify and highlight use cases with strong return on investment
- Bridge the gap between private stakeholders and public authorities
- Represent the diversity of sectors and territories
The minister stressed that these ambassadors will serve as “relays, spokespersons and allies to convince ever more public and private players to embrace these innovations.”
The initiative is part of a broader framework: the integration of immersive technology players into the Strategic Industry Committee (CSF) “Trusted Software and Digital Solutions”, with the goals of raising awareness of French solutions, bringing together different segments of the supply side (immersive technologies, AI, cloud), and identifying barriers on the buyer side, both public and private.
Anne Le Hénanff’s visit to Laval Virtual was not a courtesy call. By choosing this event to make concrete announcements, the minister sent a clear signal to a sector that had been waiting for action as much as words. The 13 wave-three laureates and the forthcoming XR ambassadors do not resolve everything: the fragility of the ecosystem, acknowledged publicly, remains an open question. But they outline a method, supporting technological building blocks, creating relays across sectors and territories, and betting on digital sovereignty as a differentiating argument rather than a political posture.
The next milestone will be the appointments themselves. Twenty XR ambassadors is a modest number to cover an entire sector. Their profiles, their actual mandate and their ability to open doors with public and private buyers will say a great deal about the depth of the commitment announced at Laval.
