Winners of CMA CGM Startup Awards Announced

The CMA CGM Group has announced the winners of its first CMA CGM Startup Awards.

The international competition, organized in partnership with BFM Business, La Tribune and ZEBOX, attracted over 400 entries from innovative startups. 60 finalists, including 34 French startups, were selected to present their projects. Among the finalists were five startups supported by ZEBOX, the international innovation gas pedal initiated by Rodolphe Saadé.

The solutions presented, focusing on the shipping, logistics and media sectors, highlight cutting-edge technological innovations, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence.

The startups selected stand out for the viability of their project, their level of innovation, impact and synergy with the CMA CGM Group’s activities. 

The winners were chosen by a jury including members of the CMA CGM Group’s Executive Committee, experts from different business sectors, and representatives of venture capital funds.

Award for the maritime sector:

• Sébastien Fiedorow, CEO of Aerleum, is developing groundbreaking technology to produce synthetic fuels from atmospheric CO2.

• Valéry Prunier, CEO of Elonroad, offers an electric charging system via rail for all vehicles and rolling equipment at terminals.

• Michiel Gunsing, founder of GBMS, develops a tool that measures ship motions and calculates all the forces acting on the container stacks, showing this information in real time to the crew.

• Friederike Hesse, co-founder of ZERO44, offer software that enables shipping companies to find the most economically viable compliance strategies for carbon regulations (CII, EU ETS, FuelEU) and to reach carbon zero.

Logistics Award:

• Rodolphe Vogt, CEO of Okular Logistics, provides smart cameras and AI-powered analytics to automate warehouse operations, ensuring real-time inventory accuracy, reducing costs, and enhancing productivity.

• Bart Gadeyne, CEO of Optioryx, uses AI-driven microservices to fill intelligence gaps in WMS and TMS systems through integrable add-ons, boosting supply chain processes with a focus on dimensioning, picking, and packing.

Media Award:

• Laodis Menard, CEO of Argil, offers the ability to Generate videos with humanlike avatars in two minutes.

Jury Prize award:

• Charles Cohen, CEO of Bodyguard, provides an AI-powered social monitoring and moderation solution, seamlessly integrating into social networks and platforms of all sizes to safeguard communities and brands from toxic content.

Each winner of the CMA CGM Startup Awards will benefit from:

• Funding of up to €150,000 to support the growth of their project.

• Synergies with the CMA CGM Group, enabling them to test and deploy their solutions in a real-life application environment.

• Support for one year from ZEBOX, the international innovation gas pedal dedicated to the positive transformation of the maritime, logistics and media sectors, bringing together the best experts in the ecosystem and in these industries.

• High-level strategic advice from members of the CMA CGM Executive Committee.

Initiated by the CMA CGM Group, the CMA CGM Startup Awards aim to source the most promising solutions from startups in the shipping, logistics and media sectors worldwide. They also aim to encourage co-innovation between start-ups and the Group by offering concrete development opportunities. This event highlights CMA CGM's ongoing commitment to innovative entrepreneurship.

At the same time, the CMA CGM Group continues to develop strategic projects such as the partnership with Google, Mistral AI, PoolSide and Dataiku, as well as the Kyutai research laboratory co-founded by Rodolphe Saadé a year ago.