Following up on its 2021 AI plan and its Smart Health strategy, the Paris Region and its partners Greater Paris University Hospitals AP-HP and Institut Curie are setting up the Paris Region AI Challenge for Health 2020, funded with €1 million.

For what kind of project?

Based on data provided by the Institutes of Health, the objective of the Challenge is twofold:

- For AP-HP: Develop and validate an algorithm to identify diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive factors in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (liver cancer).

- For the Institut Curie: Develop and validate an algorithm to classify patients with bronchopulmonary cancer using multimodal data (clinical, radiological, anatomopathological, and genetic) to guide therapeutic decisions.

More information will be given during the webinar on each institute challenge by Romain Bey (Director of Data Science at AP-HP) and Xosé Fernandez (Chief Data Officer at Institut Curie). A brief overview of the Paris Region AI / HealthTech ecosystem will be also presented by Choose Paris Region.

Who can apply?

• Firms
• Researchers

The challenge is open to applicant companies from the EU, UK, and CH with a plan to set up in the Paris Region within 12 months from December 15th, 2020. They must be either:

• Very Small and Small Businesses (VSBs and SBs) (firms with fewer than 50 employees and whose annual sales or annual balance sheet total does not exceed €10 million),
• Medium-Sized Businesses (MBs) (firms with fewer than 250 employees and an annual sales of less than €50 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding €43 million),
• Intermediate-Sized Businesses (ISBs) (firms with at least 250 to 4,999 employees, with annual sales not exceeding €1.5 billion or a balance sheet total not exceeding €2 billion, and which is not affiliated to a larger group).

Groups associating either a public laboratory and one (or several) private company(ies), or several companies of VSB, SB, MB, or ISB firms can also apply. One application per group is required.

What is the form of financial support?

Each Institute Challenge has a maximum prize fund of €500,000 for one project, to be allocated among the partners of a grouped offer, according to maximum grant rates as follows:

• 60% of post-challenge project expenses for VSBs and SBs,
• 50% of post-challenge project expenses for MBs,
• 40% of post-challenge project expenses for ISBs.

Laboratories associated with a firm may receive 100% funding up to a maximum of €120,000, subject to compliance with European rules on State aid applicable to such bodies.

These rates are lower for individual candidates.

What are the steps to take?

The application form (2 separate application forms are expected if you wish to apply to both Institute Challenges) is to be returned to ai-healthchallenge@iledefrance.fr within the deadlines below:

• Opening date: December 15th, 2020
• Closing date: February 14th, 2021

Register for our information Webinar on January 21st, 10:00 (CET) with the register button at the top of this page.

More information on each Institute challenge

• Detailed information on AP-HP Challenge in french
• Detailed information on Institut Curie Challenge in french

Rules for the Challenge

• Contest Rules in french (a translation should be available soon)

To be noted

This Challenge, co-organized with AP-HP and Institut Curie, is carried out in partnership with Startup Inside and the healthtech innovation cluster Medicen Paris Region.