Inside LVMH’s Startup Bet: The Tech Disruptors Backed by Bernard Arnault

LVMH is committed to innovation not as a discourse, but as a group strategy. This was made clear by Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of the conglomerate, during the presentation of the LVMH Innovation Award 2025, held Thursday at the Vivatech show in Paris. In its ninth edition, the group awarded three startups that already collaborate with the group's houses and that "put the human at the heart of technology".

However, the first surprise was the absence of Bernard Arnault, who was scheduled to present the awards and appear before the public as in previous editions. Citing "diplomatic obligations," it was Antoine Arnault, son of the billionaire entrepreneur and group communications director, who acted as master of ceremonies for the awards. "These companies not only bring efficiency, they bring vision," he said in his presentation.

"Innovation has always driven the development of our maisons and their attractiveness," Bernard Arnault said, however, through a statement issued by LVMH. "It is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve excellence," he added, underlining his enthusiasm for collaborations between young entrepreneurs and century-old fashion houses.

The award for business efficiency went to New York-based Kahoona, founded by ex-Amazon Gal Rapoport, which has been working for several months with Dior on its ecommerce. Its technology makes it possible to segment anonymous user profiles in real time by interpreting their digital gestures, such as zooming in on a product or scrolling through a page, in the same way that a salesperson analyzes the body language of a physical customer.

Kahoona, Genesis and Omi, the start-ups awarded by LVMH in 2025

The success with Dior has also opened the door to new integrations with other maisons in the group. "We have the capacity to set new standards of hyper-personalization together," celebrated the startup's CEO.

In second place, the recognition for impact went to Paris-based Genesis, which specializes in analyzing and improving soil health through data technology. Co-founded by Quentin Sannié and Adrienne de Malleray, the company collaborates with Moët Hennessy and other firms in the group on strategic crops such as sugar beet, cotton and flowers.

Finally, the award for the most promising start-up went to another French company, Omi, founded by brothers Hugo and Paul Borensztein, which has developed a virtual photo studio technology implemented by the Guerlain makeup brand. Its system makes it possible to generate product images for multiple channels without the need for physical production.

In addition to the awards, the LVMH Dreamscape space , located in hall one of the show, is the epicenter of the group's technology showcase with the presentation of interactive innovation integrations. The Vivatech show will continue to be held at the Parisian Expo Porte de Versailles until June 14.