Safran takes stake in Diota, a start-up specialized in augmented reality for industry

Paris, September 19, 2016 - Safran announced today that it has taken a stake in the company Diota through Safran Corporate Ventures, a venture capital subsidiary that invests in new technology companies.

A leader in augmented reality for industry

Yuri Arcurs / iStockphoto

Diota is the leading French publisher of augmented reality software solutions for industry, enabling manufacturers to boost their performance by providing an interactive link between digital data and operators in the field. Founded in 2009, Diota has built on its innovative technologies and business-oriented solutions, developed through a strong partnership with the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), to anchor its pivotal role in the trend towards digital factories and increased industrial competitiveness. It operates in France and throughout Europe, with customers from a number of different sectors, including aerospace (Dassault Aviation, Safran, etc.), rail, naval, automotive (PSA Group, Volkswagen, etc.), energy and chemicals (Air Liquide, Total, etc.).

3 million euro investment

Safran Corporate Ventures is participating in a round of financing totaling 3 million euros, alongside the venture capital firms CEA Investissement (via the fund Amorçage Technologique Investissement) and Calao Finance. This funding should enable Diota to accelerate its technical and business development, especially in international markets. Hélène de Cointet, co-head of Safran Corporate Ventures, will join Diota's Strategy Committee, set up along with this financing.

"By acquiring this stake, Safran will help accelerate the development of Diota's solutions, which are well suited to our businesses and the aerospace industry in general," commented Eric Dalbiès, Executive Vice President, Strategy and M&A at Safran.

Alain Sauret, CEO of Safran Electrical & Power, added: "We've been working with Diota since 2015, and they bring to the table an extra building block to underpin our digital continuity strategy. 3D model data is sent to operators in our plants and on customer assembly lines, resulting in significant time savings while also reducing the need for manual checks."

Safran is a leading international high-technology group with three core businesses: Aerospace (propulsion and equipment), Defence and Security. Operating worldwide, the Group has 70,000 employees and generated sales of 17.4 billion euros in 2015. Working independently or in partnership, Safran holds world or European leadership positions in its core markets. The Group invests heavily in Research & Development to meet the requirements of changing markets, including expenditures of more than 2 billion euros in 2015. Safran is listed on Euronext Paris and is part of the CAC40 index, as well as the Euro Stoxx 50 European index.

For more information : www.safran-group.com / Follow @Safran on Twitter.