This year 2019 celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Sophia Antipolis technology park as well as the 500th anniversary of the village of Valbonne Initiated in 1969 by Senator Pierre Lafitte, this 2,400 hectare technological site located near Nice in the South region today constitutes a world benchmark in innovation, employing 36,000 people, and welcoming 4,000 researchers and more than 5,000 students. This is an opportunity for GAC Sophia to recall its leading role in the founding of the first European technology park and its anchoring in the region.
Created in 1986 with the support of the founder of Sophia Antipolis, Senator Pierre Lafitte, TSD (for Technopôle Service Développement) aimed to promote the development of the technopole and to export the technopolitan model. In the early 2000s, its merger with the company inno broadened its scope, making inno TSD a key player in supporting economic development and innovation in France and in Europe.
Today, GAC Sophia brings together a team of 25 people in France and achieves a turnover of 3.5 M € with over 300 innovation projects. GAC Sophia works in close cooperation with leading local partners such as the SCS cluster, the SAFE cluster, communities, research actors such as Inria or the University of Nice Côte d'Azur, and is a active member of Sophia Club Entreprises. Very present on a European scale, GAC Sophia participates in the influence of the technopole and the insertion of its actors in European networks (European platform of ECCP clusters, Interreg Europe, S3 platforms, etc.).
GAC Sophia intends to continue to provide its expertise in carrying out ever more ambitious innovative projects, in France and in Europe, in close collaboration with the Sophia Antipolis technology park and the players in its ecosystem.
