Watch as Valeo and Artefact executives and hackathon participants discuss the three-day adventure that brought together international teams of design thinkers and data scientists to develop GenAI ideas to increase value and productivity for the mobility solutions leader

Valeo is an automotive supplier and partner to automakers and new mobility players worldwide. Valeo seeks to make mobility cleaner, safer, and smarter. Artefact Open Innovation, with the support of Google Cloud, launched the first Generative AI hackathon dedicated to Valeo to generate potentially viable new automotive applications, capitalize on participating teams’ innovations, and create a “One Valeo” spirit.

With 175 production sites, 66 research and development centers and 20 distribution platforms, Valeo is a world-leading automotive supplier and key partner for emerging mobility companies. The company is at the forefront of technological innovation designed to make mobility cleaner, safer, and smarter.

Valeo enjoys technological and industrial leadership in electrification, driving assistance systems, reinvention of the interior experience and lighting everywhere. These four areas, vital to the transformation of mobility, are the Group’s growth drivers.

A GenAI hackathon to foster innovative new automotive business use cases for Valeo’s technological leadership

Aware that the integration of generative artificial intelligence is a key lever for optimizing process efficiency and technological development, Valeo took a major step forward by collaborating with Artefact Open Innovation to hold its first Gen AI Hackathon.

The objectives of this hackathon were to:

  • Foster the emergence of new ideas through a one-month ideation period open to Valeo employees from the 29 countries where Valeo operates.

  • Capitalize on team ideas and encourage the exploration of new opportunities through artificial intelligence.

  • Cultivate a “One Valeo” spirit. The participation brought together 16 teams from 11 countries with diverse skills, strengthening collaboration on a global scale.

Valeo x Artefact x Google Cloud: a collaborative Gen AI hackathon with a tripartite approach

The hackathon leveraged Google technology and the best methodologies of each of the three collaborating entities:

  • Valeo employees applied their talents to developing new uses for Valeo’s industry-leading automotive technologies.

  • Google experts provided cloud storage technologies and their Vertex AI platform.

  • Artefact’s data scientists, data engineers, and GenAI experts offered strategic consulting, data and AI expertise, and support for MVP delivery

104 Valeo collaborators participated in the hackathon. After a welcome kickoff, the agenda of the three-day event was as follows:

Day one: Product development

  • Session one: Mentored by Artefact’s design thinking experts, teams identified problems, defined their scope, and ensured their solutions addressed real needs.

  • Session two: To place the user at the center of the innovation process, personas were created to increase the relevance and effectiveness of the solutions developed.

  • Session three: Teams focused on solution design and the fine-tuning of their proposed solutions.

Day two: MVP prototyping

  • Once each concept was clear, the teams, supported by Artefact’s data experts, began prototyping their minimum viable products (MVPs) to evaluate their technical feasability.

Day three: Best solution selection and award ceremony

  • Dedicated to the selection of the best ideas from the hundreds generated; presentation of prototypes to the jury; award distribution.

“The synergy of these skills, combining in-depth expertise in innovation and our technical know-how, reflects our leadership in creating innovative solutions dedicated to our clients.”
Vincent Luciani, co-founder and CEO of Artefact

Four winning projects emerged from the ideation process and will be deployed by Artefact data teams and implemented by Valeo

Over 600 ideas were generated in the hackathon. Each of Valeo’s 16 department directors, assisted by Artefact’s design thinking specialists, selected one idea that best addressed the main challenge in their department.

The teams then presented functional prototypes to a jury chaired by Valeo CEO Christophe Périllat, followed by Q&A sessions for assessment and selection of winners.

The jury awarded top prizes to the following projects:

  • First prize: “Troubleshooting Powered by AI”

  • Second prize: “Chat with Data Sheets”

  • Third prize: “AI-Powered Requirements Analysis Tool”

  • A project related to Data Augmentation was also honored as the most innovative project.

“This first hackathon reflects Valeo’s spirit of innovation. The many projects proposed as part of the Hackathon demonstrate the creativity of our teams. It is with this type of initiative that Valeo will remain at the forefront of innovation, competitiveness and excellence and the key technology partner for mobility players worldwide.”
Christophe Périllat, CEO of Valeo

Hackathons are powerful triggers for potential AI solutions to be delivered at scale, supported by Artefact Data & AI consulting teams

A hackathon transforms conventional event experiences by fostering new working methods, entrepreneurial mindsets, team engagement, and yielding impactful business solutions. Valeo’s GenAI hackathon immersed employees in AI, facilitating the conception and development of innovative automotive industry solutions.

Even weeks later, teams remain committed and eager to explore how their ideas and the potential of generative AI to shape the future of mobility. Valeo has observed promising use cases improving engineering, project and knowledge management, industrial maintenance, and more.

This hackathon, facilitated by international collaboration, Google Cloud experts, and Artefact’s AI proficiency, pushed the boundaries of intelligent mobility, fostering knowledge sharing and employee commitment to Valeo’s future and mobility innovation.

“CDOs are commissioning Artefact to organize their hackathons, leveraging our extensive experience in orchestrating over 450 events. They value our proficiency in comprehensively managing projects, from conception to project delivery. They also seek our expertise in providing skilled facilitators and infusing a unique energy to create an unforgettable event.”
Lorenzo Croati, Partner Lead at Artefact Open Innovation