22 startups incubated at HANDILAB, Europe’s First Innovation Hub for Disability and Autonomy

A unique ecosystem driving inclusive innovation

As part of its commitment to inclusion and strengthening social resilience, the AXA Fund for Human Progress is a founding patron of HANDILAB, Europe's first innovation hub entirely dedicated to disability and loss of independence.

Created by the Fiminco Group and located in Saint-Denis (Greater Paris), HANDILAB is a 13,000 m² innovation hub designed to foster collaboration, accelerate innovation, and develop practical solutions that promote autonomy and inclusion. Open to everyone, it brings together start-ups, large companies, researchers, artists, public institutions, and the general public.

The site combines research and training facilities, innovation and production spaces for professionals, and a discovery and experimentation area open to the public. This ecosystem enables companies and start-ups to co-develop solutions by placing disability and universal design at the heart of the innovation process.

HANDILAB is founded on strong convictions that we fully share:

• Moving disability, dependency, and loss of independence beyond the sole medical and social care perspective;

• Recognising people with disabilities as value creators and full members of society;

• Encouraging collaboration between research, entrepreneurship, and businesses to accelerate inclusive innovation.

The partnership between HANDILAB and AXA Foundation for human Progress focuses on two key initiatives:

• Supporting innovation through an award program that grants startups one year of incubation at Handilab

• An ESSEC-Handilab Chair "Inclusion & Economic and Social Performance"

A new cohort of start-ups advancing inclusion

Our support is reflected in an incubation programme that enables new start-ups to join the HANDILAB ecosystem each year. In February 2026, eleven new start-ups were selected by a panel bringing together representatives from several AXA entities, while five start-ups from the inaugural cohort were awarded a second year of incubation. Altogether, 22 start-ups will have benefited from incubation through the partnership between HANDILAB and the AXA Fund for Human Progress between 2024 and 2026. On 30 June, the new cohort was officially celebrated during an award ceremony, under the patronage of Anne-Elise Chevillard, Diversity & Inclusion Director at AXA France.

This new cohort reflects the diversity of innovations being developed to foster autonomy and inclusion:

• B&A Biomedical - early detection of autism spectrum disorders through artificial intelligence;

• Dynseo - digital solutions supporting people with disabilities and their caregivers;

• Heralbony - promoting artists with disabilities through partnerships with businesses and brands;

• Hopper – innovative sports prosthetics that improve access to sport for amputees;

• InSleepLab - preventing sleep-related risks in the workplace;

• Kwit - digital tools supporting people dealing with addiction;

• Panthea - making live performances more accessible through immersive technologies;

• Reverto - virtual reality solutions for preventing psychosocial risks;

• Sonaid - sound-based detection of critical events to improve the safety of vulnerable people;

• SonarVision - ultra-precise navigation technology for people with visual impairments;

• Xray Moov - remote medical supervision of bedside imaging.

The first cohort of supported start-ups is already demonstrating the tangible impact of the programme. Several have brought their first products to market, launched clinical trials or partnerships with healthcare institutions, received recognition at major events such as CES and VivaTech, and begun expanding internationally. This momentum demonstrates that incubation provides long-term support, extending far beyond one-off funding.

Through this partnership, we are helping move disability beyond the boundaries of the medical and social care sector and place it at the heart of business, innovation, and value creation. Together with HANDILAB, we are transforming difference into strength and making inclusion a driver of meaningful, sustainable, and positive growth for everyone.