Every year, the VivaTech Innovation of the Year award recognizes pioneering startups that are shaping the future. It highlights the creativity, technological ingenuity, and industry-transforming potential of these young companies from around the world.
The Top 30 has been revealed, and Oncoelectronics, a French startup incubated at Mines Saint-Étienne, is among them. Led by Rod O’Connor, Alanna Harlton, and Martin Bača, the team combines biocompatibility, miniaturization, and electrophysiology to offer a groundbreaking solution for incurable brain tumors. This flexible implantable device is capable of delivering localized electric fields to the brain designed to slow tumor progression.
A researcher at the Provence Microelectronics Center (CMP), located on the Aix-Marseille-Provence campus of Mines Saint-Étienne, Rod O’Connor has been conducting studies on cancer and biotechnology for 12 years. Supported by Alana Harlton (a Canadian entrepreneur) and Martin Bača (a Slovak research engineer), he benefited from the scientific mentoring and technological ecosystem of the Mines Saint-Étienne TEAM incubator to develop Oncoelectronics.
This support allowed the startup to access several leading institutions in the fight against cancer, including the Institut Paoli-Calmettes in Marseille, Gustave Roussy in Île-de-France, and the Marie Lannelongue Hospital in Hauts-de-Seine.
Oncoelectronics is among the 30 young companies selected by VivaTech 2025, alongside space exploration projects, AI capable of reading thoughts, and many other projects taking science and engineering to new heights.
