NPco's Simformers project selected as a France 2030 "Pionniers de l'IA" laureate

On 15 September 2026, Les Echos published the second wave of laureates of the France 2030 "Pionniers de l'IA" call: 28 new projects using AI to transform industry, first unveiled at Vivatech in June. NPco's Simformers project is one of them.

What the call is

"Pionniers de l'IA" is run by Bpifrance and France's national institute for research in digital science and technology (Inria), as part of the France 2030 investment plan. A first wave named 23 laureates in February; this second wave brings the total to 51. Projects are evaluated at the end of each phase, and only those that keep a high level of ambition move on.

What Les Echos says about NPco

« En matière de simulation industrielle, le projet Simformers de NPco - anciennement Augur - vise à accélérer les cycles de développement dans le secteur automobile et aéronautique. »

Les Echos, 15 September 2026. Our translation: "In industrial simulation, NPco's Simformers project, formerly Augur, aims to accelerate development cycles in the automotive and aerospace sectors."

Why it matters

Les Echos lists the project under "Simulation physique et IA physique", one of the call's priority areas. For the engineering teams we work with, it is an independent signal: a public program selected AI for simulation as a way to shorten how industrial products are designed and tested.

Read the full article on Les Echos and the government announcement on entreprises.gouv.fr.