WAICF Awards – World AI Cannes Festival 2026

Objectives: 

The WAICF Awards aim to determine the most innovative Artificial Intelligence projects to reward and highlight the most audacious for a better world, the most original, and the most innovative.   

The innovative nature, the positive component of the AI project as well as an application project that has reached, at least, the first stage of deployment (Minimum Viable Product, i.e. a "test" version designed very quickly and with a minimum of budget to obtain, from the target customers, a maximum of feedback to improve the product ) are the three strong points of a good application.

 

Awards: 

• Excellence Award - Grand Jury Prize

• Impact Award

• Startup Award 

The jury will select one winner per category from the entries submitted for the WAICF Awards, in accordance with the criteria detailed below. The awards will be presenting on February 13, from 11:20 AM to 12:30 PM, in the Riviera conference room. It will be preceded by a keynote session and will be open to all attendees, including visitors, exhibitors, and speakers.

Awards and benefits for winners

Each winner will be awarded the prestigious “WAICF AWARDS" trophy and benefit from enhanced online visibility and public relations support to showcase their achievements. In addition, winners will be granted one Full Pass for the 2026 edition of the World AI Cannes Festival.

Eligibility Requirements: 

The IMPACT AWARD and EXCELLENCE AWARD are open to all organisations, whatever their structure (startup, TP, SME, large account, NGO...) that have conducted or are conducting innovative AI projects that necessarily meet the following criteria:

• Innovation
• Customer and/or consumer benefit, interest for the ecosystem and the sector
• Level of project maturity
• Economic performance
• Operational performance 

The members of the jury will give preference to application-based projects, rather than applications that focus solely on the description of an AI solution or technology. 

For the STARTUP AWARD, eligibility conditions are (at least one condition to be fulfilled): 

• Founded or having officially launched its product(s) less than 5 years ago; 
• With less than 30 employees; 
• Funding Stage: between Seed stage and Series B (up to 20M€ of financing).   

There is no limit on the number of submissions per company, and one entry can be sent in several categories if it meets all the eligibility requirements stipulated in the present Rules and separate submissions are prepared. 

 

Jury 

All completed entries received by December 19th, 2025, will be submitted to the Awards jury, an independent body of professionals and experts of the AI sector, selected by RX France (hereafter the “Jury”). 

The Jury will meet in January 2026 to review all the entries and shortlist several finalists in each of the Three categories mentioned in Item 1. 

Selection & Assessment criteria  

The Jury will ultimately select one laureate per category among the applications competing for the Awards, based on the criteria defined below. 

The “AI” nature of the projet  

• Automated 
• Assisted 
• Augmented 
• Autonomous 

The innovative nature of the project

• In the professions (marketing, logistics, production, finance, legal, innovation...), tools (Open Source), uses (customization, improvement...) and economic models (BtoC, BtoB, BtoBtoC or multi-faceted market)
• New analyses provided (Data Scientist approach) 
• Benefits observed by the stakeholders  

The assessment of the Artificial Intelligence approach

• Funding (private/public)  
• AI project deployment scope (specific segment, large-scale deployment...) 
• Economic and financial gains 
• Futurs steps and developments 
• Other information about the project (newspaper articles, patent filed...) 

Trustworthy AI

• Transparency: clear AI processes, data and decisions
• Fairness: minimizing biases for fair user treatment 
• Privacy: strong, regulation-compliant data protection 
• Accountability: systems to track, explain, and address AI decisions

For the IMPACT AWARD: The positive component of the AI project for the good of mankind and/or the plante.

By submitting their application, Entrants agree that, in the event their project is awarded a trophy, a representative from their organisation will attend the Awards Ceremony in person on 13 February 2026. 

Entrants are responsible for covering their own travel and accommodation expenses. WAICF does not provide financial support for these costs. 

Conduct 

You can now fill it out the form application on the Agorize Platform until December 19 2025, at 11:59 pm UTC+1. No application received after this date will be considered. 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Auriane CADORET Auriane.cadoret@rxglobal.com