Paris, June 18, 2026 – At VivaTech 2026, WALLIX, a leading European provider of identity and access cybersecurity solutions, and Inria today announced the signing of a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the development of trusted artificial intelligence for identity and access cybersecurity.

• This collaboration will be built around research projects, technological challenges, demonstrators, and joint innovation initiatives.
• The work will focus in particular on identity behavioral analytics, intelligent access governance, non-human identities, continuous compliance, and trusted AI systems.
• The partnership builds on existing collaborations between the two organizations, notably around Malizen, a startup whose technology originated from Inria research and has since been integrated into WALLIX.

Strengthening Cooperation Between Public Research and Industry to Accelerate Trusted AI Innovation for Cybersecurity

Against a backdrop of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, the proliferation of digital identities, and growing sovereignty challenges, this partnership—initiated through the Étincelles program led by the French Directorate General for Enterprise (DGE)—brings together French public research and industrial expertise to foster a new generation of sovereign AI solutions.

It is a concrete illustration of the success of this initiative, which aims to connect innovative SMEs with research organizations in support of competitiveness and digital sovereignty.

The objective is to strengthen organizations’ ability to secure their information systems, manage critical access rights, and meet increasing requirements for compliance and resilience.

As Inria’s first framework agreement with a French SME and its first strategic partnership in the cybersecurity sector, this announcement builds on existing synergies between research and industry, particularly through the journey of Malizen, a technology resulting from research conducted at Inria and now integrated into WALLIX.

This success demonstrates both organizations’ ability to transform scientific excellence into practical innovations that address real market challenges.

Research Initiatives Focused on Intelligent Identity and Access Cybersecurity

The partnership will be structured around research projects, technological challenges, demonstrators, and joint innovation initiatives.

The work will focus in particular on:

• Behavioral analysis of human and non-human identities to detect anomalies and early indicators of compromise;
• Intelligent access governance and automated reduction of excessive privileges;
• Securing non-human identities (technical accounts, APIs, services, automation systems, and workloads);
• Implementing continuous and automated compliance mechanisms, including real-time audit evidence generation;
• Developing trusted AI models that are robust, explainable, and resource-efficient, designed for sensitive or constrained environments.

The teams will also work on decision-support systems incorporating trusted AI principles to enhance the effectiveness of cybersecurity teams while reducing operational workloads.

“Against a backdrop of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence adoption, it is essential to develop trusted technologies that combine performance, transparency, and sovereignty. The recent shutdown of Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5, Anthropic’s two most advanced AI models, at the sole request of a foreign power, serves as a stark reminder of our dependence on non-European technologies and the urgent need to build strong European alternatives. The partnership between Inria and WALLIX embodies this ambition: to develop cybersecurity and AI technologies that are secure by design, independent, and capable of competing at the highest global standards. We firmly believe that digital freedom rests on two inseparable pillars: security and independence. By combining Inria’s scientific excellence with WALLIX’s industrial expertise, we are helping to build the cybersecurity solutions that European organizations need to operate freely and confidently in a safer digital world.” said Jean-Noël de Galzain, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WALLIX.

“This partnership perfectly illustrates Inria’s mission: transforming scientific excellence into innovations with strong economic and societal impact. By bringing public research and industrial expertise closer together around strategic challenges such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, we are helping strengthen French and European digital sovereignty.” added Bruno Sportisse, CEO of Inria.

Press Contacts

• WALLIX :
  Déborah Schwartz – dschwartz@actus.fr
  Loreline DESCORMIERS – ldescormiers@wallix.com
• Inria :
  Magalie QUET – magalie.quet@inria.fr

About WALLIX

WALLIX (Euronext: ALLIX since 2015) is a European cybersecurity publisher and a recognized European leader in privileged access management (PAM). WALLIX supports public and private organizations in securing their identities and access, in order to strengthen their operational resilience, compliance and digital autonomy. The unified WALLIX One platform now protects more than 4,000 organizations around the world. It helps secure identities, user access, and privileges across digital (IT) and industrial (OT) environments, giving organizations the freedom to operate securely and move freely in an increasingly complex and interconnected digital world.

About Inria

Inria: Advancing Digital Sovereignty Through Research and Innovation

Inria, the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology, supports the French government’s national digital research and innovation strategies as a Program Agency. With more than 3,500 researchers, engineers, and support staff, Inria conducts over 300 research and innovation projects in partnership with universities and the broader digital ecosystem, including companies, entrepreneurs, and public stakeholders. Together, we explore key fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum computing, cloud technologies, digital health transformation, digital twins, and digital technologies for defense. We develop tangible outcomes including software, deep-tech startups, industry partnerships, and advanced training programs. Our goal is to deliver scientific, technological, and industrial impact in support of France’s digital sovereignty.