APREX, named Start-up of the Year in the Grand Est region, is applying precision imaging technology to the industrial sector.

Romain Baude and Mikaël Désécures are applying image recognition techniques developed for nuclear research to industrial production lines.

Their company, Aprex Solutions, was named Start-up of the Year in the Grand Est region at the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards* organized by EY.

Aprex Solutions exemplifies a remarkable synergy between science and industry. Its two founders, Romain Baude, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, and Mickaël Désécures, a nuclear fusion engineer, have mastered exceptional image analysis techniques, particularly through their research on the ITER reactor in the 2010s.

“The cameras installed in the reactor captured up to two million images per second to detect even the slightest speck of dust under difficult lighting conditions. The algorithms used to process this data laid the groundwork for artificial intelligence,” notes Romain Baude, now CEO of Aprex Solutions, where Mickaël Désécures serves as managing director.

Ynsect, Petit Bateau and Saint-Gobain are among its clients

The two men decided to turn it into a business in 2017. Their startup, Aprex Solutions, made a smooth transition from the Jean Lamour Institute—a university laboratory specializing in materials science in Nancy—to the Lorraine Incubator, an organization that supports research-based startups.

Aprex offers industry a new method of non-destructive testing. Its image analysis techniques applied to production lines have notably won over Petit Bateau’s garment workshops, the Wienerberger brick factory, and Saint-Gobain sites.

Based in Pulligny, in rural Meurthe-et-Moselle, Aprex Solutions, which employs 20 people, is developing two software suites: AX IA, which “trains” the AI upstream, and AX Vision, which monitors processes on production lines. To develop its tools, the company has already raised over 3 million euros since its founding. The company does not wish to disclose its revenue at this time.

The two scientists, now entrepreneurs, have not, however, left the world of research. Aprex Solutions is involved in joint supervision of doctoral theses with the CNRS, and for the past four years has been studying the morphology of insect strains on behalf of the startup Ynsect.

In a completely different field, Aprex is developing a fuel-reloading assistance system for the Cattenom nuclear power plant. By helping to streamline water and raw material consumption in today’s industry, the startup also hopes to make the world of tomorrow more reliable.

Les Echos entrepreneurs : https://entrepreneurs.lesechos.fr/creation-entreprise/idees-success-stories/aprex-start-up-de-lannee-en-grand-est-met-limagerie-de-precision-au-service-de-lindustrie-2120222

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*The 32nd edition of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award is organized by EY in partnership with Edmond de Rothschild, Samsic, Steelcase, and Verlingue, and with the support of Bpifrance.