The Enghien-les-Bains suburb of Paris is an urban resort area around the lake of Enghien. It is home to some of Europe’s largest tourist facilities, including casinos, hotels, spas, and restaurants. It is also the site of the Bains numériques, an international exposition held every other year. The name literally translates as “the digital spa”. It features concerts, live performances, digital technology exhibits, and other attractions, spotlighting the creativity and sociability of the region.

The expos are organized by the Centre des arts (CDA), a digital arts center that is run by the commune of Enghien-les-Bains. Knowledge Capital has been working increasingly closely with the CDA since it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the organization in September 2015.

Knowledge Capital set up its second booth in a row at this year’s event, which was held June 14–17. The exhibit was in an area spotlighting artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and robotics. Knowledge Salon members and other participants presented their latest initiatives and collaborative outcomes in the expo in France.

The venue was bustling with visitors during the event, including the mayor of Enghien-les-Bains and international delegations that had come to observe. More than 3,000 people—among them local journalists as well as families, students, and other members of the public—came to the Knowledge Capital booth over the two days of the exhibition.

The Bureau International des Expositions was having its General Assembly meeting in Paris at the same time. Ichiro Matsui, Governor of Osaka Prefecture, was in attendance as part of his efforts to promote expo activities and stopped by to visit the Knowledge Capital exhibit as well.

As they interacted with visitors, the participants discovered potential business and collaboration opportunities with local companies and organizations.

The expo laid the groundwork for future possibilities in other ways as well. One of the participants contracted with a local startup support organization to move into their new facility and provide related products. In other examples, a participant was asked to install a new system at a local school, while another entered sales negotiations for novelty goods at a local company.


An international competition was also held during the expo, and Knowledge Capital General Producer Takuya Nomura was again invited to serve as a judge this year in the visual arts and performing arts categories. The resulting Grand Prix winners were Urbrain and Erik Lorre (France) for their Image Latente in the visual arts division, and Marco Donnarumma (Italy) for his Corpus Nil in the performing arts division.