TL;DR La Rochelle punches above its size for tech events. The main fixed dates are IA-NA (AI congress, early June, 3rd edition in 2026) and EBG Digital Benchmark (MarTech/data, October, recurring since at least 2023). For the rest of the year, Technopole ATLAS and Village by CA CMDS run a steady cadence of workshops and pitch events. There is no GDG or DevFest chapter in La Rochelle — the nearest active developer community hub is Bordeaux.
Anchor Events
IA-NA — Intelligence Artificielle en Nouvelle-Aquitaine
| Next edition | June 3, 2026 [1] |
| Venue | Centre de Congrès Georges Pernoud, Avenue du Lazaret, La Rochelle |
| Theme | “Adopte ton IA” — pragmatic AI adoption for organisations |
| Format | Keynotes · hands-on workshops · roundtables · networking lunch |
| Organizers | L3I Lab, La Rochelle Université, Pôle Enter [2] [3] |
| Sponsors | Ayaline (Platinum) · MAIF, Scalingo (Gold) · Thales, MTI Engineering |
| Audience | Business decision-makers, CTOs, developers, researchers in Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Registration | billetweb.fr/ia-na-2026 [4] |
The 3rd edition [2] covers predictive AI, agentic workflows, AI code tooling, and digital sobriety [3]. Speakers include reps from Lectra, Norauto, and Thales. The June 3 date coincides with the day of this research — the event is ongoing as of today.
EBG Digital Benchmark La Rochelle
| 2025 edition | October 7–8, 2025 [5] |
| 2023 edition | October 10–11, 2023 [6] |
| Venue | La Rochelle (dedicated accommodation-included venue) |
| Format | 25 keynotes + 30 workshops over 2 days, all-inclusive [5] |
| Audience | ~300 CMOs, CDOs, digital leaders from non-competing major brands |
| Organizer | EBG — 660 member companies, 110,000+ professionals [7] |
Topics: Data Marketing, Enterprise Data, AI implementation, E-commerce. The all-inclusive format (transport, hotel, meals) makes it a genuine destination event. The 2026 edition in La Rochelle has not been officially announced yet — watch ebg.net for dates [7].
Ecosystem & Recurring Events
Technopole ATLAS workshops
Technopole ATLAS [8] is La Rochelle’s main innovation hub (12 Avenue Albert Einstein, Minimes). It runs:
- AI/growth workshops — monthly themed sessions (e.g. “Growth & IA : De la théorie à la pratique”)
- IP & software protection workshops — focus on AI and startup legal frameworks
- Pitch&Invest — pitch competitions at Village by CA La Rochelle
- European funding workshops — cascade funding for startups/SMEs
- VR demonstrations — demos at Tribord Sailing Lab (most recent: June 4, 2026)
All listed on the ATLAS agenda.
Village by CA CMDS
Village by CA CMDS [9] (Charente-Maritime Deux-Sèvres) is a startup accelerator co-located with Technopole ATLAS at 12 Avenue Albert Einstein. It runs workshops, networking afterworks, and the Pitch&Invest sessions. Its 400 m² auditorium is used for many of the ecosystem events above.
Startup Weekend La Rochelle
A 49-hour entrepreneurship sprint [10] hosted at La Rochelle Université’s Technoforum. Participants pitch ideas, form teams, and build MVPs over a weekend. Backed by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region via OpenCampusInnov. Specific 2026 dates not yet published — check the OpenCampusInnov events page for updates.
IUT La Rochelle — AI Thematic Days
IUT La Rochelle’s Informatique department [11] ran a national AI pedagogy day on March 20, 2026 for IUT educators (topics: AI evaluation, AI agents in teaching). Primarily academic audience; not a public-facing conference.
Events That Were Here But Aren’t Anymore
| Event | Last La Rochelle edition | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CoTer Numérique | June 4–5, 2024 [12] | Public-sector IT congress; 2025 → Clermont-Ferrand; 2026 → Reims [13] |
| La Rochelle Software Craftsmanship | Active ~2022 | Meetup group (211 members) is now defunct |
Tech Ecosystem Context
La Rochelle is part of French Tech Atlantic Valley [14] (renamed French Tech Poitou-Charentes in 2023), covering Angoulême, La Rochelle, Niort, and Poitiers. The local startup ecosystem ranks #627 globally [15] with ~16 startups and $5.3M in total funding — compact but growing (5.6% in 2025). For major developer conferences (DevFest, BDX I/O, Devoxx), the nearest hubs are Nantes (120 km) and Bordeaux (180 km).
Quick Reference
| Event | Month | Audience | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA-NA | June | Tech professionals, researchers | ia-na.univ-lr.fr |
| EBG Digital Benchmark | October | CMO/CDO from major brands | ebg.net |
| Startup Weekend | Varies | Students, aspiring founders | opencampusinnov.fr |
| ATLAS workshops | Year-round | Startups, SMEs, innovators | technopole-atlas.fr |
| Village by CA CMDS | Year-round | Startups, entrepreneurs | cmds.levillagebyca.com |