Post by Mercure HEC

Immersive experiences to sovereign AI infrastructure: focus on Cédric Chane-Ching, nominee for the East Asia & Pacific zone At the crossroads of immersive technologies, artificial intelligence, and digital sovereignty, Cedric C. has built an entrepreneurial path driven by rapid international expansion and technological ambition. A graduate of HEC Paris (MS Entrepreneur 2018), he co-founded Aptero in Paris in 2020, shortly after completing his studies. Initially focused on immersive technologies, the company quickly gained traction with major clients including L’Oréal and Paris Airport. Under his leadership, Aptero expanded internationally at an accelerated pace, opening offices in South Korea and Chile in 2023, followed by China in 2025. The company was recognized as Best French Startup in Korea by the FKCCI and became a finalist in the K-Startup Grand Challenge, while also collaborating with the European Union on XR projects through Horizon Europe. In 2025, Cédric launched Yundera, a new venture dedicated to data sovereignty and the next generation of AI application deployment, marking a strategic pivot toward secure and private-data-driven artificial intelligence infrastructure. He is supported in this journey by Pierre-Henri Frico, CTO and former architect of the French passport security systems at Idemia (formerly Safran), as well as Christian Gomez Carvajal, fellow HEC Paris 2018 alumnus and long-time collaborator. Nominated for the East Asia & Pacific zone, Cédric Chane-Ching embodies a new generation of founders building at the intersection of immersive tech, AI infrastructure, and digital sovereignty. HEC Paris HEC Alumni Jean-Christophe Myon Laurent DIDIER Lyès Ghamissou-Bassagaïtz Fanny Oursel Charles THOU Tina El Boustany Anas B. Rita Kanaan Wassim Kari Veronique Goussard Marine Queniart-Stojanovic, SID-SRAD Mahesh Triplicane Damodaran François de Mouillac