Macron unveils plans for €109bn of AI investment in France

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French President Emmanuel Macron has announced $ 109 billion investment in artificial intelligence in France in the coming years, as Europe wants more steps in the rapid growing industry influenced by the United States and China.

Before the Paris’ AI Action Summit, which began on Monday, Macron reported the new fund, where there are features of world leaders and AI executives like Openi’s Sam Altman.

This comes after US President Donald Trump praised the $ 500bn AI infrastructure project last month StargateBuilt in the United States and led the Openai and Softbank.

Large technology groups have laid $ 300 billion this year for Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta AI-related capital expenditure.

Meanwhile, Chinese groups like DEPSEC are taking huge steps to develop competitive and low -cost AI models, while Huawei is investing a lot in making chips that can compete in the market leader Nvidia.

In the face of this national competition, “Europe and France must accelerate their investment”, Macron told France 2 television on Sunday.

To that end, France will announce Monday that companies have agreed to invest $ 109 billion in AI projects in the country in the coming years.

“What the United States declared for Stargate is equivalent for France,” said Macron.

This move highlights the determination of Macron’s determination that France and Europe are part of the global racing for the development and commercialization of cutting-Ez technology.

An investment in France will be in the UAE, which last week said it would invest about $ 50 billion in a new campus for data centers.

Preliminary financing will come from Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund, a $ 100 billion investment vehicle involved with Stargate, while on the other hand a consortium of French companies will join.

On Sunday, Canadian Asset Manager Brookfield announced a $ 20 billion investment to support AI infrastructure deployment in France.

Another result of the Paris Summit is to create a non-profit investment fund called Current AI whose aims are so-called “public interest AI”, such as privacy-friendly, anonymous healthcare data for AI projects. Some € 400MN has been committed to $ 2.5 billion in order to raise five years of funding.

European start-ups are long behind their United States and Chinese associates because they face a final battle due to lack of precision about inadequate funds, computing power access and how to apply regulations.

For Macron, the opportunity to show the summit that France can still run soft energy on large global issues like AI.

He suggested to develop his own AI platforms and applications in Europe, so that only the United States and Chinese innovation that would affect many areas of business, consumer and society.

Specifically, he was a Paris-based AI Start-up Mistral Cheerleader, the only notable creator of a large language model in Europe, whose chief executive Arthur Mansash expected to be the star of the French summit.

Macron and other leaders, such as co-host India Premier Narendra Modi, OpenAI and Google, are expected to support the AI ​​platforms created by Mistral and DEPSEC, such as more “open”.

Meta’s chief AI scientist and a prominent French researcher Ian Lucun says the US companies of closed models “have a complex of excellence that have been in the wrong place”, adding: “The open world is caught with them.”

Additional Report of Ivan Levelingston in London, Henry Foy and Barbara Mens of Brussels