Macron unveils $112.5 bn AI investment to boost France's tech ambitions

French President Emmanuel Macron compared this initiative to the $500-billion AI data centre project announced by US President Donald Trump last month

As global competition in artificial intelligence (AI) intensifies, French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (February 10) revealed that private sector investments worth 109 billion euro ($112.5 billion) will be directed towards AI development in France over the coming years. A significant portion of these funds is expected to be allocated to the construction of data centres.  

 

Macron compared this initiative to the $500-billion AI data centre project announced by US President Donald Trump last month, describing it as a transformative moment for France. “This is the equivalent for France of what the US announced for Stargate,” he told a local Television channel.  

 

The official announcement is set to take place at the AI summit in Paris, which begins on Monday. Speaking to a local television channel on Sunday, Macron underscored the urgency of AI investment in Europe.  

 

“The first battle for Europeans is to invest, invest, invest… If we regulate before we innovate, we won’t have any innovation, and people will say, ‘We have great regulation in Europe, but we don’t have a single player’,” he was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.  

 

Global AI race heats up