Airize the Summit: French President Emmanuel Macron Unveils €109 Billion AI Investment Package

French President Emmanuel Macron was at the center of attention at the conclusion of the first day of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, following the unveiling of a €109 billion ($112 billion) investment package for the French AI ecosystem.

Macron reiterated his commitment to this financial backing from both private partners willing to build data centers in France (mostly) and invest in AI startups (sometimes). He noted that the main reason international investors are choosing France for their next massive data center project lies in the country’s abundance of nuclear energy.

Declaration by Macron on the French AI Approach

“They have a friend on the other side of the ocean saying “Drill, baby, drill.” Here, there is no need to drill, it’s just “Plug, baby, plug,”” Macron said.

However, he doesn’t suggest that the AI Action Summit should be focused solely on France. “For me, this summit is not just the announcement of a lot of investment in France. It’s a wake-up call for a European strategy,” he said.

He hopes that the upcoming announcement by President Van der Leyen, the European AI strategy, will be a significant occasion. According to Macron, this strategy will provide Europe with a unique opportunity to speed up, simplify regulations, expand the single market, and invest in computing capacities as well.

The European Union aims to streamline regulation, which Macron fully endorses. “It’s very clear that we need to synchronize with the rest of the world in terms of transmission, in terms of permitting, in terms of authorization, clinical trials — I mean, in all the different sectors.”

‘ may prefer to buy from local startups, whereas European companies stand out in general, especially in the tech sector.

On Tuesday, global leaders along with tech CEOs will unveil a new statement. The following days will involve scrutinizing the content and the list of participating countries at the end of the summit, in an attempt to identify if it’s still possible to agree on a priority list for AI regulation.

Stay updated with our full coverage of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris.