Macron signals investments of $152.4 billion in French AI by private sector
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French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said the financing includes plans by Canadian investment firm Brookfield and the UAE.
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS – France will announce private sector investments totalling some €109 billion (S$152.4 billion) in its artificial intelligence (AI) sector during the Paris AI summit which opens on Feb 10, President Emmanuel Macron said.
The financing includes plans by Canadian investment firm Brookfield to invest €20 billion in AI projects in France and financing from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which could hit €50 billion in the years ahead, Mr Macron’s office said.
The Elysee Palace said the UAE investment would include financing for a 1 gigawatt data centre. The La Tribune Dimanche newspaper reported that the bulk of Brookfield’s investment would go towards a data centre.
AI requires huge amounts of energy to power massive data centres, with Europe seen struggling to meet future demand.
In January, US President Donald Trump announced that OpenAI, SoftBank Group and Oracle would invest US$500 billion (S$676.7 billion) in AI infrastructure over the next four years to help the US stay ahead of China and other rivals in the global AI race. REUTERS