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  

The European Union is facing increasing pressure to step up its AI investments, particularly as President Trump dismantles regulatory restrictions to boost US competitiveness and China enters the field with its DeepSeek AI initiative.  

 

The funding package includes a commitment from Canadian investment firm Brookfield to invest 20 billion euro in AI projects in France. Additionally, financing from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could reach 50 billion euro in the coming years.  

 

Initial capital will be provided by Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund, a $100-billion investment vehicle that is also involved in the Stargate project. French companies are expected to join the initiative later.  

 

According to the Élysée Palace, the UAE’s investment will contribute to the construction of a 1-gigawatt data centre. Meanwhile, French newspaper La Tribune de Dimanche reported that the majority of Brookfield’s funding will also be directed towards data centre development.  

 

AI infrastructure demands vast amounts of energy, and with Europe struggling to meet future power needs, France’s move is seen as an effort to secure a stronger position in an industry currently dominated by the US and China.  

 

Major tech firms, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, are expected to collectively spend around $300 billion this year on AI-related capital expenditure.  

 

Paris AI Summit

Against the backdrop of rapid AI advancements, global leaders and tech executives are assembling in Paris for the AI Summit, which starts on Monday. The two-day event at the Grand Palais will host more than 1,500 attendees, including over 100 world leaders.  

 

Key figures attending include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US Vice President JD Vance, Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.  

 

Leading AI and technology executives, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft President Brad Smith, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, are scheduled to speak at the AI Action Summit. While Elon Musk and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng have been invited, their attendance remains uncertain. “If we want growth, jobs, and progress, we must allow innovators to innovate, builders to build, and developers to develop,” Altman wrote in an Le Monde op-ed ahead of the summit.