French President Emmanuel Macron has declared that through its investments, France is evolving into “a country at the forefront of AI.” He shared this statement in a post on March 13.
“Mistral, LightOn, Shift Technology, Alan, Bioptimus, Google: more and more of them are choosing France to innovate in artificial intelligence,” said Macron, according to X. “By investing, we are making France a country at the forefront of AI.”
Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve, co-founder and CEO of Alan, an AI healthcare solution provider, and a board member of Mistral AI, expressed his gratitude towards Macron for his support of the AI industry. In a post on X, he said: “Let’s make France the leader in AI in all sectors. Thank you @EmmanuelMacron for your support of this ecosystem and innovation.”
According to Euractiv, Macron announced more than 7 billion euros worth of investments into France’s AI industry and green technologies in June. This move aims to keep France competitive with China and the U.S. The investments include 40 million euros to bolster generative AI development and 500 million euros to establish at least five AI “clusters.” Macron underscored the significance of attracting talent to France to foster the growth of new technologies.
During the 2021 VivaTech conference in Paris, Macron set a goal to boost the number of French tech “unicorns,” or startups valued over $1 billion, from 27 to at least 100 by 2030. Reuters reported him saying: “What target am I fixing for us? To try to develop 10 tech giants in Europe, in the coming five years, and to increase the number of our unicorns to at least 100 by 2030, which is feasible.”
Ken Timsit, managing director of blockchain company Cronos Labs, wrote an opinion piece for CoinDesk stating that as of March 2023, the number of tech “unicorns” in France had increased to 32. He mentioned that funding for emerging technology sectors such as Web3 and crypto was robust in France. Since 2017, blockchain projects have raised at least $1.3 billion. Timsit further stated that the Web3 industry has received support from government agencies, with France’s Ministry of Culture allocating $150 million to promote “French cultural sovereignty” in digital environments. He also noted an influx of Web3 innovators migrating to France from jurisdictions less receptive to digital assets.
According to Britannica, Macron was elected president of France in 2017 and reelected in 2022. Prior to his presidency, he worked in the private financial sector at Rothschild & Cie Banque and served as France’s Finance Minister in the public sector.
