France is making a strong case for itself as a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI), alongside the US and China. The recent VivaTech conference in Paris showcased France’s vision of becoming a third AI hub. The conference attracted tens of thousands of attendees, including tech luminaries from the US and China, and even Elon Musk made an appearance via video.
At the conference, homegrown AI startup Mistral AI, a rival to OpenAI, was in the spotlight. The startup, which is only a year old, is reportedly nearing a $6 billion valuation. Another Parisian startup, H, announced a $220 million seed round to build AI models of its own. The funding round included contributions from billionaires Bernard Arnault, Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel, and Yuri Milner.
The conference highlighted the growing AI ecosystem in France, with startups taking on significant risk to compete in the global AI market. Despite the high costs of talent and computing for developing AI, there was little concern about soaring valuations, particularly in France.
Former Google boss, Eric Schmidt, argued forcefully for Europe to invest even more in AI and to slow down on regulation. He warned that if France doesn’t succeed, Europe will not be a major player in the development of a new form of intelligence, which would be a real tragedy.
President Emmanuel Macron, although absent from VivaTech due to political unrest, called for France to become an undisputed leader in AI. His priorities included funding research centers and opening nationwide AI cafes. He congratulated startup H on its funding round and expressed his preference for Mistral AI to grow on their own rather than be acquired by partner Microsoft Corp. or another American firm.
Read more: Bloomberg