France and UAE team up for 162B investment in AI future
France announces investments in artificial intelligence valued at 162 billion Canadian dollars, including the construction of a data centre in collaboration with the UAE. The announcement coincided with the AI Action Summit in Paris, where global leaders are discussing the future of AI and global technological challenges.
During the international AI Action Summit, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will invest 162 billion Canadian dollars in the development of artificial intelligence.
For France, this is equivalent to what the United States announced in the Stargate project – said Macron on France 2 television.
He explained that this sum includes investments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), "large American and Canadian investment funds", as well as French enterprises such as telecommunications operators: Iliad, Orange, and the electronics company Thales.
France as the AI hub in Europe
One of the key projects is the construction of a vast data processing centre in France, co-financed by the UAE. Its value is estimated at 45-75 billion Canadian dollars, and the complex is to become one of the largest artificial intelligence centres in Europe.
February 10-11, the AI Action Summit is taking place in Paris, where political leaders and representatives of tech giants from 80 countries are gathering. Among the guests are U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"Arms race" in the AI industry
On January 23, 2025, the Bank of China presented the "Action Plan for Supporting the Development of the Artificial Intelligence Industry Chain", which means that over the next five years, the Chinese bank will allocate at least 177 billion Canadian dollars to support AI industry entities financially.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and the heads of Japan's Softbank, Oracle, and OpenAI announced the Stargate project at the White House after his inauguration. The giants will invest up to 681 billion Canadian dollars in building data centres and the architecture needed to develop artificial intelligence.
As Trump said during a speech at the White House, the company heads decided to establish a joint venture that will invest at least 136 billion, and in the long term up to 681 billion Canadian dollars over four years in building data centres in America and contribute to creating 100,000 jobs.
