microsoft and Amazon They are funneling billions of dollars into France.
Microsoft said in a statement on Monday that it would spend 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in France, in addition to building AI skills and supporting France’s technology industry.
The company said it plans to invest in up to 25,000 cutting-edge GPUs (graphics processing units) in France by the end of 2025. Microsoft also plans to train 1 million people and support 2,500 AI startups by 2027.
The announcement was made during the Choose France summit, a gathering aimed at promoting foreign investment in France.
“This significant investment demonstrates our firm commitment to supporting France’s digital innovation and economic growth,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement Monday.
“We are building a state-of-the-art cloud and AI infrastructure and training talent with AI skills so that French startups can confidently use our technology to grow in a fair and responsible way. We are supporting you.”
As part of the investment, Microsoft will open a new data center in the French city of Mulhouse.
Meanwhile, Amazon has committed itself to investing 1.2 billion euros in France.
The funding will be used to create more than 3,000 jobs in France, on top of the 2,000 new jobs Amazon has already announced for 2024, and will help the company create more jobs in France, Amazon country manager Frédéric Duval said. The funds will be used to widely expand the company’s bases.
“Expanding our logistics network will support local economic development, create quality jobs, and enable us to reduce the carbon footprint of our deliveries, while increasing overall customer It can improve the experience.”
Microsoft and Amazon have committed a total of $5.6 billion to France. France reportedly attracted record investment commitments totaling 15 billion euros from foreign companies at the annual Choose France summit held on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron is trying to promote France as an artificial intelligence hub. Paris is already the center of his AI research and development. Facebook We established FAIR there in 2015, one of the leading AI labs.
Last year, at the VivaTech technology trade show in Paris, President Macron announced €500 million in new funding to create new AI “champions,” adding to previous commitments from the government. including promises Spend 1.5 billion euros on AI by 2022.
Microsoft is also launching its own charm offensive, investing billions of euros in France as French authorities express concerns about the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant’s investment in AI startup Mistral.
Microsoft recently made a €15 million investment in Mistral. The deal saw Microsoft acquire a stake in Mistral, with the latter adding its large-scale language model to the tech giant’s Azure cloud computing platform.
Microsoft has dismissed competition concerns surrounding its investment in Mistral, saying the company remains independent and the partnership is a minority investment and a commercial relationship, not a merger. The UK competition regulator is seeking feedback on the deal.