Macron signals investments of 109 billion euros in French AI by private sector

French President Emmanuel Macron attends an interview for national television with French Journalist Laurent Delahousse and Indian Journalist Palki Sharma Upadhyay, ahead of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit at the Grand Palais, in Paris, France, February 9, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool

France will announce private sector investments totalling some 109 billion euros ($112.5 billion) in its artificial intelligence sector during the Paris AI summit which opens on Monday, President Emmanuel Macron said.

The financing includes plans by Canadian investment firm Brookfield to invest 20 billion euros in AI projects in France and financing from the United Arab Emirates which could hit 50 billion euros in the years ahead, Macron's office said.

The Elysee Palace said the UAE investment would include financing for a 1 gigawatt data centre. The La Tribune de Dimanche newspaper reported that the bulk of Brookfield's investment would go towards a data centre.

AI requires huge amounts of energy to power massive data centres, with Europe seen struggling to meet future demand.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that OpenAI, SoftBank Group and Oracle would invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure over the next four years to help the United States stay ahead of China and other rivals in the global AI race.