France Attracts Billions in AI Investment at Choose France Summit

PARIS: (Web Desk) – France is hosting a major foreign investment summit on Monday, with global executives gathering at the Palace of Versailles as the country seeks to attract tens of billions of dollars in new capital, particularly in artificial intelligence and data centre infrastructure.

The annual “Choose France” event, led by President Emmanuel Macron, is expected to bring together around 200 top business leaders from around the world.

At the centre of this year’s summit are large-scale technology and AI-related investments. Japanese technology investor SoftBank has announced plans to invest €75 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure, with founder Masayoshi Son scheduled to meet Macron at the Élysée Palace.

According to reports, Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management is preparing to announce a $10 billion investment in a major data centre project in northern France. Meanwhile, Ardian and Nordic data infrastructure company Verne are expected to jointly invest $5 billion in a data centre near Paris.

Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn is also set to invest €120 million in a production facility in Angers focused on manufacturing AI-related motherboard components, in partnership with French supercomputing firm Bull.

Since its launch in 2018, the Choose France initiative has helped secure more than 230 investment projects worth around €87 billion, supporting job creation and industrial development across the country.

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According to consultancy EY, France has remained the leading destination for foreign investment in Europe for seven consecutive years, although overall investment levels across the continent have declined amid global economic uncertainty.

While France has attracted significant AI-related investment compared to its European peers, some economists caution that broader industrial sectors, including automotive, chemicals and metallurgy, continue to face challenges.

President Macron has positioned France as a future global leader in artificial intelligence, pledging €1.55 billion in public funding for quantum technologies and semiconductor development as part of a wider push to strengthen technological sovereignty.

However, analysts note that despite high-profile announcements, sustained industrial recovery and reindustrialisation remain ongoing challenges for the French economy.