The Viva Technology conference in Paris last week was buzzing with talk about how far France has come as a leader in AI. A great deal of chatter surrounded French AI firm H, which raised $220 million investors including U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon. A common theme was the boost France’s AI scene has gotten from U.S. tech firms, with Microsoft and Amazon investing billions into the country. French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with members of the AI sector at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France, on May 21, 2024. Yoan Valat | Afp | Getty Images
PARIS — France is touting itself as the next artificial intelligence superpower. [style note: Paris stands alone in datelines]
The Viva Technology conference in Paris last week was buzzing with talk about how far France has come as a leader in AI.
A great deal of chatter surrounded the French AI firm H, previously named Holistic, which raised a $220 million seed funding round [“raised $220 million in a seed funding round”? please could you also tweak the second bullet point in the key points] from investors including U.S. tech giant Amazon and Google’s billionaire ex-CEO Eric Schmidt.
A common theme for French AI firms receiving large sums of money is that they’re adding U.S. tech heavyweights to their shareholder lists.
Earlier this month, France received a flood of new private investments, led by a commitment from Microsoft of 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion), its largest ever into France.
AI everywhere at Viva Tech
At Viva Tech, AI was everywhere. Past the large, bright pink “VIVA” sign toward the front, there was an entire alley called “AI Avenue,” which was surrounded by U.S. tech firms such as Salesforce and AWS.
Generative AI was on display everywhere — even from companies you wouldn’t expect.
For example, French beauty giant L’Oreal showed off an AI-powered beauty assistant called “BeautyGenius” at a large booth near the center of the Porte de Versailles conference venue.
The success of Viva Tech has become symbolically important for France as part of its bid to become a leading tech and AI hub that can rival the likes of the U.S. and China.
“France is the leader on artificial intelligence in Europe,” Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, told CNBC’s
