France Hosts The VivaTech Conference To Affirm Its Role As A Global AI Center

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, will attend the AI executive meeting in Paris (photo: x @JohnKerry)

JAKARTA - This week, France will host technology executives and political figures including former US Secretary of State John Kerry, EU Industry Chief Thierry Breton, and former Google boss Eric Schmidt, in a bid to assert Paris' role as AI center.

The "Viva Technology" Conference will put French innovators ahead and centrally as participants address key questions about artificial intelligence (AI), including its impact on upcoming general elections and climate change.

The world's largest luxury brand group based in Paris, LVMH, also supports VivaTech as the show's founding partner. LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, who is one of the richest people in the world, is expected to attract crowds during his visit to the group's big booth, featuring new technologies from prestigious brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer, and Dior.

In the last 18 months, France has been working on building reputations as a leader in a generative AI, the technology behind the ChatGPT OpenAI and similar tools, by trying to attract the launch of a new startup. President Emmanuel Macron has withdrawn investments from major American technology companies such as Amazon and Microsoft, while trying to revive the EU's plans to further integrate the capital market across the continent. He hopes it will help raise the capital needed to build up developing AI companies.

Paris' status as the global capital of luxury can also help it attract investment in technology, organizers say. Francois Bitouket, managing director of VivaTech, stated that luxury is always related to innovation because the goal is to always provide something that others cannot provide.

He also called Britain's exit from the European Union a factor in France's growth. Paris has been in second place after London in terms of technology investment, but there are signs of change, added Bitouket. "The ecosystem in Paris is very dynamic, and there has been a lot of investment here in recent years," he said.

Investors poured nearly $8 billion into French tech companies in 2023, behind the UK (US $ 13 billion) but ahead of Germany (US $ 7 billion), according to a recent report from venture capital firm Atomico. While Paris may not immediately challenge London for the top spot, tech startups have emerged in France at a faster pace than elsewhere in Europe, with nearly 3,000 set up in 2023, according to Atomico.

Some of the hottest companies in Paris were founded by former researchers at well-known industry companies such as Google DeepMistral AI and Holistic AI. Last September, Julien Launay left his job at Humging Face, a leading French-American AI company, to launch its own startup, Adaptive ML, which helps other companies build their own generative AI tools, and has staff in Paris and New York. The company raised $20 million less than six months later, in a round led by California-based ICONIQ Capital and the central-based Index Ventures in London and San Francisco.

"ICONIQ and Index are the two main investors, but if you look at the smaller ones, we're trying to get a lot of French supporters because we think it's a good move," Launay said. "France has a lot of talent and a lot of startups but in terms of funds, it's still far less than the US."

European startups have historically struggled to raise large amounts of capital from local investors. Although the European Union offers large single markets for goods and services, capital markets in all 27 member states come with different securities, taxes, and accounting laws resulting in higher compliance costs and less liquid markets.

"The most important thing is that these companies get funding," said Hannah Seal, a partner at Index. "The important thing is that these companies feel that they can continue to find and recruit talent to build giants in Europe and we see that it is happening."