France challenges US AI leadership with government backing, investments, and nuclear energy

The news: France is making a bold move in AI with a €109 billion ($117.9 billion) investment push, per CNBC. 

  • President Emmanuel Macron aims to position the country as a global AI leader and pledged a gigawatt of nuclear power for new AI computing projects, per The Wall Street Journal.
  • Macron called the pledge “France’s answer to the US $500 billion Stargate AI project” that united OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. It’s an indication that global competition could be ramping up to compete with the US’ AI lead.