Microsoft pledges $4.3 billion investment at Macron’s ‘Choose France’ summit

PARIS (AP) — Microsoft announced its most substantial commitment yet to France, pledging on Monday to invest 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) this year to bolster the country’s burgeoning artificial intelligence sector.

The move is part of a broader effort unveiled during President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-business event, Choose France, which aims to attract foreign investment and stimulate economic growth.

Microsoft’s vice chair and president, Brad Smith, visited the company’s French headquarters with Macron.

“We will build out the computing capacity here in France,” Smith said. “We will put this infrastructure to work for everyone in France.”

The plan includes expanding next-generation Cloud and AI infrastructure and delivering up to 25,000 of the most advanced GPUs, or graphics processing units, to France by the end of 2025.

Additionally, Microsoft will launch an AI skilling initiative to train 1 million French people by the end of 2027, emphasizing the importance of equipping citizens with future-ready skills.