Backed by a staggering investment, estimated at between 30 and 50 billion euros, this project also includes a gigantic data center intended to support the computing infrastructure needed for the most advanced applications.
A strategic alliance between Paris and Abu Dhabi
This ambitious collaboration was sealed at the AI summit in Paris. Emmanuel Macron and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan signed a major agreement aimed at strengthening ties between France and the United Arab Emirates in the field of cutting-edge technologies. The stated objective: to make France a European hub capable of competing with the United States and China.
The campus will be developed by a consortium of major industrial and financial players from both countries, including the Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund MGX. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to attract foreign investment while fostering international collaboration in AI.
A data center with unprecedented power
The future data center, the centerpiece of the project, promises an exceptional computing capacity of up to one gigawatt. To put this into perspective, that’s the equivalent of several thousand conventional data centers combined. This power is essential for processing the real-time volumes of data required by next-generation AI applications.
Clara Chappaz, the French minister in charge of artificial intelligence, stressed that 35 potential sites had already been identified to host new infrastructure.
The project will be presented in detail at the Choose France 2025 summit , a flagship event conceived by Emmanuel Macron to boost the country’s economic appeal. This edition will place particular emphasis on AI technologies and is expected to attract leading figures.
Open source and regulation: other issues at the AI summit
Meanwhile, debates on the importance of open-source platforms in AI development punctuated the discussions. Yann LeCun, director of Meta’s AI lab, argued in favor of an open ecosystem, which he considered essential for stimulating collaborative innovation.
For his part, Yoshua Bengio, co-recipient of the Turing Award, stressed the urgent need to regulate the uses of AI. He announced the upcoming publication of the first international report on the security of this technology, aimed at preventing its misuse while maximizing its benefits.
Emirati investment in France is also part of a broader geopolitical competition. While the United States and China are accelerating their efforts to dominate the sector, Europe is seeking to position itself as a credible alternative.