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Chris O'Brien + Helen O'Reilly-Durand

Edito

It may not be the Olympics, but the frenzy surrounding the AI Action Summit in Paris is building to its own kind of feverish crescendo of anticipation for nerds, founders, and policymakers. The official summit is February 10-11, but starting this week there is a non-stop rampage of related and unrelated events that span the gamut from social gatherings to power networking to scientific gabfests to serious policy discussions. Below is an almost complete calendar of events for the next week.

Like the Olympics, the event is a chance for France to thrust itself onto the center stage of what feels like the most profound tech transformation since the internet slithered out of academic labs into the commercial world. Artificial Intelligence has gone through repeated hype cycles over the past 15 years, but those brief flutters of attention were nothing compared to the stampede that began with the release of ChatGPT two years ago.

Of course, the approaching Summit arrives at a moment mixed with exhilaration and dread. Is AI going to solve all of the world's problems? Is AI going to destroy humanity? Is it possible to find an equilibrium? Or, is it just a bunch of algorithmic sludge, or as Le Figaro puts it, "'This is a new digital pollution': the Slop, this tidal wave of AI content that threatens the Internet."

France and Europe are once again caught between the cowboys of Silicon Valley and the authoritarian fist of China. Can Europe compete? Is it doomed to be a digital afterthought?

In this Special Edition, I spoke to France Digitale CEO Maya Noël who is overseeing preparations for the Summit's Business Day. We also have a breakdown of FD's Mapping of France's AI ecosystem. She is optimistic, but also clear-eyed about the challenges:

"In all the conversations we had this week around ChatGPT and the fact that maybe Europe is not even in the race - I do think that we have a lot of companies in the race, but we have to help them to grow and get bigger."

Chris O'Brien

⛰️ AI Action Summit News

⛰️ Clara Chappaz unveils the French Government’s three objectives for the AI summit | "Clara Chappaz, Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, has provided further details on the government’s objectives for this summit, how French companies will be showcased, and the potential European momentum this gathering could generate." Those include 3 themes: societal and cultural aspects; economic impact; and diplomacy. "One in two people in France has doubts about AI. This summit is an opportunity to demonstrate what AI can bring to our lives and society," Chappaz said. | Maddyness

⛰️ The Paris AI Action Summit: A Pivotal Moment to Reclaim AI from Big Tech | "The French Summit takes a broader perspective on AI. It aims to “deliver the critical public goods needed to align AI with the public interest.” However, the summit will fail to achieve this goal unless it tackles the elephant in the room – Big Tech’s growing dominance over the AI ecosystem and its creeping capture of AI governance, now increasingly backed by the might of the United States government." | Tech Policy

⛰️ AI Summit: Elysée Seeks $2.5 Billion Boost for Artificial Intelligence | "Just two weeks before a global summit in Paris, the President’s special envoy on the matter has announced that France aims to raise 2.5 billion euros over five years for a foundation designed to harness this technology for the 'public interest.' This 'foundation dedicated to artificial intelligence to promote its development in the service of the public interest, which could be based in Paris,' is expected to emerge from the AI summit organized by France in early February, according to Anne Bouverot in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, given in Davos, Switzerland." | Glass Almanac

⛰️ A few days before the AI summit, did the government bury its 2024 AI report? | FrenchWeb notes that while this foundation sounds fine and dandy, it represents a significantly smaller proposal than the ambitious one introduced by a government task force led by the same Madame Bouverot. In March 2024, the French government's Commission on Artificial Intelligence submitted a strategic report outlining an ambitious roadmap to structure France's AI ecosystem that included an additional €10bn in funding. However, that was before President Macron's party got trounced in European elections, lost a snap legislative election, and saw attempts to form a stable government founder amid calls for massive budget cuts. And so, as the nation prepares for the upcoming AI Action Summit, this report appears to have been sidelined. Instead, the government is focused on the more modest foundation. | FrenchWeb

Headlines

🗞️ DeepSeek fallout continues. | The seismic release of the Chinese LLM challenger continues to produce aftershocks. Europeans are alternately hopeful that the lower costs to produce the ChatGPT competitor means they are still in the race; and fretting that their continent is doomed to be squeezed between the US and China.

🗞️ Meanwhile, everyone wants to know if this is the end or the beginning of France's LLM heartthrob Mistral AI, which was betting on smaller, open-source models to carry the day. DeepSeek beat or topped Mistral in some measures. For its part, Mistral was playing it cool: DeepSeek's R1 is "a great and complementary piece of open-source technology," Mistral said in a statement on its website. Mistral also dropped its Mistral Small 3 under the Apache 2.0 license to demonstrate it's still in the game. And yet, the Financial Times expounded: "Has Europe’s great hope for AI missed its moment?"

🗞️ Naturally, France's privacy and data watchdog CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés) has some questions and wants to chat with DeepSeek's creators to "gain a better idea of how the Chinese startup's AI system works and any possible privacy risks for users, according to Reuters.

🗞️ Speaking of Mistral AI, Bloomberg has a great profile of "Mistral's Secret Powerbroker Keeps Europe's AI Hopes Alive." Mr. Secret is not really so secret. He's Jean Charles Samuelian-Werve, CEO of insurtech unicorn Alan. He was an early investor and advisor to Mistral AI. | Bloomberg

🗞️ Speaking of CNIL, the regulatory body has unveiled its 2025-2028 strategic plan, emphasizing digital identity, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and the protection of minors online. The agency aims to ensure user privacy in digital IDs and mobile applications, pledging to collaborate with European authorities on implementing the eIDAS Regulation and the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet. Additionally, CNIL plans to enforce stricter controls on platforms used by minors, such as social networks and educational applications, to ensure compliance with consent and advertising regulations. | Biometric Update

Interviews

🗣️ AI Action Summit: France Digitale CEO Maya Noël Is All Business

The AI Action Summit's Business Day, organized on February 11th by France Digitale, will bring together CTOs, engineers, startups, and corporate leaders to explore practical applications of AI across various industries. Maya Noël, CEO of France Digitale, explained that while the event builds on its eight-year tradition of facilitating business meetings between startups and investors, this year's summit has expanded its scope significantly.

"The idea is to make people understand the use of AI and not just talking about what are the models, what is the value chain, but very concrete stuff to inspire a lot of companies to use more AI in their business," Noël said.

France is staking its claim as the EU leader in artificial intelligence (AI) innovation in Europe. According to France Digitale’s Mapping of AI Startups report produced in partnership with Sopra Steria Ventures, the country now boasts approximately 750 AI startups, surpassing Germany’s 687 and reinforcing its position as the region’s most dynamic AI hub.

The growth of AI startups in France has been impressive, with a net increase of 27% since 2023. This expansion is driven by a thriving ecosystem, strong investor confidence, and an increasing number of startups securing substantial funding rounds, according to the report.

Read the full breakdown

January AI Research Recap

🧠 Traditional vs. AI-Generated Meteorological Risks for Emergency Predictions | SIRRI Naoufal, UMR6174 Institut Franche Comté Électronique Mécanique Thermique et Optique Sciences et Technologies (FEMTO-ST), Besançon, France. | Frontiers

🧠 How AI Affects the Pragmatic Function in Media Discourse: A French Press Perspective | Al-Muhaissen, Batoul & Al-Hammouri, Samer & Rachdan, Kossay & Habes, Mohammed. (2024). 7. 369-380. 10.30564/fls.v7i1.7800. Article

🧠 Innovation in the Artificial Intelligence sector: An exploratory study of the structure of co-inventor networks | Lantz, Jean-Sébastien, Lacaze, Delphine, Braune, Eric and Sahut, Jean-Michel Management international / International Management / Gestiòn Internacional 28, no. 6 (2024): 101–114. https://doi.org/10.59876/a-es2g-vy4a

🧠 Football Selection Optimization through the Integration of Management Theories, AI, and Multi-criteria Decision Making | Roukaya Ben Jeddou. Football Selection Optimization through the Integration of Management Theories, AI and Multi-criteria Decision Making. Business administration. Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 2024. Article

See the full recap

AI Funding News

📇 Company: Zaion
🔍 Description: Conversational and generative AI solutions for the telecommunications sector.
💻 Website: http://www.zaion.ai/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Series A
💰 Amount Raised: €11M
🏦 Investors: 115 K; Fortino Capital; Truffle Capital; Pro BTP Innovation; Bpifrance Investissement; La France Mutualiste
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Franz Fodéré
🗞️ News: Maddyness, LinkedIn

📇 Company: Hopia
🔍 Description: Provides AI-optimized resource management solutions for healthcare establishments.
💻 Website: https://hopia.eu/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €3.5M
🏦 Investors: IRIS; Kurma Partners
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Victoire Bach; Julien Pinede; Matthias Lesage
🗞️ News: FrenchWeb

📇 Company: GetVocal
🔍 Description: Conversational AI platform enabling communication via call or message.
💻 Website: https://www.getvocal.ai/
📍 HQ City: Paris
🧗 Round: Seed
💰 Amount Raised: €2.7M
🏦 Investors: Speedinvest; Elaia Partners; Business Angels
👨💼👩💼 Founders: Roy Moussa, Antonin Bertin
🗞️ News: LinkedIn

Events

📆 From February 6 to 11 February 2025, a wide range of events are being organized around Paris as part of the "Action Week for Artificial Intelligence" in connection with the Paris AI Summit. More details here.

📆 AI Excellence Tour | February 1-8 | On the occasion of the AI Action Summit, France Digitale is partnering with the PRAIRIE Research Institute and Entretiens de l'Excellence to create a special AI Excellence tour and raise awareness among young people, particularly high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds, about the challenges, professions, and AI skills for today and tomorrow. The tour will pass through Strasbourg (February 1), Lille (February 5), and Paris (February 8).

📆 The AI Meetings of Trust | February 3 | Presented by the Alliance pour la confiance numerique. | Registration

📆 4th edition of the Digital Confidence Day| February 4 |The CNCC organizes a meeting at Station F for an edition on artificial intelligence and its impact on the digital trust chain. | Registration

📆 Generative AI: How to take advantage of it? | February 4 |
Presentations by high-level French and international experts and panel discussions moderated by Frédéric Simottel of BFM Business.
Don't miss this event that will address the opportunities of AI Gener in many sectors, good practices, and ethical, regulatory, security, training, and governance issues | Registration

📆 Hub France AI Elevate | February 4 | In the context of the AI Action Summit, Hub France IA is thrilled to invite you to its flagship event ELEVATE, in partnership with SCAI - Sorbonne Center for Artificial Intelligence. A unique opportunity to get inspired from game-changing innovations grounded in concrete use cases to cutting-edge research pushing AI boundaries to the next frontier and network with top industry experts and peers. | Registration

📆 GeoAI Hack at AI Action Summit | February 4-5 | GeoAI Hack, co-organized by InstaDeep and datacraft, is a two-day hackathon, supported by the French government, that aims to bring together creative minds passionate about AI to solve a very current challenge: building operational geospatial solutions powered by AI. A demonstration of what AI for good can accomplish. | Apply here

📆 AI for clinical research and development and associated technological challenges | February 5 | The clinical research landscape is changing rapidly and artificial intelligence is at the heart of this transformation. Join us for a must-have event bringing together opinion leaders, researchers, and industry innovators. Discover some examples of use cases, the associated technological challenges in terms of data access, transparency, and performance, and examples of large-group collaborations, research, and start-ups to respond to them. | Registration

📆 Adopt an AI | February 5 | Join us for a captivating exploration of concrete strategies for implementing AI within companies. This must-see event will allow you to increase productivity through proven tools and methodologies, anticipate organizational change, and learn from inspiring examples, such as the innovative "Bring Your Own LLM" method developed by Salesforce. | Registration

📆 Profs augmented: AI for education | February 5 | A few days before the Summit for Action on AI, the IA Foundation for School, EdTech France and La Villa Numeris are proposing an event to share experiences and good practices already at work and measure the effectiveness of artificial intelligence solutions. | Registration

📆 Powered by AI: On the Road to the 2025 AI Action Summit | February 5 | Powered by AI is a talk series exploring AI's role in the energy transition by bringing together academia, industry, startups, public institutions, and civil society presented by the MIT Club of France. | Registration

📆 Cathay Innovation Cocktail: AI for Finance | February 5 | As part of the AI Week organized by the Presidency of the Republic, culminating in the AI Action Summit, Cathay Innovation is pleased to host an event on the theme AI for Finance. | Registration

📆 AI in large organizations: state of play and 2025 perspectives | February 6 | Join us, as part of the AI Summit hosted by the Elysée Palace, for an exclusive restitution of the report on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) by major groups, organized by the French Tech Grand Paris and Wavestone in partnership with Viva Technology and the Hub France IA. | Registration

📆 AI, Science, and Society | February 6 and 7 | As part of the AI Summit, the International Association of Researchers will bring together around 100 world-renowned AI researchers. You can listen to them at the "AI, Science and Society" conference at Institut Polytechnique de Paris which will highlight the scientific advances of AI and the advances of science thanks to AI. | Registration

📆 The Inaugural Conference of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI. | February 6 and 7 | The International Association for Safe and Ethical AI will host its inaugural conference (IASEAI ‘25) on Feb 6-7, 2025 at the OECD La Muette Headquarters and Conference Centre in Paris, ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit. This free conference will convene relevant stakeholders of safe and ethical AI, including leading experts from academia, civil society, industry, media, and government, to discuss the latest developments in AI safety and ethics. Participation is by invitation only, based on the submission of a statement of interest or proposed talk/poster abstract. | More information

📆 Trusted third parties: guarantors of responsible and ethical AI | February 7 | Webinar by the Fédération des Tiers de Confiance du numérique(Federation of Third Party Digital Trusts). | Register

📆 AI: the citizens' path | February 7 | Three days before the start of the Summit for Action on Artificial Intelligence, the Economic and Environmental Council and the National Digital Council are working together to organize a morning of exchanges dedicated to the place of citizen participation in the development of artificial intelligence (AI). | Registration

📆 Culture and AI, challenges and opportunities | February 8 | The Bibliothèque Nationale de France will host round tables and workshops to explore the transformations generated by AI in several fields (copyrights, museum developments, architecture and spatial planning, heritage, journalism and information, audiovisual and cinema, etc.). | Information

📆 Creation and AI, exhibition and mediation | February 9 | "Machina sapiens" is an unprecedented artistic journey, which exhibits, on Sunday, February 9, about twenty original works that question AI. A stimulating proposal, which will make it possible to discover the abundance of universes in turn fascinating, mysterious, or simply seductive. An event not to be missed. | Information

📆 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit | February 10-11, 2025 | Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, CEOs of small and large companies, representatives of academia, non-governmental organizations, artists, and members of civil society will gather in Paris to discuss the critical policy issues surrounding AI. | Information

📆 AI and women's health | February 10 | The association Femtech France is delighted to invite you to its evening "IA and women's health" on the sidelines of the Summit for Action on AI organized by the Élysée. | Buy tickets

📆 Launch of the Enlightenment AI report | February 11 | Driven by Francis Jutand’s expertise and published by CAP Digital, the report offers a bold vision: to build an ethical, sovereign, and sustainable AI, reaffirming the values of humanism and progress in the Enlightenment. An AI that can and must become a lever for human progress, democratic access to knowledge, and ecological respect. | Registration

📆 Entrepreneurs: AI a lever for growth | February 11 | As AI revolutionizes our economy, entrepreneurs must seize the opportunities offered by this technology. Organized by CCI Paris, this afternoon will be an opportunity to discover concrete measures to support your digital transition and understand the central role of AI in regional and national economic strategy. | Registration

📆 France Digitale's AI Day 2025 | February 11, 2025 | Paris will be the AI capital of the world (at least for a week) during the AI Action Summit. With our AI Day — the official business side event of the Summit — seize this moment to meet and learn about the best in AI innovation made in Europe. | Information

📆 World AI Cannes Festival | February 13 -15, 2025 | For 3 days, the prestigious Palais des Festival of Cannes will become the world capital of AI, where decision-makers and AI innovators meet, where the most promising innovations and technologies get into the spotlight, where those who are currently building the world’s most game-changing AI strategies and use-cases will be on stages. | Registration

📆 AI Agent DAY @NFT Paris | February 15 | You're invited to Crypto AI:CON Day during NFT Paris 2025, where around 300 selected founders and investors will gather for an evening of meaningful connections and conversations in the heart of Paris. | Registration

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