Though this is an infomercial for one of TechCrunch's products it also happens to be true, though Shenzhen could probably make a claim to that moniker as well.
From TechCrunch, May 28:
For decades, the geography of the tech industry has felt largely fixed, with Silicon Valley dominating the global startup economy. While cities like London, Beijing, and Tel Aviv have competed for secondary influence, one of the most important conversations in artificial intelligence is happening somewhere else entirely: Paris.
France has aggressively invested in artificial intelligence research and infrastructure, with startups like Mistral AI helping Europe become a legitimate force in the global AI race. At the same time, Europe’s startup ecosystem has matured significantly; its founders are increasingly willing to scale companies domestically instead of immediately looking to relocate to the U.S.
But Paris’ growing influence extends beyond startups. The city is becoming a meeting point for policymakers, enterprise leaders, investors, and researchers all trying to answer the same question: What should the next era of AI look like?
Need proof? Look no further than VivaTech, the annual European tech gathering that has evolved from a regional startup expo into one of the world’s most influential AI and innovation events.
VivaTech 2026: 10th anniversary edition
VivaTech’s evolution mirrors the AI industry’s shift over the past few years. Just one year ago, much of the conversation centered on chatbots, copilots, and consumer-facing experimentation. Now the attention is moving toward infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise deployment, and the messy realities of integrating AI into large organizations. That focus will be on full display at VivaTech 2026, where founders, investors, policymakers, and enterprise leaders will converge around the future of AI in Europe and beyond.VivaTech Innovation of the Year 2026
TechCrunch’s partnership with VivaTech reflects the event’s growing influence within the global startup ecosystem. As part of the collaboration, TechCrunch and VivaTech will spotlight emerging founders through the VivaTech Innovation of the Year competition, with the winner earning a chance to pitch live in Paris and secure a place in Startup Battlefield 200 ahead of TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco.The partnership also underscores something larger happening across the AI industry: Paris is no longer being viewed simply as a rising European tech hub. It is becoming one of the central gathering points for the global AI conversation....
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We have been pitching France as an AI hub for going-on a decade. If interested here is a search of the blog:
https://climateerinvest.blogspot.com/search?q=France+AI
Some of the Greatest Hits:
July 2023 - "...Big Tech Alumni building AI startups in Paris"
Previously:
June 18: "France makes high-profile push to be the A.I. hub of Europe setting up challenge to U.S., China"
June 11: "Report: France's Macron Seeks Seat at AI Table"
And back into the mists of time (well, the twenty-teens):
"French government officials advocate for a €500m investment in blockchain technology"
The
country might be better served adding to the €1.5 billion that
President Macron has pledged for research in Artificial Intelligence.
But I might be biased....Related:
France:
"For Emmanuel Macron, AI is more than a technological revolution. It is
a political revolution of hope in an increasingly dystopian future"
"The Race is On for European AI Research"
Profit From The Global Riot Control Industry
"The Top-10 French Artificial Intelligence Startups"
The Creator of the iPod and the iPhone Seeks to Dethrone Tech’s Giants
It’s
a crisp January morning in Paris’s 13th Arrondissement, and outside
Station F, the former freight terminal that is the epicenter of France’s
startup scene, twentysomethings climb out of cars hailed using iPhone
apps.
Tony Fadell’s Next Act? Taking on Silicon Valley—From Paris
I was about to headline this link "The 1600 AI Startups you must know" to play off the "672 thought leaders you must follow on Twitter" or the "37,000 young people who want to take your job" articles but then realized our wary-yet-intrigued readers are not the type of people who respond well to someone saying they 'must' do anything.
And a bit of pandering on the part of yours truly:
June 16, 2024
France's "Mistral AI warns of lack of data centres and training capacity in Europe"October 4, 2024
"Parlez-vous AI? Francophone scholars warn against English language dominating AI"
