France, UAE agree to develop 1 gigawatt AI data centre

France and the UAE agreed on Thursday to a framework accord for a 1 gigawatt data centre dedicated to artificial intelligence that represents investments of between $30-$50bn, the French presidency said.

President Emmanuel Macron hosted his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Thursday evening ahead of a summit on artificial intelligence in Paris next week that will gather around 100 countries to focus on AI’s potential.

The February 10-11 summit also aims to put France and Europe on the AI map as they try to rival the US and China, which have taken a lead on the energy-intensive technology.

“The two leaders expressed their desire to create a strategic partnership in the field of AI and committed to exploring collaborations on projects and investments supporting the development of the AI ​​value chain,” a joint Franco-Emirati statement said.

They said the investments would be in both French and Emirati AI, the acquisition of cutting-edge chips, data centres, talent development, as well as the establishment of virtual data embassies to enable the establishment of sovereign AI and cloud infrastructures in both countries.

An announcement on the first investments will be made at the Choose France summit later this year.

The French government earlier on Thursday said it had located 35 sites to host AI data centres.