France just wrote a very large check to the future. President Emmanuel Macron announced €1.5 billion in new public funding split between quantum computing and microelectronics, a move that plants France’s flag firmly in what’s becoming one of the most expensive technology races on the planet.
The breakdown: €1 billion goes to quantum technologies, with the remaining €550 million earmarked for the microchip sector. Macron made the announcement at the CEA supercomputing center in Bruyères-le-Châtel, and he wasn’t shy about the ambition behind it.
“We have the means to be the winners of this race.”
The quantum arms race is getting expensive
The timing of France’s announcement is impossible to ignore, coming right after the US government revealed plans to invest $2 billion in equity stakes across nine quantum-computing companies.
