Foreign companies have pledged a total of €93 billion in investment at France's annual Choose France summit, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday, with artificial intelligence and data infrastructure projects accounting for the bulk of commitments.
Issued on: 01/06/2026 - 18:26
3 min Reading time
Around 200 senior executives from around the world were hosted at the famous palace southwest of Paris on Monday, with tens of billions of euros in investment already pledged or expected. This year’s gathering has a strong focus on artificial intelligence, data centres and the infrastructure needed to power the next wave of digital growth. The summit has become one of Macron’s flagship economic showcases since it was launched in 2018, a year after he entered the Elysee. Its purpose is to convince international companies that France is open for business – and that it can compete in high-tech industry, clean power and advanced manufacturing. The 2025 edition set a record, with €20 billion in announced projects. This year’s pledges could prove even larger, thanks especially to major plans from technology and investment groups betting on France’s role in the AI boom. Japan's SoftBank to spend €75bn on AI centres in France AI takes centre stage The biggest announcement has come from the Japanese technology investment giant SoftBank, which said at the weekend that it would spend €75 billion on artificial intelligence infrastructure. Its founder, Masayoshi Son, met with Macron at the Elysee palace on Monday. The pledge underlines how quickly AI has become an economic priority for governments and companies alike. Training and running large AI models requires huge computing power, secure data capacity and reliable electricity – making data centres and advanced chips central to the new industrial landscape.
