Billionaires Niel, Saadé and Schmidt Invest in €300 Million AI Lab

  • Paris-based lab will involve former Meta and Google scientists
  • Niel’s Iliad and Saadé’s CMA CGM will each invest €100 million
Billionaires Eric Schmidt, left, Rodolphe Saade, center, and Xavier Niel, at ai-Pulse on Nov. 17.Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg
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Billionaires Xavier Niel, Rodolphe Saadé and Eric Schmidt announced a new nonprofit artificial intelligence research lab in Paris, marking France’s latest push to develop sovereign AI technology.

Niel’s Iliad and Saadé’s CMA CGM SA will each invest €100 million ($108 million), the two businessmen said on a panel of the AI-Pulse conference in Paris on Friday. Former Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt, also present at the event, will invest an undisclosed amount via Schmidt Futures.