Paris hosted the AI Action Summit on February 10 and 11, 2025, at a time when the need for AI regulation has become more pressing than ever. The core message of the event was to ensure “the development of trustworthy, safe, and secure AI, serving everyone,” through the establishment of a global AI governance framework. This summit emphasized the need to develop, deploy, and implement AI governance in the public interest.
The event brought together thousands of industry leaders from over 100 countries, including heads of state and government, international organizations, business executives, representatives from civil society, academia, and research. The AI Summit also served as a platform to highlight French initiatives in artificial intelligence and reaffirm the importance of building sovereign AI.
Between major announcements, debates, and commitments from states to develop ethical and secure AI, what are the key takeaways from the AI Summit? Oodrive revisits this event and the major AI challenges of 2025.
Strengthening France and Europe’s Competitiveness in the AI Race
The AI Summit allowed France and Europe to reaffirm their ambitions in the global AI race and their desire to take their rightful place in the competition already underway between the United States and China.
Regarding France, President Emmanuel Macron announced the construction of a supercomputer dedicated to AI, powered by nuclear energy, with an investment of €10 billion. By accelerating research and the development of advanced algorithms, this project aims to strengthen France’s position in the AI sector. The day before the AI Summit, the president also unveiled a €109 billion investment plan designed to accelerate research and enhance France’s AI competitiveness.
On the European side, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used the AI Summit to announce the launch of a €200 billion investment plan, “InvestAI,” of which €150 billion will come from major corporations. This European initiative aims to develop large-scale AI factories to ensure the continent’s technological independence, allowing Europe to produce its own models and infrastructures. This massive investment plan also seeks to foster the emergence of European AI leaders.
Supporting French AI Startups and Building Sovereign AI
Beyond technological advancements, the global AI race is a true geopolitical battle, and France intends to play a leading role by developing innovative, sovereign AI, independent of American and Chinese tech giants. The country can already rely on a strong AI ecosystem, which it aims to further strengthen. President Macron has set the goal of increasing the number of AI researchers in France from 40,000 to 100,000 by 2030.
To ensure sovereignty in AI, France must also support the emergence of national and European champions capable of offering alternatives to dominant models. The success of European AI initiatives will also depend on businesses’ willingness to adopt French AI solutions.
French AI startup MistralAI took advantage of the AI Summit to form strategic partnerships with Cisco, Stellantis, and Orange. The company also announced the construction of its own data center in France, reaffirming its independence and improving the performance of its AI models. The partnerships between Free, Orange, and MistralAI highlight the growing interest of telecom giants in French-made AI technologies.
Towards Trustworthy, Inclusive, and Sustainable AI
In one of his speeches, President Macron emphasized the need to advance international AI governance. Building on the initiatives launched during the AI Summit, this governance aims to establish the rules for trustworthy AI. According to Macron, innovation, acceleration, and investment are fully compatible with the development of AI that “brings unity to the international community.”
One of the highlights of the AI Summit was the signing of the “Declaration on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet.” Released at the closing of the summit, the document was signed by around sixty states, as well as the European Union and the African Union Commission. The declaration reaffirms six key priorities:
- Promoting AI accessibility to reduce the digital divide.
- Ensuring that AI remains open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure, and trustworthy while respecting international frameworks.
- Enabling AI innovation by fostering favorable conditions for development and avoiding market concentration, thereby supporting industrial growth and advancement.
- Encouraging AI deployment that positively impacts the future of work and labor markets, creating new opportunities for sustainable growth.
- Making AI sustainable for people and the planet.
- Strengthening international cooperation and promoting coordinated global AI governance.
The United States and the United Kingdom notably refused to sign this declaration.
Oodrive at the AI Summit
Stanislas de Rémur, co-founder and CEO of Oodrive, along with Damien Galzo, Product & Technology Director, attended the AI Summit. Oodrive firmly believes that AI presents a major opportunity to enhance data security but insists that this technological revolution must adhere to a strict framework that respects sovereignty and compliance requirements.
The AI Summit was an opportunity to highlight key AI challenges in data protection and privacy, as many AI systems rely on personal data. The European regulatory framework, already in place, fosters trust through GDPR, the AI Act, and the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Oodrive supports the development of controlled, transparent, and secure AI that serves users while incorporating ethical and sustainability considerations. Given the significant energy demands of AI technologies, concerns over their environmental impact are growing. For Oodrive, AI integration must align with a responsible digital approach, consistent with the company’s CSR commitments.
As a key player in digital sovereignty and data protection, Oodrive will closely monitor AI developments throughout 2025. The company is convinced that the technological and societal transformation brought by AI must be built on trust, with a strong emphasis on sovereignty and data security.
