{"id":181842,"date":"2023-09-26T15:40:25","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T15:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=181842"},"modified":"2023-09-26T15:40:25","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T15:40:25","slug":"french-telecom-group-invests-millions-in-local-ai-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/crypto\/french-telecom-group-invests-millions-in-local-ai-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"French telecom group invests millions in local AI industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
The French telecommunications group Iliad announced on Sept. 26 that it plans to invest millions of euros to build up the French artificial intelligence (AI) industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Iliad said it has already invested 100 million euros ($106 million) toward creating what it calls an \u201cexcellence lab\u201d to be built in Paris dedicated to AI research. According to the announcement, a team of renowned researchers has already been set up, and Iliad chairman Xavier Niel will spearhead it. <\/p>\n
Niel said an \u201centire ecosystem needs to be built up in France,\u201d and the research lab will play a role in that. The lab\u2019s main purpose will be to build general AI to bring to \u201ceveryone\u2019s reach\u201d and make AI research publicly available. <\/p>\n
In addition to the lab, Iliad has acquired what it deemed as \u201cthe most powerful cloud-native AI supercomputer deployed to date in Europe.\u201d An Nvidia DGX SuperPOD equipped with Nvidia DGX H100 systems has been installed at the company\u2019s Datacenter 5 near Paris. <\/p>\n
Related:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>France launches a certificate for \u2018finfluencers,\u2019 including crypto<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n On acquiring the Nvidia supercomputer, Niel commented:<\/p>\n \u201cTo have clout in the AI market, you need computing power. To have computing power, you need supercomputers. And to have supercomputers, you need to invest. To invest massively.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n The company says the DGX SuperPOD produces the power necessary to rapidly train large language models (LLMs).\u00a0<\/p>\n Additionally, a subsidiary company of Iliad called Scaleway now plans to offer its clients access to a full suite of cloud-native AI tools, such as the ability to train various-sized models. <\/p>\n Damien Lucas, the CEO of Scaleway, said with these tools, European companies can \u201csignificantly\u201d advance their innovations in AI to be competitive on an international level.\u00a0<\/p>\n This news comes shortly after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sept. 13 an initiative to help AI startups with accelerated access to supercomputers in Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n Magazine: <\/em><\/strong>\u2018AI has killed the industry\u2019: EasyTranslate boss on adapting to change<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n