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Microsoft has announced a four-billion-euro ($4.3-billion) investment in data centers in France, following fellow US firm Amazon in investing to the country’s tech infrastructure.
The announcements come on the eve of the eighth Choose France Summit, which aims to encourage international investment in the country. Macron will hold it at the Château of Versailles, near Paris.
Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, told AFP that the move to expand its artificial intelligence and cloud computing infrastructure was the company’s largest investment in France since its entrance 41 years earlier.
A new data center will be built in eastern France, while current facilities in the Paris area and the southern city of Marseille will be extended.
Amazon will invest more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in France, generating more than 3,000 jobs, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron announced earlier on Sunday.
The funds will be used to expand Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) cloud infrastructure, specifically generative artificial intelligence, as well as the logistical backbone of its parcel delivery service, according to a statement.
Amazon did not react to AFP’s attempts on Sunday, having previously stated that it did not want to comment ahead of a possible announcement at the event.
The US corporation has already announced the creation of 2,000 new jobs in France in 2024, bringing its workforce in the nation up to 24,000 by the end of the year, primarily in its logistics centers.
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