Last week at the AI-Pulse conference in Paris, Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, announced that he was collaborating with two other prominent billionaires, Xavier Niel and Rodolphe Saadé, to invest a significant sum of €300 million in establishing a groundbreaking nonprofit AI research facility in Paris, France.
Xavier Niel, known for owning Iliad, a major European telecom company, and Rodolphe Saadé, the chairman of the shipping and logistics behemoth CMA CGM Group, are joining Schmidt in this venture. Each of these business moguls will contribute an equal share of €100 million to fund the new lab named Kyutai.
Kyutai is set to become a prominent player in the AI research landscape in Europe. It is notable for being the continent’s first private-initiative laboratory dedicated to AI research. The lab will host an elite team of scientists, including experts from leading tech corporations such as Meta, Microsoft, and Google.
The primary focus of Kyutai will be to address the critical challenges currently faced in the field of modern AI. According to a blog post by CMA CGM, the lab aims to develop advanced AI systems capable of processing text, sound, and images, alongside creating innovative algorithms to push the boundaries of current technology.
Kyutai’s operations will be powered by supercomputers provided by a subsidiary of Iliad. The lab is committed to sharing its developments with the broader AI community, including scientists, developers, companies, and governments worldwide, enhancing global AI research collaboration.
This investment in Kyutai marks another significant step by Schmidt in influencing the future direction of AI. It follows his recent commitment to establish Future House, another nonprofit dedicated to leveraging AI for scientific advancements, highlighting his ongoing dedication to shaping the trajectory of AI development and application.
Featured image: Credit: Britannica
