Google chooses France for new AI research centre

The news comes after Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, joined many other global CEOs at the "Choose France" summit held by President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (January 23) to encourage outside investment in the nation.

The new research centre in Paris will undertake work into "health, sciences, art, and the environment" within the context of artificial intelligence, and will work in partnership with the French scientific community.

"The research will all be published [publicly] and all the code will be available on open-source [meaning anyone can use it and see it]," promised Google in a press release.

Google is also set to open four “digital workshops” in France in 2018, which are aiming to train 100,000 people per year via "free training open to all", "to strengthen the digital ability of everyone".

The first is expected to open in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), with Brittany set to be the "pilot region" for the project.

Via this new research, Google avows to "make it easier for students to access jobs", "make families more aware of secure Internet use", "introduce the youngest [in society] to computer code”, and “contribute to the online development of the commercial activity of SMEs".

The project will see Google "betting on France and French talent", with 360 people set to be employed in Paris, along with 1,000 people expected to work at the other sites.

CEO Pichai was just one of the company heads to be invited to Versailles by Macron on Monday, with other companies represented including Coca-Cola, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, UPS, Alibaba, Bosch, SAP, Ikea, Barilla, Siemens, Volvo and Rolls-Royce.