Billionaires Xavier Niel, Rodolphe Saadé, and Eric Schmidt have announced the creation of a new nonprofit AI research lab in Paris called kyutai. Niel and Saadé will each invest €100 million, while Schmidt’s investment amount remains undisclosed. The lab will have a total funding of €300 million and will focus on producing open-source research. Some of its scientists have previously worked for Google and Meta Platforms. France is making efforts to catch up in AI technology as countries like the US invest billions of dollars in its development. Niel and Saadé are also seed investors in Mistral AI and Poolside AI, both AI startups based in France. CMA CGM, a shipping company, plans to use AI to optimize its operations and tools. The conference announcing the lab included scientists who have been hired by kyutai, including former employees of Valeo SA, Google’s DeepMind, and Meta.
