France admits it straight away: it is lagging behind in the digital economy. Part of the solution is to draw inspiration from what is done elsewhere, in Quebec for example, whose model even inspires the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron.
The French president invited a few hand-picked business people to a private evening at the Élysée, as part of the VivaTech conference. This all-Parisian conference hopes to become an unmissable global meeting for technologies in general, and artificial intelligence in particular. It is therefore normal, given the context, that Julien Billot, CEO of Scale AI, is invited.
Of French origin, Julien Billot is president and CEO of Scale AI, the organization responsible for developing and promoting what the Canadian government calls its artificial intelligence supercluster, particularly specializing in AI applications for supply chains. VivaTech is primarily a conference targeting the business-to-business (B2B) market, bringing together no less than 2,800 companies. The approximately 60 Quebec companies that are represented on site in a delegation led by Scale AI are therefore, a bit, like so many fish in water.
Enough to make a good impression on Emmanuel Macron. The French president is making eyes at Quebec technology. This is explained simply, according to Julien Billot: he would like to attract investment in France, so that Canadian companies who are thinking of continuing their growth in Europe consider France as their gateway to the Old Continent.
Like France, which sees Quebec as its gateway to North America. “France is interested in two ways,” explains Duty Julien Billot. First of all, our know-how is intriguing. We also spoke about it with the secretary of the Élysée. Our AI ecosystem has no equivalent in France. French companies develop AI applications internally and do not do business with service providers as they do in Canada. »
“The other interest is to attract Canadian companies to set up in France. »
A mature ecosystem
For the big boss of Scale AI, this French recognition is a positive sign which signals the arrival of maturity of the ecosystem of Canadian companies specializing in AI. “Two or three years ago, they might not have been ready to sell internationally. There, we feel that the time is good to export, that’s why we are present at VivaTech,” he says.
That said, more than one Quebec AI company already has a foothold elsewhere than in Canada, or even in North America. For example, the company Airudi has developed a human resources management system first adopted by the Port of Montreal, then more recently by the port of Le Havre, in France.
Videns, another Quebec AI company, also has interests in France. In particular, it automates Airbus processes in Toulouse.
These two companies illustrate, according to Scale AI, the success of the investment model put in place by the federal government when creating its supercluster. “We need to talk about a co-investment model. Of the 600 million invested in the cluster, around two thirds come from the private sector, says Julien Billot. Public money makes it possible to demand that the intellectual property created goes back to service providers. This helps strengthen the ecosystem, since these providers can then sell their technology to other customers. »
Free trade despite everything
Despite the French Senate’s recent rejection of the free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union (CETA), Europe remains open to technology companies wishing to expand there. In fact, the free trade agreement as it stands remains unchanged. The Senate’s rejection slows down the implementation in France of new measures which would have broadened the scope of the agreement.
The agreement in place eliminates a series of taxes on Canadian technologies used in Europe, particularly on the side of environmental technologies (called cleantechs in English). Some of these technologies include artificial intelligence applications, which opens the way for local companies wanting to invest overseas.
President Macron knows this well too. Which undoubtedly explains his interest in Canadian technology, but also in the Canadian model of developing technological companies, itself more or less inspired by the American model, with its start-up companies and its venture capital investors.
Emmanuel Macron is also considering simplifying the way in which the French government itself sources new technologies, to give a little more advantage to French start-ups. On this, it is Canada which should take notes, says Julien Billot.
“It would generate revenue in companies that hire the talent developed at great expense by our universities,” he says. So, as they say in Paris, it would also be good for Quebec AI.
Shipping and accommodation costs for this article were paid by Scale AI.