Amazon and Microsoft to spend billions in France as Macron summit kicks off

By Louis Goss

Amazon.com and Microsoft vowed to invest billions in their French operations, as an array of the world's top companies readied themselves to announce combined investments worth EUR15 billion at the Choose France summit in Versailles.

Amazon's (AMZN) EUR1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) investments will see it build out new cloud computing capacity in the Paris area -- in order to meet growing demand from the generative artificial intelligence sector - and create an additional 3,000 permanent jobs by expanding its logistics infrastructure.

Top multinationals including Microsoft (MSFT), AstraZeneca (UK:AZN), GSK (UK:GSK), and Accenture (ACN) are now also expected to announce similar investments at the seventh annual Choose France summit, which is set to see 180 global business leaders at the Palace of Versailles.

The summit, which was started by President Emmanuel Macron in 2018 to attract foreign investment into France, is set to see a combined sum of EUR15 billion invested in 56 projects, in what marks a significant increase on the EUR13 billion pledged toward just 28 projects last year.

Amazon said its announced investments sit in line with plans that are set to see Amazon Web Services invest EUR6 billion in building out cloud infrastructure in France over the 15-year period running from 2017 to 2031.

The Seattle tech company currently employs 22,000 permanent employees in France, across Amazon Web Services' offices and its 35 logistics sites. Last month, Amazon announced plans to create an extra 2,000 logistics jobs, in addition to the 3,000 announced on Monday.

Microsoft is also set to announce a EUR4 billion investment in developing France's AI sector, including by building out new infrastructure, training up French AI specialists, and supporting the country's startup ecosystem, vice chairman Brad Smith told French newspaper Le Figaro.

Microsoft's investments will see it open a new data center in the French city of Mulhouse, train one million people, and support 2,500 startups in the country, the report said.

Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley (MS) is also set to expand its Paris campus, in growth that will see it create 100 new jobs in the French capital bringing its headcount up to 500, from just 150 three years ago, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said.

-Louis Goss

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05-13-24 0507ET

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