On November 17, 2023, Kyutai, a research laboratory in artificial intelligence open source, was inaugurated by three well-known entrepreneurs: Xavier Niel, CEO of Iliad; Rodolphe Saadé, CEO of CMA-CGM; and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google. The goal is to attract current talents to develop the technologies of tomorrow in Europe to compete with the dominance of the United States in the field of AI.
Kyutai: a bold European initiative
During its presentation at Station F, our colleagues from Numerama were able to discover the ambitions behind this new project. By focusing on the pooling of research in the field of artificial intelligence, the trio made up of Xavier Niel, Rodolphe Saadé, and Eric Schmidt aims to attract today’s talents, which are limited in number and often monopolized by American web giants such as Gafam.
Autonomous kyutai strategy: innovating without direct commercialization
Numerama emphasizes that Kyutai adopts the same strategy that OpenAI pursued in its early days: it does not seek to commercialize products under its own brand but rather to develop models to offer them for free to companies. Initially, the goal will be to develop fundamental artificial intelligence models, including an LLM model to counter the rise of already advanced American technologies in this field.
Closing the gap of Europe in AI with Kyutai
The investment of two successful business leaders in this project makes us think it could become much more than just a research laboratory. Indeed, with an initial investment of 300 million euros at its creation, Kyutai seems to have ambitions far exceeding those of a simple nonprofit foundation. However, Xavier Niel remains firm on his objectives and insists that his only goal is to help France embark on artificial intelligence to avoid falling even further behind. This is why he admits to being convinced that AI is a key factor for the future: “It is important for us, for our economy, for our businesses in the next 10 or 20 years.”
Rodolphe Saadé and his first major foray into French tech
For his part, Rodolphe Saadé, CEO of CMA CGM, is making his first major investment in French tech here. This shipping giant, previously little present in the technology sector, joins other leading executives to support this unprecedented initiative in Europe. Stakeholders thus seem to consider artificial intelligence and research in this field as crucial for the future of the European continent and its economic actors.
Challenges ahead for Kyutai with several stakes
The creation of Kyutai represents a real challenge for these entrepreneurs. The project must succeed in attracting talent, innovating while promoting the sharing of research, and contributing to bridging the huge gap that currently separates Europe from the United States in terms of artificial intelligence. Collaboration between companies and researchers will be essential to achieve this goal.
With Kyutai, the future of artificial intelligence in Europe looks promising, and there is no doubt that this initiative could prove beneficial for the technological development of the continent.
