Plan Prométhée – a plan for France to build 12GW of compute (planpromethee.com)

France has announced the "Prométhée Plan," a strategic initiative aimed at establishing a frontier lab capable of producing 12GW of computing power dedicated to large language models (LLMs) by 2029. The urgency behind this initiative stems from recent U.S. export controls on advanced AI models, emphasizing that autonomous access to cutting-edge AI technology is crucial for national productivity, industrial power, and security. This plan seeks to position France as a leader in AI development, countering the current dominance of American labs like Anthropic and OpenAI, which currently control significant computing resources necessary for AI advancement. The plan is significant for the AI/ML community as it reflects a burgeoning recognition of AI's critical role, akin to energy or oil, in modern economies. As global competition intensifies, the proposed lab would not only enhance France's technological capabilities but also mitigate reliance on foreign AI models, which currently pose risks to sovereignty and competitiveness. The Prométhée Plan outlines ambitious goals for scaling up operations within a competitive timeline, potentially allowing France to close the gap with leading AI nations, addressing the structural challenges posed by fragmented capital markets and regulatory environments that have historically stunted the growth of Europe's AI sector.