Nvidia's first GPU was made in France — Macron wants the country to produce cutting edge chips again

French President Emmanuel Macron connected Wednesday made a transportation for his state to manufacture the astir precocious chips successful the world, successful a bid to presumption itself arsenic a captious tech hub successful Europe.

The comments travel arsenic European tech companies and countries are reassessing their reliance connected overseas exertion firms for captious exertion and infrastructure.

Chipmaking successful peculiar arose arsenic a taxable aft Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was doing a sheet speech alongside Macron and Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch, said connected Wednesday that the company's archetypal graphics processing portion (GPU) was manufactured successful France by SGS Thomson Microelectronics, present known arsenic STMicroelectronics.

Yet STMicroelectronics is presently not astatine the starring borderline of semiconductor manufacturing. Most of the chips it makes are for industries similar the automotive one, which don't required the astir cutting-edge semiconductors.

Macron nevertheless laid his ambition retired for France to beryllium capable to manufacture semiconductors successful the scope of 2 nanometers to 10 nanometers.

"If we privation to consolidate our industry, we person present to get much and much of the chips astatine the close scale," Macron said connected Wednesday.

The smaller the nanometer number, the much transistors that tin beryllium acceptable into a chip, starring to a much almighty semiconductor. Apple's latest iPhone chips, for instance, are based connected 3 nanometer technology.

Very fewer companies are capable to manufacture chips astatine this level and connected a ample scale, with Samsung and Nvidia supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) starring the pack.

If France wants to nutrient these cutting-edge chips, it volition apt request TSMC oregon Samsung to physique a mill locally — thing that has been happening successful the U.S. TSMC has present committed billions of dollars to physique much factories Stateside.

Macron touted a woody betwixt Thales, Radiall and Taiwan's Foxconn, which are exploring mounting up a semiconductor assembly and trial installation successful France.

"I privation to person them to marque the manufacturing successful France," Macron said during VivaTech — 1 of France's biggest tech events — connected the aforesaid time Nvidia's Huang announced a slew of deals to physique much artificial quality infrastructure successful Europe.

One cardinal concern announced by Huang is betwixt Nvidia and French AI exemplary steadfast Mistral to physique a alleged "AI cloud."

France has looked to physique retired its AI infrastructure and Macron successful February said that the country's AI assemblage would person 109 cardinal euros ($125.6 billion) successful backstage investments successful the coming years. Macron touted the Nvidia and Mistral woody arsenic an hold of France's AI buildout.

"We are deepening them [investments] and we are accelerating. And what Mistral AI and Nvidia announced this greeting is simply a game-changer arsenic well," Macron told CNBC connected Wednesday.