Macron announces investment of US$ 1.16 billion in computing and microchips

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday (22) that the government will invest another €1 billion (US$1.16 billion) in its quantum strategy.

In addition, he also stated that €550 million will be directed to support the microelectronics sector, in a race among global powers to be the first to take advantage of the emerging technology.

"I will say it out loud. We have the means to be the winner of this race," said Macron when announcing the funding.

On Thursday (21), President Donald Trump's administration revealed plans to acquire equity stakes worth US$2 billion in nine quantum computing companies.

The goal is to ensure U.S. leadership in technology that is destined to become the next frontier after artificial intelligence.

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Other points that stood out were:

- Technological advances have deepened investor interest in the potential of quantum computing to accelerate tasks ranging from drug discovery to financial modeling and cryptography.
- A "massive" increase in investment has been driven by the realization of the growing economic importance of computing infrastructure, Theau Peronnin, CEO of Paris-based quantum computing firm Alice & Bob, told Reuters.
- Peronnin said public funding of strategic areas such as quantum computing has forced companies to deliver results and helped "create champions".
- The company is among those to receive support from the new French funding and announced on Friday that it has also won funding from NVentures, the venture capital arm of Nvidia (NVDA.O), to develop hardware that makes quantum computing less error-prone.
- The company participates in the French PROQCIMA program, led by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, which aims to have two prototypes of universal quantum computers, designed in France, ready for industrialization until 2032.

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Source: CNN