Macron and Modi Court Tech CEOs in the AI Infrastructure Race
Macron and Modi are winning the global AI infrastructure race by directly engaging with tech CEOs, securing significant investments through personal diplomacy.
Personal Meetings and Text Messages Seal the Deals
- Macron: Persuaded SoftBank to invest €75 billion for data centres in France through a series of text messages with founder Masayoshi Son. This deal brings 3.1 gigawatts of AI capacity by 2031.
- Modi: Secured $48 billion from Amazon after a direct meeting with CEO Andy Jassy, focusing on AI and cloud infrastructure expansion in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
A Global Contest of Personal Relationships
French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have become the most prominent figures in this race, leveraging personal connections to secure substantial data centre investments. Their approaches differ, but both emphasize direct engagement with tech leaders over policy documents.
The Impact and Competition
- France: Macron’s efforts led to €93 billion in investment pledges during France’s G7 presidency, with AI infrastructure as a key focus.
- India: Modi’s strategy includes meetings with AI startup CEOs and partnerships with major companies like Google and OpenAI, aiming for $110 billion from Reliance Industries and $15 billion from Google for AI hubs.
A Warning from the UK
The UK serves as a cautionary tale; OpenAI paused its Stargate UK data centre project due to electrical grid constraints, highlighting the challenges in meeting ambitious infrastructure goals.