Pioneering AI in Europe: OpenAI's Paris Office Launch

On Thursday, November 14, 2024, OpenAI celebrated the grand opening of its first office in Paris, marking a milestone as its first office in mainland Europe. The event highlighted France's growing prominence as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and showcased OpenAI’s commitment to contributing to the local ecosystem.

Good evening and welcome. Thank you for welcoming the CFO of OpenAI, Sarah Fryer, to the stage. Sarah Fryer: Okay, hello, everyone. It is such a pleasure to be here. I can barely see—now I see you all. It’s amazing to be the hottest ticket in town, but more importantly, just amazing to be here in France. I’m Sarah Fryer. I am the CFO of OpenAI, and I’m delighted to welcome everyone here on the day of our first office opening here in Paris—and also our first office in mainland Europe. OpenAI is officially in France! Yay! Yay! Yay! France has a long history of leading in technology, innovation, and creativity. In recent years, it has emerged as a global leader in this space. It’s really thanks to all of you, this ecosystem that is the envy of many around the world. Congratulations on everything you are doing. This room is filled with talented people who make up this thriving ecosystem, and we are thrilled to be a part of it. Thank you for welcoming us. At OpenAI, we believe AI has the potential to improve everyone’s lives. Our mission is simple: AI should and can benefit everyone. We are already witnessing how people, businesses, and academic institutions in France are using AI to make their lives easier, solve complex problems, boost productivity, foster creativity, and even advance scientific discoveries. For example, companies like Sanofi are using our AI to accelerate drug trials, helping life-saving medications reach patients faster. Orange has built an internal AI tool using our models that has transformed the daily work of over 49,000 employees, freeing them from tedious administrative work to focus on high-priority tasks. Where’s the Orange team? I know you’re in the building. Where’s Orange? Okay, big cheer to you. Thank you for being our customer. Our customers leverage our technology to provide digital skills to underserved communities across France. My business school is using our AI to offer personalized learning experiences, freeing up faculty from administrative tasks so they can focus on their students. As the mom of two kids, teenagers, one in university, I know how important it is for a teacher to engage with students and not be stuck in the back office doing admin work. And we’re so excited about how we’re preparing students, generally speaking, to lead in an AI-powered world. We’re also proud to partner with innovative French startups like Mirakl, Dust, and Pigment, which are using our AI to compete and grow on a global scale. And with Station F, an accelerator and enabler of so many French startups. There are so many examples that you’ll hear from later on, and you’ll see them showcased around the room. I’m going to do one more shout-out. I’m driving my team nuts because they’re like, “Where is she going?” But I just spoke to France Travail, to an amazing gentleman telling me about how this government agency of 60,000 people has built a personalized chatbot to help over one million people here in France find work every single year. How amazing to have that impact—from tiny startups all the way to large government institutions. A little bit later, my colleague, Romain Huet, will be giving a demo, so you’ll get to see the potential of the technology, because trust me—we haven’t even scratched the surface of what can be achieved. By establishing a team here in Paris, we will be better equipped to support the French community and partner with more developers, businesses, and civic organizations, empowering them to harness the potential of AI to drive innovation, productivity, creativity, and growth in France. So, I want to thank you all for joining us today to celebrate what I hope will be the first of many celebrations—because who doesn’t want to come to Paris to celebrate as we shape the future of AI in France? So, with that, let me hand it over to Julie Lavet, who leads our partnerships and member state engagement for us here in Europe. And she was our first employee here in Paris, so give a huge shout-out to Julie. Thank you. Julie Lavet: Thank you, Sarah. As a Frenchwoman who has worked extensively in government, I can attest to the significant efforts and investments that have made France a global leader in AI. I’m so happy that we’re officially here in France to collaborate even more with this incredible ecosystem that you all represent. I joined OpenAI because, like many, I was fascinated by the impact of these technologies on our lives. It’s simply incredible to work on facilitating access to education through programs tailored to each person’s needs, freeing up time for caregivers so they can devote more attention to their patients, and contributing to medical research for new treatments. I know we’re not going to stop here. As the capabilities of our models evolve, we’ll be able to tackle even more complex problems. And I think many in this room tonight are eager to push the boundaries together and truly show the positive impact these technologies can have on our societies. I also chose to join a company that wants to build safer and more responsible AI, sharing its benefits more broadly with as many people as possible. This is the essence of our commitment to working with government actors, civil society, and industry to create global standards for the safe and responsible use of AI. And France, once again, has been a leader in these discussions, and we are eager to contribute to these exchanges, especially during the upcoming AI Action Seminar that France will organize in February 2025. Now, I have the immense honor of inviting Clara Chappaz to join us. She is the first Secretary of State for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs in France. I think this is truly symbolic—a wealth of experience in this position, having led French Tech for many years and also contributed to the private sector before that. I believe we are extremely fortunate to have her among us tonight, so I ask you to welcome and invite her to join us this evening. Madame la Ministre, Clara Chappaz. Thank you. Clara Chappaz: Thank you, everyone. I know I’m supposed to speak in French, and I will switch to French in a moment, but first, I am very happy to be here today to warmly welcome OpenAI. OpenAI has chosen Paris, and I think we can all be really proud of that. A big round of applause for this decision. Thank you. Truth be told, when I arrived a little earlier, I was like, “Who’s going to a club at 7 PM in Paris? I definitely don’t have that kind of life anymore.” But it was you, OpenAI! So thank you for bringing me to a club—it doesn’t happen often these days. Jokes aside, and now switching to French, apologies to the non-French speakers in the room. We are delighted by this office opening, which for us is not just an inauguration, but I believe is a very strong signal of your excellence and that of all the people in this room. OpenAI has chosen Paris. Thank you, dear Sam Altman, even though he is not with us tonight. Thank you, dear Sarah, dear Julie, and everyone who made this project possible. This is, I believe, a beautiful recognition of the fact that our AI ecosystem today is one of the most powerful in the world and in Europe, and we will continue to carry this ambition. Let’s be clear—I already hear little voices of concern. Perhaps some in this very room might be worried. Truthfully, I understand those concerns. I think the arrival of OpenAI’s offices may indeed stir some competition, but I also believe it can be an opportunity for us to improve. We will need to adapt and innovate to remain competitive, and I am convinced that we can take up this challenge and turn it into an opportunity for our businesses. Our ambition is to make France a major power in AI, and when you aim for greatness, you welcome the great. OpenAI is great. OpenAI has changed how we use artificial intelligence. OpenAI has made possible a part of the advancements we see today because it has made this technology accessible and acceptable to all. It’s important to acknowledge that. Models like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and others you have deployed have brought us to where we are today in terms of realizing this technology’s potential. For that, we can only thank you, and we are thrilled that you have chosen Paris to continue advancing these breakthroughs. There will not be harmful competition. I think each player must respect the same rules of the game. But by working together, we can go further, dream bigger, and that is precisely what we will strive to do with OpenAI’s arrival here in France. Why Paris? Excellence—your talent. This is not a coincidence. The government has been pursuing an ambitious strategy for AI with several initiatives that I believe have allowed this gathering of ambitious, dynamic individuals who dream big when it comes to artificial intelligence. Two and a half billion euros have been deployed, first into our research institutes. I believe some of you here tonight are part of these. I saw Bruno earlier. These research institutes are recognized worldwide. INRIA, CNRS, CEA—they are working together to continuously push the boundaries of AI research. This excellence extends beyond research to include all our universities. We are in Paris, but when we look at the Shanghai rankings, we are incredibly fortunate to have institutions of excellence in mathematics and AI across France. At Saclay, of course, many of you here come from the Plateau de Saclay, but also beyond, with universities like those in Lille and Grenoble standing out in these rankings. This excellence is the result of investments in our research capabilities and our ability to maintain this high standard. Excellence in research, yes, but also in infrastructure, which I believe has allowed this ecosystem to flourish. High-performance computing systems like the Jean Zay supercomputer on the Plateau de Saclay and support for sovereign infrastructure providers like OVH and soon Scaleway are enabling this industrial AI ecosystem. Businesses, of course, have benefited from this strategy. Over 1,000 AI startups have raised 1.2 billion euros last year alone, making us the most attractive ecosystem in Europe once again. We are extremely well-positioned and credible, and we want to continue moving forward. Moving forward, yes, but with perhaps a slightly different vision, because we still face two major challenges. The first is inclusion—ensuring that AI, which has changed our lives, becomes a source of progress for society as a whole and for all countries. The second is action. We are fortunate to have this ecosystem of startups, which I mentioned earlier, that are changing the way we work. For example, former OpenAI employees will discuss how their companies are transforming drug discovery with firms like Akemia or White Lab Genomics, accelerating progress in healthcare and addressing climate transitions. But for these innovations to reach their potential, they need to be put into action—enabling companies, citizens, and government agents to harness the benefits they offer. That is the second frontier and the crucial aspect we must tackle. Inclusion and action—these will be the central themes of the AI Action Summit in February 2025. Once again, this summit will bring together global leaders here in France. It is no coincidence that leaders from around the world are coming to Paris to discuss the future of AI. This technology is transformative and existential, and the issues of tomorrow will be debated here in Paris. And we will do it in our own way—with a more inclusive vision, a summit open to everyone, to all countries, and focused on the common good, ensuring that these technologies benefit the greatest number. It will also be a summit resolutely centered on action. It’s a bit early to reveal exactly what concrete actions will be announced at this summit. Anne Bouvreau is working tirelessly to make them as ambitious as possible, but we will need everyone in this room to make this summit a success. We look forward to seeing many of you on February 10 and 11. To conclude, I return to the message from the beginning. We are extremely happy about this opening because we need companies like OpenAI to open their offices in Paris, just as Meta did with its FAIR lab in 2015 and Google DeepMind has done here. Competition accelerates innovation and creates companies. We can’t help but wonder who will be next. We will watch closely to see who joins your teams, because we know they will go on to do great things, and we will be there to support them. Thank you. Romain Huet: Good evening to all, As you can hear, I’m French. Based in San Francisco, I joined OpenAI almost a year and a half ago now, and I have to say that I have a very unique role—one that I consider one of the most exciting in the company. It’s a role that involves collaborating daily with developers and startups—you all—who create and innovate on top of our models and technologies. For many of you, AI is first and foremost a catalyst for success and growth, so I’m thrilled to be here with you all tonight. Developers, startups, and companies are truly at the heart of our mission. We aim to democratize AI, making it benefit as many people as possible. It’s all of you who are capable of inventing the uses and products of tomorrow—things we couldn’t have imagined ourselves. What makes me particularly proud tonight is seeing how vibrant the French community and ecosystem is here in Paris and across France in general. I was an entrepreneur in Paris more than ten years ago, and it’s truly inspiring to see how much the ecosystem has transformed—the energy, the ambition of startups, and all the talent present here are incredibly encouraging. For example, this week, we hosted events with Station F, Simplon, and École 42. It was incredible to witness the energy and creativity of founders and developers using our AI models to create fascinating things. In my role, I also have the privilege of showcasing what’s possible—what can be done with our models. So tonight, we decided to present a few live demos on the latest paradigms we’ve been working on. Let’s switch to my computer and see this in action. One of the key advancements is in multimodality. With the launch of GPT-4, we’ve developed a model that is natively multimodal. This means that, beyond just text, like we’ve seen with chatbots such as ChatGPT, it can now process voice, images, and visual data—all natively within a single model. In ChatGPT, we now have the “Advanced Voice Mode,” which is available to everyone here in Europe. Has anyone here used it? Show of hands? Many of you. Great. Let’s start it now to familiarize those who haven’t tried it yet. Romain: Hey ChatGPT, can you hear me? ChatGPT: Hi Romain, yes, I hear you perfectly. How are you? Romain: Great. I’m on stage at OpenAI’s launch event in France. Could you say a few words to welcome our guests? ChatGPT: With pleasure. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to this special evening celebrating the opening of OpenAI’s office. Romain: I like how you start, but I think you could put in a bit more energy and enthusiasm. After all, this is OpenAI in France—a big launch. ChatGPT: Of course, you’re right. This is an important evening. Let’s start again: Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the inauguration of OpenAI’s office in Paris. It’s an honor to welcome you tonight to celebrate this historic moment. The French AI ecosystem is impressive, and we are thrilled to be part of this journey. Thank you all for being here to celebrate this expansion in France. Romain: Super, I think they really enjoyed that. Could you maybe whisper a little Parisian secret for our guests? ChatGPT: A Parisian metro secret? Sure. The key is always knowing where the least crowded exits are. Now, let’s test ChatGPT with something more complex. I’ll speak to you in three different languages mixed together, and I’d like you to respond in a mix of those same three languages. Does that work for you? ChatGPT: It works, Romain. I’m ready for your test. Let’s go. Romain: Ciao, parla italiano. Très heureux d’être à Paris ce soir avec l’écosystème français. And I can also switch to English since I live in San Francisco. ChatGPT: Ciao, Romain. Je crois qu’OpenAI a trouvé sa place parfaite en France, mais San Francisco a aussi un charme unique, n’est-ce pas? Romain continues: What’s fascinating about these multimodal capabilities is the seamlessness of the interaction. There’s no latency—we can have direct and fluid conversations with the model. It’s capable of managing different intonations, and behind it is the full power of GPT-4, with its reasoning capabilities and vast knowledge base. What we launched a few weeks ago for all developers and entrepreneurs in the audience is an API we call the “Realtime API.” This allows you to bring these multimodal capabilities directly into your own applications. For example, in just a few lines of code, you can integrate audio and text functionalities. Now, I want to show you another exciting project—a new paradigm we’ve been working on for years, but which was just released a few weeks ago. It’s a new series of models we call OpenAI-01. OpenAI-01 models perform what we call deliberative reasoning. Unlike the immediate responses typical of GPT chat models, these models take time to think, make hypotheses, and test plans before providing an answer. To demonstrate, I brought a small drone—a Tello drone. It’s an educational drone that costs around 100 euros and is fully programmable for students to learn coding. I haven’t read any documentation about programming this drone, but I’ll ask the model to act as my architect and help me figure it out. After providing the model with the details, it took just 20 seconds to generate a full plan. The model wrote the necessary low-level code to interact with the drone. I applied the changes, saved everything, and now we’ll do the moment of truth: testing it live. Romain demonstrates how the AI-powered server interacts with the drone, retrieves battery levels, and assembles a live video feed. He successfully launches the drone, showing how OpenAI’s model can seamlessly integrate with real-world hardware. Charlie Perrault: Good evening, everyone. I’m Charlie Perrault, and I manage the startups, tech, and media section at Les Echos. That’s my quick promo. But actually, I’d like to invite my four panelists to join me here on stage so I can give them a proper introduction. So please welcome Roxane, Olivier, and Marion to the stage. I won’t give a very number-heavy introduction—if you want stats, feel free to check Les Echos. We have plenty every day. But I will mention one figure: $34 billion. That’s the amount of funding that went to U.S. AI startups in just the first half of 2024. Of course, this figure is incomprehensible compared to Europe, where we’re at nearly ten times less. But that’s just how it is—we’re still a bit behind. However, the good news, and why we’re here tonight, is that France has become one of the leading hubs in terms of attracting funding. In fact, in the first half of 2024, France was ranked first in Europe. So, instead of focusing on the U.S., let’s shine a spotlight on France. While the U.S. boasts OpenAI, Siri, and Alexa, France has chosen a different path, with a touch of savoir-faire and a lot of style. For example, while Americans are rejuvenating Tom Hanks on-screen (you may have seen his latest film), the founders of the French startup Ask Mona are enabling people to converse with Molière, Leonardo da Vinci, and Van Gogh. Thank you, Marion, for being here. While American AI startups boast about raising millions before their products even launch, French company Dust achieved €1 million in revenue just nine months after its creation. Thank you, Stan, and welcome. So, while the U.S. has Y Combinator and JD Vance, we in France have Roxane Varza with Station F and Clara Chappaz, who was just with us. While OpenAI is led by Sam Altman, an American, it’s also supported by many French talents, like Romain Huet, Julie Lavet, and now Olivier Gonnement. That said, not everything is perfect in the French AI ecosystem. There’s limited funding, heavy regulation, and intense competition—all topics we’ll discuss in this panel.

Panel Discussion Begins: Charlie to Olivier: Olivier, you have one foot in France and one in the U.S. What’s your perspective—do you think France is excelling in AI, or are we just being overly optimistic? Olivier: The rumors are true. In terms of talent in mathematics, computer science, and engineering, France has a strong pool of talent, many of whom are excelling in the U.S. and California specifically. What’s also exciting is seeing how French companies are now manifesting global ambitions with excellent product design and execution. Compared to a few years ago, there’s much more recognition of French startups in this space.

Charlie to Marion: Marion, you work closely with museums and culture. How do you convince these more traditional institutions to adopt AI? Marion: The key is education and cultural awareness. Museums and cultural institutions have a role to play because they are close to the public. Artists, for example, can help us make AI more tangible and understandable. For instance, French artists like Justine Emard and Grégory Chatonski do incredible work in making AI’s nature and impact more concrete while envisioning desirable futures with this technology.

Charlie to Roxane: Roxane, as someone with a 360-degree view of the ecosystem, have you noticed significant growth since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022? Roxane: Absolutely. Before ChatGPT, there were already AI companies. At Station F in 2017, there was a small wave of AI startups, but it wasn’t like today. When ChatGPT launched, it became impossible to talk about anything else. Social media was flooded with creative, funny, and even ridiculous experiments. This made AI much more tangible for the public, accelerating innovation and interest in the ecosystem.

Charlie to the Panel: What do you think France needs to further accelerate AI adoption and attract more international talent and investors? Roxane: We’re already seeing incredible momentum—startups are being created at an unprecedented pace, and significant investments are being made. What’s missing is maturity, but I believe we’ll see rapid developments in the coming years. The AI Action Summit in February will be another great opportunity to highlight our ecosystem. Olivier: I agree. We’ve come a long way in terms of ambition, talent, funding, and community support. What’s left is fostering a mindset of optimism and risk-taking. Some startups will fail, but others will succeed and become champions. It’s all about scaling and maintaining ambition.

Closing Remarks by Charlie Perrault: Thank you to all our panelists for sharing their insights. I’ll conclude quickly because I know we’re all eager to grab a drink and some hors d'oeuvres. First, thank you to Minister Clara Chappaz, Sarah, Julie, Romain, and all our speakers for being here tonight. The discussions were fascinating, and I particularly enjoyed the drone photos. Second, this is truly a special moment. Big things are happening in the coming years, and France is well-positioned to create amazing products—not just for France or Europe, but for the world. Third, there are many OpenAI team members here tonight—our technical team, including Marc, our Head of Research, engineers, salespeople, and policy experts. Please come talk to us in French or English. We’d love to chat. Enjoy the rest of your evening, and see you soon!