The World Economic Forum and VivaTech have agreed to launch a European Centre for AI Excellence (CAIE) in Paris in 2025.
The centre will join the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) global network, further “advancing its global leadership in leveraging technology for transformative change.”
CAIE will tackle key AI challenges by tailoring solutions to Europe’s needs, driving “innovation and economic growth throughout the continent.”
It will build on France’s role as a key global AI player by supporting cross-border research, “fostering start-up ecosystems and promoting responsible AI adoption across business and society, in line with the Action AI Summit organised by President Emmanuel Macron of France and held in February 2025 in Paris.”
Supported by the World Economic Forum’s AI Governance Alliance – one of the largest and “most diverse networks of AI stakeholders globally – CAIE will promote collaboration to develop inclusive and sustainable AI solutions, enhancing productivity, competitiveness and technological advancement.”
Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director, World Economic Forum said:
“The World Economic Forum, in partnership with VivaTech, is committed to shaping the future of AI in a way that drives innovation, economic growth and societal progress. The new centre will bring together businesses, policy-makers and researchers to develop and scale AI solutions that create positive impact for all.”
The centre’s priorities will include showcasing research and breakthroughs, driving responsible adoption of AI solutions “across diverse industries, fostering cross-sector collaboration to address shared challenges and connecting the European AI innovation ecosystem with global opportunities to enhance economic growth and its competitiveness on the world stage.”
Maurice Lévy, Founder of VivaTech and Emeritus Chairman, Publicis Groupe said:
“Once launched, the centre will play a critical role in fostering pan-European collaboration for AI and showcasing Europe’s unique role in advocating an alternative model that balances innovation and individual rights. The centre will be open to researchers from across the world and we plan to have close collaboration between European AI Research Institutes.”
The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a platform for multistakeholder collaboration, “bringing together public and private sectors to maximize technological benefits to society while minimizing the risks.”
It explores exponential technologies and “drives their responsible adoption and application, leveraging a global network of independent national and thematic centres.”
The World Economic Forum launched the first Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco in 2017, followed by centres in Japan and India.
The network now reportedly “includes centres in Azerbaijan, Colombia, Germany (Berlin Global Government Technology Centre), the Republic of Korea (Gyeonggi), India (Mumbai and Telangana), Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar.” (and many other locations)