Kyutai, the first European private-initiative laboratory dedicated to open Artificial Intelligence research, was opened at Station F (Paris) in the presence of its scientific staff and three co-founders, Xavier Niel, Rodolphe Saadé, and Eric Schmidt.
Kyutai is a non-profit laboratory committed only to open AI research. Its goal is to address the major issues of current AI, specifically by constructing massive multimodal models – employing not just text but also sound, visuals, and so on – and developing new algorithms to improve their capabilities, reliability, and efficiency.
To do this, the laboratory will employ the computing capacity provided by Scaleway, an iliad Group affiliate. Scaleway’s supercomputer has the highest computing capacity for AI applications deployed in Europe.
Kyutai is firmly devoted to the democratization of AI and is establishing itself as a key actor in AI open research. Its goal is to share its findings with the whole AI ecosystem, including the scientific community, developers, businesses, society at large, and democratic decision-makers.
“Through this new investment in artificial intelligence, I would like the younger generation to benefit from all the opportunities that this technology has to offer. Thanks to Kyutai, researchers will have all the resources they need to create and invent the world of tomorrow. It’s a venture that will bring together the world’s best experts to address the challenges of AI. The CMA CGM Group’s decision to get involved was also driven by a desire to place France and the rest of Europe at the forefront of artificial intelligence research. We need to create a dynamic and innovative ecosystem to keep our businesses competitive. Joining forces is the best way to prepare for the future,” stated Rodolphe Saadé, president and CEO of the CMA CGM Group.
Kyutai will also help teach future AI professionals by providing internships to Master’s students and overseeing PhD students and postdocs.
The iliad Group, the CMA CGM Group, and Schmidt Futures collaborated to establish Kyutai. The iliad Group and the CMA CGM Group each provided US$109 million for the research laboratory’s funding.
Schmidt Futures has also joined as a co-founder, establishing a solid relationship based on a common commitment to this initiative.
“Europe’s got everything it takes to win the AI race. French researchers are known as being the best in the world. We have all the computing power that’s needed. And we have a hyper-dynamic AI ecosystem. By creating an AI open research lab here in Paris, we’re stepping up the pace even further. Kyutai will give us ultra-high-performing, reliable AI models, which the entire European AI ecosystem will be able to benefit from. I’m delighted to see that many private partners have joined us in this venture. Because together we go further,” said Xavier Niel, chairman and founder of the iliad Group.
Kyutai is looking for other private investors to join its nearly US$327 million investment. The co-founders are seeking other entities to join them in providing long-term funding for this non-profit organization’s operations.
Kyutai has already assembled a team of researchers with strong academic and professional credentials. Kyutai’s headquarters are in Paris.
“We’re embarking on an extraordinary adventure with the launch of Kyutai! It’s an adventure of cutting-edge artificial intelligence with open research available to everyone. To achieve our ambitions, we’re building an exceptional research team and are immersing ourselves in the major challenges of modern AI. We’re looking forward to sharing with the community the first results of our open research,” stated Patrick Pérez, CEO of Kyutai.
