Category: Development

Launched during the French President’s state visit to the UK, the Entente CordIAle Paris-Saclay – Oxford-Cambridge AI Initiative unites Institut Polytechnique de Paris, HEC Paris, Université Paris-Saclay, Oxford, and Cambridge to advance AI for science, business, and society.

At its core, Hi! PARIS plays a key role in driving this €70M partnership, supporting joint research, PhD programs, mobility initiatives, and industry collaboration to foster responsible and sovereign AI.

In February 2025, nearly five years after the creation of the Center, we hosted a dinner to thank our corporate donors for their continued support and commitment. It was an opportunity to reflect on the progress we’ve made together and to reaffirm the importance of the partnerships that have helped shape Hi! PARIS into what it is today. When Hi! PARIS was launched in 2020 by Institut Polytechnique de Paris and HEC Paris, and later joined by Inria, CNRS, and UTT, the goal was clear: to build an ambitious and internationally visible center for research, education, and innovation in artificial intelligence and data science. From the beginning, our corporate donors have played a central role in supporting this vision, not only financially, but also intellectually, by sharing their priorities and contributing to the development of our initiatives, research agenda, and educational programs. Pictured from left to right: Éloïc Peyrache, Dean of HEC Paris; Thierry Coulhon, President of Institut Polytechnique de Paris; Philippe Baptiste, French Minister for Research and Higher Education and Michael I. Jordan, Professor at UC Berkeley. Over the past five years, these partnerships have enabled us to launch and fund research projects at the crossroads of science, business, and society; support chair holders, fellows, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD students working on key AI challenges; host events that connect academic and industrial communities; and develop interdisciplinary teaching programs to train the next generation of AI and data talent. These achievements would not have been possible without the trust and involvement of our donors. Together, we’ve helped build a center that stands for scientific excellence, responsible innovation, and collaboration across sectors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrEHR_vHhcg A committed community of donors The strength of Hi! PARIS lies not only in its academic and scientific foundations, but also in the commitment of its corporate donors. Partners such as L’Oréal, Capgemini, TotalEnergies, VINCI, and Schneider Electric bring a diverse range of perspectives from industry, technology, and energy to infrastructure and innovation united by a shared belief: that artificial intelligence and data science must be developed in a way that serves society. Each of them brings a unique perspective, and their support goes far beyond funding. They contribute ideas, challenge us to stay relevant, and help us anchor our work in the real world. This richness of backgrounds and their shared values of excellence, responsibility, and openness reinforce Hi! PARIS’s mission to bridge science, business, and society. One of the most concrete illustrations of this collaboration is our white book Visions of Business: Driving Business Innovation with Data & AI. This 48-page publication brings together real-world use cases from our corporate donors and highlights how they are leveraging AI to address key challenges in beauty, energy, retail, infrastructure, and beyond. Pictured from left to right: Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman of the Board at L’Oréal; Laurent Bataille, President of Schneider Electric France; Philippe Rambach, Chief AI Officer at Schneider Electric; Delphine Colson, Executive Director of the HEC Foundation; Marie-Noëlle Semeria, Chief Innovation Officer at TotalEnergies; Céline Brucker, General Manager at L’Oréal France; Joëlle Barral, Director of Research at Google DeepMind; and Julia Peyre, Head of AI Strategy and Innovation at Schneider Electric. Building the future of AI together The scientific perspectives opened by the researchers, professors, and students involved in Hi! PARIS require resources that match their ambition. The trust and engagement of our partners are essential to sustaining this effort. As we look ahead, we remain committed to deepening these relationships and continuing to work hand in hand to address the evolving challenges of artificial intelligence. From sustainability to trustworthy AI, from ethics to real-world applications, we believe the conversation between researchers and industry has never been more essential. The anniversary dinner was a warm and meaningful moment a way to celebrate what we’ve built together and to thank each partner, personally, for believing in our mission. To all our donors: thank you for your support, your time, and your ideas. We look forward to the next chapter and to continuing this journey with you.