Macron and Modi Court Tech CEOs for AI Infrastructure Deals

Personal diplomacy drives AI investment

French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are deploying direct outreach to technology executives as their nations compete for artificial intelligence infrastructure investments. Both leaders have personally engaged CEOs from the world's largest tech companies throughout 2026, securing commitments worth hundreds of billions of dollars for data centers, cloud facilities, and AI development.

The approach distinguishes France and India from other countries pursuing AI capabilities. Rather than relying solely on policy frameworks or economic incentives, Macron and Modi have built personal relationships with decision-makers at companies including SoftBank, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

Macron secures SoftBank's data center commitment

In May, SoftBank announced plans to construct 3.1 gigawatts of AI data center capacity in France by 2031, part of a 75-billion-euro program targeting 5 GW total. The deal came after Macron personally requested a meeting with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son two months earlier to persuade him to commit to the project, according to CNBC.

Son told the news organization that he and Macron exchanged text messages while negotiating details. Macron emphasized France's power capacity—the country generates substantial electricity from nuclear sources—and increased his initial offer from 2 GW to 3 GW to secure the investment.

The French president also convened tech executives for a working lunch with world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, at the G7 summit France hosted in June. Attendees included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, alongside leaders from European AI companies.

Modi pursues infrastructure and chip manufacturing

Modi hosted top U.S. technology leaders at India's Global AI Summit in February, where he declared that "India does not see fear in AI. India sees fortune in AI. India sees the future in AI." The summit yielded investment commitments totaling hundreds of billions of dollars.

Last week, Modi met with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and welcomed the company's "record $48 billion investment" in India, with $21 billion designated for AI and cloud infrastructure, CNBC reported. Prior meetings with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan resulted in commitments to develop India's AI ecosystem.

Microsoft announced its largest investment in Asia to support India's AI capabilities, while Google committed $15 billion to build what the company described as its largest AI hub outside the United States. India's government has offered long-term tax breaks to encourage hyperscalers to build AI data centers in the country.

India is also working to establish domestic semiconductor production. During Modi's May visit to the Netherlands, Dutch firm ASML agreed to supply advanced lithography equipment for a 300mm semiconductor fabrication facility being built by Indian company Tata Electronics. Intel's Tan, who met with Modi in December, signed on as a prospective customer for chips produced by Tata.

Why it matters

India currently lacks both cutting-edge chip manufacturing and frontier AI models comparable to leading U.S. or Chinese systems, making it heavily dependent on foreign technology. This dependence creates vulnerability to export controls imposed by other nations. The recent global rally in AI-related stocks has largely bypassed India due to the absence of large-scale domestic AI companies, underscoring the strategic importance of Modi's efforts to attract capital and technology partnerships. For France, securing major infrastructure investments positions the country as a European AI hub while leveraging its nuclear power capacity as a competitive advantage in energy-intensive data center operations.

These details were first reported by CNBC.