Sovereignty fears to dog AI enthusiasm at France's Vivatech

Vivatech, Europe’s largest tech tradeshow, opens in Paris for its 10th anniversary as enthusiasm for generative AI sits alongside concerns about Europe’s technological sovereignty. Organisers have booked Jeff Bezos as Wednesday’s star guest, with French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected on Thursday. About 15,000 start-ups will showcase through Saturday, in a venue expanded to 70,000 square metres from 50,000. The event aims to attract roughly 180,000 visitors this year, and ASML chief Christophe Fouquet will attend, underscoring Europe’s leading role in global chipmaking. On sovereignty, French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu announced that France’s domestic intelligence agency will move away from Palantir to local firm ChapsVision, fueling a broader debate as Washington has recently restricted access to AI models Fable and Mythos, prompting Anthropic to withdraw. With about 200 German start-ups as guests, the fair also features robotics demos on the Champs-Elysees and shows from Unitree and AgiBot, while European firms Genesis and PAL Robotics participate. Peter Steinberger, the Austrian creator of OpenClaw, will showcase the open-source AI agent, illustrating the event’s mix of optimism and strategic competition.