Xavier Niel Shapes TikTok and French AI Industry
Xavier Niel, a French billionaire, is making waves in the tech industry. As the original French internet mogul, Niel’s fortune is rooted in Minitel Rose, an “erotic chat” service he launched as a teenager. He later graduated to telecoms and founded Iliad, one of Europe’s major mobile operators. Niel is also co-owner of French newspaper Le Monde.
Niel has always been preoccupied with disruption. Over the past year, he has become an engine powering the rising French AI industry. He is not building models himself but instead considers his role to be more paternalistic. “I’m the old guy who likes entrepreneurs,” he explains.
Earlier this year, Niel took a surprise step onto the international stage when ByteDance announced that the French billionaire would become a board member. The TikTok owner enlisted Niel as it faces growing legal problems, especially in the US. As a board member, Niel will be the sole European representative able to vote on strategy alongside ByteDance co-founder Rubo Liang and other executives.
Niel believes that Europe should pursue homegrown AI. He has invested heavily in French AI, including a €200 million investment in a non-profit research lab called Kyutai. Kyutai launched an AI voice assistant called Moshi this summer. Niel’s vision for the cloud provider he founded, Scaleway, is for big European companies to be able to use a local cloud instead of being customers of a US cloud.
At home, Niel is driven by a desire to make sure France – and Europe – are not left behind in the AI age. He wants to ensure that European companies can compete with US giants. Niel’s new role at ByteDance continues his history of disruption, and it will be interesting to see how he navigates the challenges ahead.
Some of Niel’s notable investments and connections include: