Google to set up new artificial intelligence (AI) hub in France

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google is seen on a building at la Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Google is setting up a new hub in France dedicated to the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, which will be inaugurated on Thursday, said a statement from the French Finance Ministry.

The ministry said on Wednesday that this new Paris-based Google hub would host around 300 researchers and engineers, and that it highlighted France's role as a leading tech centre.

President Emmanuel Macron has been keen to promote the tech sector in France, which has traditionally lagged the United States and Britain as a software and finance hub.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by GV De Clercq)