Information technology major Tata Consultancy Services said it will set up a First-of-its-Kind Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence (CoE) in France, which will focus on the brain-machine interface and developing empathy in machines. The creation of the CoE was announced during the “Choose France Summit”, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The TCS AI Center of Excellence in Paris will leverage TCS’ global ecosystem of startups, academia, and research organizations to bring the best of global capabilities to French companies,” the Mumbai-headquartered firm said in a release to the stock exchanges.
The plan for the new AI center, unveiled at a summit attended by 300 global CEOs, will be inaugurated in June 2024. This will be the IT behemoth’s seventh such facility in TCS’ global “Pace network”, following Amsterdam, London, New York, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Tokyo.
TCS said the CoE will focus on pushing the boundaries of how AI can be designed and evolved to address business efficiencies and societal priorities. “The impact areas shall include some of the key priorities listed in France’s National Strategy for AI, as part of the France 2030 plan,” it said.
The new center will join France’s growing AI ecosystem and tap into its deep talent base in design and engineering, to build advanced technologies in the space of human-centric AI, the company said.
“The need of the hour is to boost AI skills present in the country, accelerate the adoption of AI in the French economy, and develop global capabilities here that will benefit the rest of the world,” Harrick Vin, Chief Technology Officer, TCS, was quoted as saying in the release.
TCS commenced operations in 1992, and since then acquired TKS- Teknosoft in 2006, and Alti in 2013, to boost its presence in the region. It employs 1,600 employees in the country, working for 80 of France’s leading businesses. TCS has established three delivery centers in Lille, Poitiers, and Paris and will soon set up a new facility in Toulouse.
